News

Greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea levels and ocean heat content reached record highs in 2021, according to the 32nd annual State of the Climate report.

The international annual review of the world’s climate, led by scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information and published by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Societyoffsite link (AMS), is based on contributions from more than 530 scientists in over 60 countries. It provides the most comprehensive update on Earth’s climate indicators, notable weather events and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments located on land, water, ice and in space.

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded a new round of grants under the Navigating the New Arctic, or NNA, program. The awards support research projects to study the Arctic's changing natural, built and social environments. The work will lead to an improved understanding of the local and global effects of Arctic change, informing U.S. national security and economic development needs. 

The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) is opening the PSECCO Conference Travel Grant Program to polar early career scientists and educators who need funding to attend an international or domestic conference at which they intend to present polar science-related content. Travel funding grants aim to support polar early career scientists and educators with demonstrated financial need. In this funding cycle, PSECCO will be distributing $7,000 to applicants; applicants may request a reasonable amount of funding to support their travel to/from a polar conference, up to a value of $1,000 per person. The deadline by which to apply is August 14, 2022 at 11.59pm MT.

The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) was officially launched on April 18, 2022. PSECCO is a community-building and community-support organization for polar early career scientists. Its mission is to empower and elevate early career scientists in the Polar Sciences, support a vibrant community, provide opportunities and resources, offer skill training and work together towards a more just, inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible polar science environment.

In 2017, the United Nations (UN)  declared 2021-2030 the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Ocean Decade), recognizing an opportunity to reverse the decline in ocean health while continuing to rely on the ocean for our ever-increasing needs, particularly under a changing climate. The Ocean Decade was officially launched January 1, 2021.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has been an active player in the Ocean Decade, and has submitted five actions for endorsement. All five were accepted, among them Navigating the New Arctic (NNA).

The linked PDF is a resource for NSF staff and researchers (including PIs, postdocs, students, etc.) funded through one of the five NSF Ocean Decade Actions. The document provides context and resources for engagement in the Ocean Decade and will evolve as opportunities within the Ocean Decade change in the coming years.

Click this news item to be taken to the PDF resource.

In December 2021, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released IARPC’s Arctic Research Plan 2022–2026. Building on the successes and communities of practice of the 2017–2021 plan, the new Arctic Research Plan is a bold strategy for a changing Arctic. It outlines a vision for federal agencies to address emerging research questions about this vital region, and provides pathways to strengthen relationships between federal agencies and Indigenous communities, academia and non-federal researchers, the state of Alaska, nonprofits, and private sector and international organizations. Read the plan.

Project proposals for the National Science Foundation FY22 NNA solicitation are due February 16, 2022. You may view the full solicitation here. If you would like to learn more about the solicitation, please view this Program Manager Chat, hosted by IARPC Collaborations on December 8, 2021. If you would like to learn more about proposal preparation and the merit review process, please view this workshop, hosted by the NNA-CO on December 9, 2021. For answers to frequently asked questions regarding the FY22 NNA solicitation, please visit this page.

As Arctic temperatures warm faster than nearly everywhere else on Earth, and with some models projecting an ice-free Arctic Ocean in a few decades, the U.S. National Science Foundation...

Temperatures in the Arctic are warming faster than nearly anywhere else on Earth. Some climate models project an ice-free Arctic Ocean in a few decades...

NSF remains committed to being supportive and as responsive as possible to the needs of the research community in the face of challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic...