NCE Update

NCE UPDATE 29 October 2008

Article Headlines

1	Arctic ice thickness 'plummets'
2	New understanding of Arctic ice
3	IPCC Chair: Severity Under-reported
4	Risks of global warming greater than financial crisis: Stern
5	DAMOCLES first around the North Pole
6	World can halt fossil fuel use by 2090: study

Announcements

1	NOAA's Third Annual Arctic Report Card - October 2008. Introduced in 2006 by NOAA’s Climate Program Office, the Arctic Report Card is a means of presenting clear, reliable and concise information on recent observations of environmental conditions in the Arctic, relative to historical time series records. Issued annually, it tracks the Arctic atmosphere, sea ice, biology, ocean, land and Greenland and provides a method of updating and expanding the content of the State of the Arctic Report, published in fall 2006, to reflect the current conditions. Material presented in the Report Card is prepared by an international team of scientists and is peer-reviewed by topical experts of the Climate Experts Group (AMAP) of the Arctic Council. The audience for the Arctic Report Card is wide, including scientists, students, teachers, decision makers and the general public interested in Arctic environment and science. Click here to view 2008 Arctic Report Card. www.arctic.noaa.gov
2	Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence-West (COSEE-West) On-line lectures: Weather, Sea Level Rise and Climate Change. November 3 - 23, 2008 The COSEE-West Climate Change workshop invites formal and informal educators to participate in an online workshop to be held November 3 - 23, 2008. Open to educators interested in learning more about how scientists are studying climate change and its accompanying effects on our planet. Online lectures (by the scientists themselves), resources, lesson plans and discussion rooms provide educators with the tools and background necessary to educate the next generation to inherit our troubled planet. The three-week workshop is free, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can also be completed for graduate credit from California State University, Fullerton. www.coexploration.org
3	International Arctic Change 2008 Conference: Quebec City 9-12, December 2008. The ArcticNet Network of Centres of Excellence of Canada and its national and international partners are welcoming the international Arctic research community to Quebec City for the International Arctic Change 2008 Conference. Coinciding with the pinnacle of the International Polar Year and the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, Arctic Change 2008 welcomes researchers, students, policy makers and stakeholders from all fields of Arctic research and all countries to address the global challenges and opportunities brought by climate change in the circum-Arctic. With over 600 participants expected to attend, Arctic Change 2008 will be the largest trans-sectoral international Arctic research conference ever held in Canada.The conference will be held at the Quebec City Convention Centre from 9-12 December 2008. Call for Abstracts: The Arctic Change 2008 International Organizing Committee invites abstract submission for both oral and poster presentations to fill the 36 multidisciplinary topical sessions offered within the scientific program and covering a wide range of Arctic research topics. Abstracts are being accepted until Friday, 26 September 2008. Abstract submission guidelines are available by clicking here. Registration: On-line registration for the conference is now available on the Arctic Change 2008 website. www.arctic-change2008.com
4	New WWF Report "Climate Change: faster, stronger, sooner." A European Update of Climate Science - released October 20, 2008 . An overview of the climate science published since the UN IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. download report here [pdf, 1.65 MB] www.panda.org

Articles

1 Arctic ice thickness 'plummets'

By Mark Kinver
BBC News
October 28, 2008

The thickness of Arctic sea ice "plummeted" last winter, thinning by as much as 49 centimetres (1.6ft) in some regions, satellite data has revealed.