UK Polar Network List: January 2017

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

UKPN-Challenger early career workshop!

Dear UKPN members,

We are pleased to announce a free early career workshop hosted by the UK Polar Network and Challenger Society for Marine Science on Project management, polar sciences and outreach.

A hands-on approach will be taken for this 1-day workshop and by the end attendees will feel confident employing project management skills to various tasks in their day-to-day activities.

This event will be hosted at NOC Southampton on the 17th March 2017 and BAS in Cambridge on 15 June 2017.

This event is free to attend. Lunch and refreshments are provided, and there is limited travel support available which can be applied for.

If you wish to attend, please fill out this form<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cd9odHAOKaehb0UF7P95xZYfbSjl4u3eFK9kXOgM2ww/edit> and return to president@polarnetwork.org by 24 February or 25 May for the March and June event respectively.

More information, including an outline for the day, can be found on our website<http://polarnetwork.org/events-and-workshops/ukpn-challenger-early-career-workshop/>.
Please contact president@polarnetwork.org if you have any further questions.

Ice Bear: The Cultural History of an Arctic Icon

Dear UKPN Subscribers,

Free postage to UK customers

We hope the following title will be of interest to you.

Ice Bear

The Cultural History of an Arctic Icon

Michael Engelhard

"Iconic is the marketing cliché of our times, applied as unthinkingly to wildlife as it is to biscuits. But here, Michael Engelhard digs deeper, tracing how the polar bear came to occupy its place in contemporary culture and, in the process, suggesting what the mechanics of iconography say about us." - Mike Unwin, BBC Wildlife Magazine

"The product of Engelhards exhaustive research is an eclectic, comprehensive, compelling, and very readable cultural iconography elevated to a level of art form by the inclusion of well-chosen and often stunning illustrations on almost every page. Ice Bear is a visual National Geographic with real verbal punch!" - Marilyn Gates, New York Journal of Books

"Engelhard, a Fairbanks resident, is trained as a cultural anthropologist and works as a wilderness guide in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The combination makes him uniquely qualified to have authored this fascinating and extensively illustrated exploration of humanity's deeply complicated relationship with an animal he is well acquainted with." - David A. James, Alaska Dispatch News

"[A] beautifully illustrated, hugely engaging book. . . . For all its nightmare-haunting power, however, the aspect of the polar bear that really makes it an icon of the age is its vulnerability . . . . Another merit of the book is the author's willingness to track these themes to their origins."- Mark Cocker, The Spectator

"Engelhard has an apt and unusual background for a book such as this… He knows not only the European and North American histories of confronting the animal, but also the many ways in which the Inuit in Canada, the Inupiat in Alaska, the Chukchi and Yakut in Siberia, and other Arctic-dwelling peoples have survived and continue to survive in close proximity to polar bears. Among the strengths of Ice Bear is its grasp of the rituals by which humans have always aspired to draw the strength of the polar bear into themselves, using claws and teeth and bones as amulets, transforming the creature into a guardian spirit. " - Mark Abley, Times Literary Supplement

Prime Arctic predator and nomad of the sea ice and tundra, the polar bear endures as a source of wonder, terror, and fascination. Humans have seen it as spirit guide and fanged enemy, as trade good and moral metaphor, as food source and symbol of ecological crisis. Eight thousand years of artifacts attest to its charisma, and to the fraught relationships between our two species. In the White Bear, we acknowledge the magic of wildness: it is both genuinely itself and a screen for our imagination. Ice Bear traces and illuminates this intertwined history. From Inuit shamans to Jean Harlow lounging on a bearskin rug, from the cubs trained to pull sleds toward the North Pole to cuddly superstar Knut, it all comes to life in these pages. With meticulous research and more than 160 illustrations, the author brings into focus this powerful and elusive animal. Doing so, he delves into the stories we tell about Natureand about ourselveshoping for a future in which such tales still matter.

Michael Engelhard works as a wilderness guide in Arctic Alaska and holds an MA in cultural anthropology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His books include Where the Rain Children Sleep: A Sacred Geography of the Colorado Plateau, the anthology Wild Moments: Adventures with Animals of the North, and a recent essay collection, American Wild: Explorations from the Grand Canyon to the Arctic Ocean. His writing has also appeared in Sierra, Outside, Audubon, National Wildlife, National Parks, High Country News, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

University of Washington Press

October 2016 304pp 170 illus., 145 in color, 1 map 9780295999227 PB ~~£25.99~~ now only £20.79* when you quote CSL117IBLS when you order

http://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/ice-bear

UK Postage and Packing FREE, Europe £4.50, RoW £4.99

(PLEASE QUOTE REF NUMBER: CSL117IBLS** for discount)

To order a copy please contact Marston on +44(0)1235 465500 or email direct.orders@marston.co.uk

or visit our website:

http://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/

where you can also receive your discount

*Price subject to change.

