The Arctic Frontiers (AFT) conference is a central arena for discussions of arctic issues. The conference brings together representatives from science, politics, and civil society to share perspectives on how upcoming challenges in the Arctic may be addressed to ensure sustainable development.

Arctic Frontiers (AFT) will hold its 6th annual conference in Tromsø, Norway, from 22-27 January 2012, with the title “Energies of the High North”. Arctic Frontiers 2012 will discuss the global energy outlook, and assess the potential of traditional and renewable energy resources in the North.

Arctic Frontiers http://www.arcticfrontiers.com/ is composed of a policy section and a scientific section. This call for papers addresses only the scientific section from January 25th to January 27th 2012.

The conference will generate discussion about: new transportation technologies for Northern climates; capacity of current transportation resources to meet demand; sovereignty and security issues; updates on major projects; northern transportation corridors; and frontier logistics. Previous conferences were held in Iqaluit, Nunavut (2009), Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (2007), and Whitehorse, Yukon (2005).

Organizers of the 3rd International Glacial Archaeology Symposium: Frozen Pasts, announce a call for papers. The conference will be held 3-8 June 2012 in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Following the success of the two previous symposiums in Berne, Switzerland in 2008 and Trondheim, Norway in 2010, the 2012 conference will highlight the discoveries of North American glacial archaeologists and showcase the opening of a major new Yukon First Nation Cultural Centre featuring ice patch discoveries. The 3rd International Glacial Archaeology Conference will be hosted by Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Government of Yukon.

This conference investigates the relations between people and places, focusing on the role of stories in constructing meaning and affecting human emotions. Both rural and urban landscapes contain numerous locations that become meaningful places through their association with stories. These stories may be told orally by narrators or by material design; they may be permanent or temporary. The stories may be linked, for example, to the vegetation, the geology, the wild life, the cultural heritage, the mundane built environment, or metaphysical creatures. Whether such stories are historically accurate, purposefully invented or created entirely in residents’ or visitors’ minds is however less important than their potential to touch human beings.

For the table of content of the current issue, click below.

The articles in this collection represent award winners of the Canadian federal Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Circumpolar Affairs Fellowship program.

The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research, in cooperation with the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, Nansen Scientific Society, and the University Center in Svalbard (UNIS), invites applications to a summer school program entitled "Impact of climate change on resources, maritime transport, and geopolitics in the Arctic and the Svalbard area." The summer school takes place 21-28 August 2011 at the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research and UNIS.

The Research Activities Committee of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) is highlighting Social Sciences in the month of June. A new APECS webpage entitled 'Human and Social Systems' has been developed, and can be accessed at: http://www.apecs.is/research-fields/social-sciences. The website will be updated frequently, with information on the activities of APECS social sciences members, available mentors, and how to find out more about polar social sciences. APECS will also have various activities scheduled, including a Virtual Poster Session showcasing some of the research projects APECS members are working on, and a Career Development Workshop in connection with the 7th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences in Akureyri, Iceland.

The Department of Social and Economic Geography at Umeå University, Sweden, is recruiting two Post-doctors. The department has around 50 employees. Recruited researchers will work closely together in a new research team consisting of PhD students, Post-docs and senior researchers working with a specific geographical focus on rural areas. The positions are advertised at post-doc (2 Year full time) level. The positions are research-oriented and offer at least 80% research.

The Klondike goldfields of west-central Yukon have an ancient natural history that extends back long before the stampeders arrived. Remnants of this prehistoric past are revealed by the hydraulic hoses and heavy equipment of Klondike gold miners. Fossil bones and other ancient treasures from the permafrost are helping scientists understand the Yukon’s ice age history. Written by Grant Zazula and Duane Froese, edited by Patricia Halladay.