The National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting applications for its Postdoctoral Fellowships in Polar Regions Research program. The program supports training and research for recent doctoral degree recipients in any aspect of study of the Antarctic and/or the Arctic within the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) program areas. The program also provides travel grants to those eligible for fellowships for the purpose of meeting prospective mentors and colleagues, presenting seminars, discussing mutual research and/or education interests, evaluating facilities and professional development opportunities, and initiating collaborative relationships.

A new edition of the Exploring Environmental History Podcast reports from a one-day conference entitled "Biological Invasions and Transformations" that was recently held at the University of Oxford. The podcast highlights two papers presented at this meeting. The second paper features Bernadette Hince of the Australian National University who presented her work on the history and impacts of invasive species on sub-Antarctic islands. The podcast ends with a brief summary of the themes and research issues that emerged at the end of the conference.

The Arctic Visiting Speakers Series (AVS), managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) with funding from the National Science Foundation Division of Arctic Sciences, is accepting travel grant applications for arctic experts to share their knowledge in communities where they might not otherwise connect. Visiting speakers can include scientists and researchers, indigenous peoples, or any other person with expertise relevant to the Arctic.

Applications are invited for a graduate scholarship directed towards evaluating climate change risks to indigenous cultural sites along North American coasts. The scholarship will fund two years of study in a Master of Science program at Texas A&M University, in the department of Ecosystem Science and Management. The program will begin in January, June, or August of 2010.

The Tinker Foundation and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) announce the final call for nominations for the 2009 Martha T. Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica. The prize is a one time, unrestricted award of USD $100,000, presented to an individual inany field of Antarctic science or policy, who has demonstrated potential for sustained and significant contributions that will enhance the understanding and/or preservation of Antarctica. The prize is inspired by Martha T. Muse's passion for Antarctica, and is intended to be a legacy of the International Polar Year (IPY).

The Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) announces publication of the September 2009 issue of the journal ARCTIC, Volume 62, Number 3. A non-profit membership organization and multidisciplinary research institute of the University of Calgary, AINA's mandate is to advance the study of the North American and circumpolar Arctic through the natural and social sciences, as well as the arts and humanities, and to acquire, preserve, and disseminate information on physical, environmental, and social conditions in the North. Created as a binational corporation in 1945, the Institute's United States Corporation is housed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For information on the contents on the September 2009 issue, click the tab below.

The International Arctic Research Center (IARC) will hold a public lecture on Wednesday, 7 October 2009. The lecture, entitled "Sustainability in a Changing Arctic: Forces for Change and Sustainability Options," is being held as part of the October Polar Week. The lecture will be given by F. Stuart (Terry) Chapin, starting at 7 p.m. AKDT. It will be held in room 401 of the Akasofu Building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Human activities are altering many factors that determine the fundamental properties of ecological and social systems. Is sustainability a feasible goal in a world in which these controls are changing with a directional trend over time? This is a global problem, but Alaska is a particularly appropriate place to address this question because of rapid climate warming. This talk addresses the changes in environment and ecosystems that are occurring in Alaska and the impacts they are having on the rural communities of Alaska.

The UArctic Strategic Plan 2009-2013 states that UArctic shall look to increase leadership of indigenous peoples in the operation and governance, as well as programmatic activities, of UArctic. Further, the plan sets the specific goal that by 2013 Indigenous peoples and northerners will have a well-defined and prominent role in the leadership and development of UArctic. As a reflection of these strategic objectives, the UArctic Board of Governors, supported and encouraged by the UArctic members through the annual Council meeting held in Kiruna, Sweden, in August 2009, have decided to strengthen the UArctic leadership by establishing the post of UArctic Vice President Indigenous Affairs. The goals and objectives as well as eligibility criteria and selection process are available here. The post will be filled for an initial three-year period.

The Arctic Graduate School, coordinated by the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in Finland, announces the opening of six full-time research student positions for different periods between January 2010 and December 2013. The positions are intended for students with a Master's degree (or equivalent) who will conduct their doctoral degree at a Finnish university. The research themes of the school are: (1) social and environmental impacts of modernization and global change in the Arctic; and (2) resource, political, and environmental economics in promoting the sustainable social development in the Barents region.

Organizers of a special session entitled "Re-Exploring the North: Social and Natural Transformations in the Circumpolar North" announce a call for abstracts. The session will be convened at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, 14-18 April 2010 in Washington, D.C.

The Circumpolar North is rapidly transforming. Over a century ago geographers pioneered arctic exploration. Now, once again, geographers are on the cutting edge of (re)-exploring rapid economic, political, environmental, and climatic change in the region.