**Offer excludes the USA, South America and Australia.

Members Survey- What can the UKPN do for you?

Hi everyone,

In order for us to know a bit more about our membership and find out what we should be doing for you we've put together a very quick survey which we'd really appreciate everyone filling out.

It should take no more than 2 minutes and as a bonus incentive we will be giving away a piece of UKPN merchandise of your choice (hat/ buff/ t-shirt/mug) to one lucky respondent.

https://goo.gl/forms/ZzvgiqgprTQN30EE2

Thank you!

Sammie

--------------------------------------------------------------
Sammie Buzzard
PhD Student- Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling
UKPN Vice President
www.met.reading.ac.uk/~zb000439
--------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, January 27, 2017

Digital Explorer - Arctic Live 2017

Hi all,

Please see below for a message from Helen Bainbridge with an exciting opportunity to do some outreach from the comfort of your office! We had some UKPN members do this last year and from the sounds of it it was a great experience. Any questions or if you're interested please get in touch with Helen directly.

Thanks,

Sammie

Begin forwarded message:

From: Helen Bainbridge <helen@digitalexplorer.com>

Subject: Digital Explorer - Arctic Live 2017

Date: 27 January 2017 at 11:45:14 GMT

To: "s.c.buzzard@pgr.reading.ac.uk" <s.c.buzzard@pgr.reading.ac.uk>

Hi Sammie,

I hope you're well.

You may remember that last year you helped me to find polar scientists for Digital Explorer's annual Arctic Live! event. Thank you again for your support, in all we reached over 15,000 students globally.

Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop is once again travelling up to the UK Arctic Research Station on Svalbard to speak to schools around the world via Skype. This time Jamie will also have a researcher from BAS to help with lessons which is wonderful.

Alongside the lessons from the Arctic we like to connect older students with polar scientists who can share their research and their experience of working in the Arctic (from the comfort of their office!).

I was wondering if you could put the shout out to any colleagues in the Polar Network who you think might be interested in taking part in Arctic Live! this March.

The Arctic Live! lesson dates this year are:

Week 1 - Tues 7^th March to Fri 10^th March

Week 2 – Mon 13^th March to Thu 17^th March

Even if the scientists can manage just a couple of lessons that would be great. All lessons are scheduled to take 30 minutes and I would need the following information as soon as possible to put on the Arctic Live website:

a short biography (100 words max) – I'm happy to edit this from an existing long form version.
photo (preferably with the 'polar' look!)
the dates/time range available to take a Skype lesson (i.e. Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 9am–11 am - one lesson each morning)
your Skype ID

I very much look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Helen

Helen Bainbridge
Project Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 7531 920 351
digitalexplorer.com

Visit our multimedia zone
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Arctic Oceanography - PDRA position at SAMS

Colleagues,

Please note an advert for a PDRA position in Physical Oceanography
linked to the UK NERC Changing Arctic Ocean Program.

Link to the formal advert: https://sams.myciphr247.com/jobsearch.aspx

Many thanks

Sian (on behalf of Dr Finlo Cottier)

================================

The Arctic is arguably the most rapidly changing environment on the
planet and changes in sea ice are modifying critical biological and
biogeochemical processes. These challenges are being addressed through
the NERC Research Program /"The Changing Arctic Ocean"/. SAMS is leading
the Arctic PRIZE project <http://www.sams.ac.uk/arctic-prize/> (Arctic
Productivity in the Seasonal Ice Zone) in collaboration with 5 other UK
institutes and numerous world-leading international partners. We are
seeking a highly-motivated and dynamic postdoctoral researcher to
support the delivery of the physical oceanographic component of Arctic
PRIZE.

The successful applicant will hold a PhD and have a background in
physical oceanography with an interest in how physical processes impact
on biological and biogeochemical systems. They will ideally have
experience of using autonomous vehicles (gliders and/or AUVs) to make
sustained measurements in shelf seas and an understanding of arctic
oceanography. Ideally they will have a track record of working within a
multi-disciplinary project environment.

The main duties are 1) Contribute to the preparation, planning and
execution of Arctic PRIZE research cruises 2) Contribute to the delivery
of the robotics program in Arctic PRIZE 3) Lead and publish high quality
peer-reviewed research to meet SAMS research objectives. 4) Form and
maintain national and international relationships and collaborations for
arctic research 5) Travel to national and international meetings to
present research findings.

For general enquiries about the position please contact Dr Finlo Cottier
at Finlo.Cottier@sams.ac.uk <mailto:Finlo.Cottier@sams.ac.uk>

====================================

--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Arctic Ocean PhDs

Dear All,

Three exciting PhDs are available as part of the newly-funded NERC
project Arctic PRIZE (Arctic PRoductivity in the seasonal Ice ZonE).
Please see the attached poster and web links below for further
information and how to apply. I am happy to receive any informal
communication about the Nitrogen uptake PhD, for which I am a
supervisor. For the other two PhDs, please contact the supervisors
listed on Find a PhD.

Link to Arctic PRIZE project web page:

http://www.sams.ac.uk/arctic-prize

(use the PhD adverts tab for information on the PhDs)

Links to Arctic PRIZE PhD projects on Find a PhD:

Nitrogen uptake and phytoplankton productivity in the changing Arctic Ocean

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=82234&LID=1546

Shedding light on the biogeography of Arctic marine phytoplankton

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=81386&LID=1245

Where's my dinner? Do Arctic benthic communities show preferential food
uptake?

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=82225&LID=1546

Best wishes to all,
Sian
--
Dr. Sian Henley

NERC Independent Research Fellow
University of Edinburgh, UK

The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Urgent request for volunteer for School Visit in South East London

Hi UKPN,

We have had a request for a school visit to St. Winifred’s school in South East London for the end of January/start of February for two Year 1 classes learning about the polar regions.

If anyone would like to volunteer to do this, please let me know as soon as possible and I will put you in touch with the school. We have a lot of resources and outreach activities that can be provided for the visit such as PowerPoint presentations and worksheets if you should need them.

Many thanks

Michelle

Michelle McCrystall

PhD Student

British Antarctic Survey and University of Cambridge

michmcr@bas.ac.uk

mrm52@cam.ac.k

This message (and any attachments) is for the recipient only. NERC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the contents of this email and any reply you make may be disclosed by NERC unless it is exempt from release under the Act. Any material supplied to NERC may be stored in an electronic records management system.

Monday, January 9, 2017

West Antarctic Peninsula workshop

Dear colleagues and friends,

We would like to invite you to participate in a workshop on May
15-16th 2017, at the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK:
"Developing the West Antarctic Peninsula International Network as a
Component of the Southern Ocean Observing System". The aims of the
workshop are to share information about the existing sustained
observational programs along the West Antarctic Peninsula and
plans/aspirations for the future. Please see the attached flyer for
details on the meeting and how to register.

With best wishes,

Sian Henley

On behalf of the organising committee.

--
Dr. Sian Henley

NERC Independent Research Fellow
University of Edinburgh, UK

--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

Reminder: EGU Session on Antarctic Palaeoclimates | Abstract Deadline Soon

Dear Colleagues and friends,

With apologies for cross-posting, but please consider submitting an abstract to our session at the EGU General assembly 2017:

CL1.22/CR1.10/OS1.21 Antarctic palaeoclimates, sea level change and ice dynamics in past warm episodes: marrying models and data.

http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2017/session/22744

Our session is a growing tradition at EGU, and we hope we can welcome you all again in our session in Vienna. ABSTRACT DEADLINE IS JANUARY 11^th 2017, 1300 CET - so very soon now!

We also have a number of invited speakers including an Early Career presenter (Max Holloway from the British Antarctic Survey).

With warm regards,

Peter Bijl, Carlota Escutia, and Aisling Dolan.

Session abstract:

Evidence from field observations of sedimentological records alongside geochemical, microfossil and seismic data analysis suggests that the entire Cenozoic Antarctic ice sheet witnessed several episodes of dramatic waxing and waning in concert with evidence for climates moderately warmer than today. In contrast, numerical modelling studies have not always been able to predict such dynamic behaviour given reasonable climate forcings. In general, the causes and consequences of major ice sheet volume and sea level changes in the past are often poorly understood. This session aims to bring together research fields of numerical ice sheet, climate and oceanographic modelling and field/ proxy data, as a way to foster model-data comparison. We invite submissions that aim to present new insights from improved numerical modelling experiments of ice sheet, oceanographic and sea ice dynamics as well as those presenting new field data from sedimentary records around the Antarctic Margin (e.g., those from Integrated Ocean drilling program Leg 318 to the Wilkes Land Margin, ANDRILL and their predecessors) or proxy data pertaining to conditions in the Southern Ocean. We welcome research from all areas related to ice sheet dynamics, e.g. bedrock responses to ice sheet changes, the gravitational isostatic responses to glaciation, potential thresholds in climate (induced by orbit or carbon dioxide changes). Submissions considering both proxy-evidence and modelling studies are encouraged.

**************************************************************

Dr. Aisling Dolan

School of Earth & Environment

University of Leeds

Leeds LS2 9JT

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 1859

Email: A.M.Dolan@leeds.ac.uk

Homepage: http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~earado/

Twitter: @DrAislingDolan

Palaeo@leeds: http://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/research/essi/palaeoleeds/

British Antarctic Survey Workshop: The Future of Polar Governance: Knowledge, Laws, Regimes, and Resources

British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge

27th March 2017

The Future of Polar Governance: Knowledge, Laws, Regimes, and Resources

Keynote Speakers:

Professor Klaus Dodds (Royal Holloway University of London)

Professor Graham Huggan (University of Leeds)

Dr Roger Norum (University of Leeds)

Jane Rumble (Head of Polar Regions Department, Foreign & Commonwealth Office)

The British Antarctic Survey, working with the University of Leeds and Royal Holloway, University of London, will be hosting a workshop on the future of polar governance. The timing of the conference is not coincidental – sixty years ago, the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) initiated the promise of global scientific and political co-operation in the polar regions and their connection to planet Earth. The International Polar Year (2007-8) followed up on that promissory note. The promise of mineral resources in the Arctic also unleashed global speculation about a so-called ‘Scramble for the Arctic’ with fears that conflict, not co-operation, would prevail.

In our workshop, we wish to consider what and where might the future of polar governance lie? International organizations and forums such as the Arctic Council and Antarctic Treaty System are highly significant actors but they do not enjoy a monopoly on polar governance. Newer actors such as China, the European Parliament, the Arctic Circle, commercial operators and high value celebrities and philanthropists are also part of the equation along with indigenous, first nations and aboriginal peoples living in the Arctic for millennia. Historically, colonial and Cold War-era encounters and interventions have had a decisive impact on contemporary polar governance.

Science, resources, and geopolitics often worked together and sometimes against one another: as scientific networks and knowledge exchange came into contact with the national security and economic priorities of governments and the interests and wishes of communities. More recently, fears have been expressed about the role that ‘great powers’ such as Russia and China might play in both the Arctic and Antarctic, and the implications therein for consensus-based governance, resource management and international co-operation. It is also timely to explore the role of private actors in polar environmental governance given a rapidly changing climate, the vulnerability of polar ecosystems, the decline in Arctic summer sea ice, and increased economic activity in polar regions in areas such as tourism and resource development including biological prospecting. Indigenous peoples in the Arctic continue, meanwhile, to press for their cultural, legal and resource rights to be acknowledged and respected by all parties.

This is an interdisciplinary workshop. Proposals for contributions are welcomed from across the disciplines, and we particularly welcome contributions from PhD and early career scholars. The idea of the workshop is to encourage shorter presentations (in the format of 3 slides and 15 minute talks) in order to leave plenty of scope for discussion and interaction with participants.

A web-based report will be produced following the workshop.

Possible topics could include:

· Polar governance and region-building

· Scales and site of polar governance: from the everyday to the global

· Climate change governance

· The science-policy interface

· Decolonizing polar governance and the role of indigenous/subaltern politics

· Nationalism and the role of polar environmental and physical sciences

· Environmental and resource governance regimes

· Private environmental governance

· Role of law in polar governance

· Asia and the Arctic/Antarctic

· Legacies of colonialism and/or Cold War

· Aesthetic and cultural engagements

· Celebrities and polar demands’

· The Polar Regions as global commons

Proposals of no more than 250 words should be sent to the William Davies (geo3wd@leeds.ac.uk) by the deadline of 31^st January 2017. All submissions should include the name of the presenter, their institution, email address, a short biographical profile of the speaker, plus the title and 250-word summary of the proposed presentation. We are able to offer some travel bursary support to UK-based speakers attending the workshop.

There is also space for those who would like to attend the workshop without contributing a presentation. Please register your attendance with Eventbrite through the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-future-of-polar-governance-knowledge-laws-regimes-and-resources-tickets-30467134018. Deadline for registrations: Monday 6th March 2017.

Professor Jane Francis Director of BAS, Professor Klaus Dodds (Royal Holloway University of London) and Associate Professor James Van Alstine (University of Leeds) are the other members of the steering committee.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Polar Explorer Programme

Forwarding on behalf of Dianne Watson:

We are now recruiting our team of Polar Ambassadors on the BEIS funded Polar Explorer Programme.

Further details and an application form are now available here: https://myscience.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/polar_ambassador_apply

I'd be grateful if you could pass these details on to any of your contacts who may be interested in joining our network of Polar Ambassadors and ask them to complete an application as soon as possible (as we are aiming to recruit our team of Polar Ambassadors during January and have provisionally booked a one day training course at our centre in York for the 1st February).

Please note that for year one of the programme we will be working with schools in the following regions only: North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, Derbyshire.

If you would like to apply to be a Polar Ambassador for other regions (commencing in September 2017) then please complete the form and once you reach the section 'The work you will undertake' section please indicate which region(s) you would be interested in covering.

I look forward to receiving your application. If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to contact me.
Best wishes
Dianne

Dianne Watson
Project Officer, National STEM Learning Network
Email: d.watson@stem.org.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1904 328304
Twitter: @STEMLearningUK
Web: www.stem.org.uk

The National STEM Learning Network – working together to achieve a world-leading STEM education for all young people across the UK

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Climate Science Letter to the Prime Minister

Dear UKPN,

Welcome back to reality! Attached is a letter addressed to the Prime Minister regarding the recent elections in the United States and the UK's national interest in climate change research. The UK's climate change research community invites all researchers to co-sign the letter by following the details below. Please also note that the contents of this email are confidential (within the climate science community) until the letter has been sent (during the week of 16th January).

Please contact Bob Ward <r.e.ward@lse.ac.uk> for additional details and to add yourself as a signatory to the letter.

Best regards,

Vice-President (2016 - 2017), UK Polar Network
PhD Candidate (SPRI), University of Cambridge

Dear colleagues,

Please find attached the final draft of the letter to the Prime Minister. Many thanks for your contributions to the tremendous team effort in producing this. I am now seeking your help in circulating the letter for signatures.

You will see that I have added the seven initial signatures. I would be grateful if you could now send the letter on to potential signatories. We are aiming for at least 100 signatories.

Please note the following:

1. This is a letter to the Prime Minister from members of the climate change research community about the potential threats to and opportunities for the UK national interest arising from the recent elections in the United States.
2. This letter is open for signature until 16:00 GMT on Friday 13 January 2017. It will be sent to the Prime Minister during the week commencing 16 January.
3. The text of the letter has been finalised and cannot be revised at this stage.
4. The letter should be considered confidential and not for public disclosure at this stage, but it will be made public after it has been sent to the Prime Minister.
5. Those who wish to be listed as signatories must be members of the climate change research community and should email Bob Ward, who is co-ordinating the collection of signatures, on r.e.ward@lse.ac.uk
6. Signatories are signing as individuals and not representatives, but should provide their academic title (eg Professor, Dr etc), any relevant post-nominals (eg (FRMetS), primary job title and primary employer.
7. Signatories should feel free to forward the letter, on a confidential basis, to other members of the climate change research community who may be interested in signing it.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Bob

Bob Ward

Policy and Communications Director
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
London School of Economics and Political Science
Houghton Street
London
UK
WC2A 2AE

Tel. +44 (0) 20 7107 5413
Mob. +44 (0) 7811 320346
Web: http://www.lse.ac.uk/grantham
Twitter: @ret_ward

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

PostDoc in Cloud Physics at BAS

Hello UKPN,

We currently have a Post Doc position advertised in the Climate Processes group here at BAS.
For more information follow the link below.
https://www.bas.ac.uk/jobs/vacancy/cloud-physicistmodeller-cambridge/

Best regards,
Amélie

***************************
Dr. Amélie Kirchgaessner FRMetS
Atmosphere, ice and Climate Team
British Antarctic Survey
High Cross, Madingley Road
Cambridge, UK
CB3 0ET
email: acrki@bas.ac.uk
+44 (0)1223 221359
***************************

________________________________
This message (and any attachments) is for the recipient only. NERC is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the contents of this email and any reply you make may be disclosed by NERC unless it is exempt from release under the Act. Any material supplied to NERC may be stored in an electronic records management system.
________________________________