Happy New Year! Welcome to the January 2026 NERC Arctic Office Bulletin. If you have an event or news that you would like us to promote and share with the wider community, please let us know. We’re always glad to hear from you. If you haven’t received this Bulletin direct, you can sign up to our mailing list on the website’s home page. For all previous bulletins, please visit the Arctic Office bulletins page.
NERC Arctic Research Station ‘Open Day’ 2026
If you are considering applying to use the NERC Arctic Station in the future or simply want to learn more about the Station and how we can support potential future projects, we strongly encourage you to join us at the annual NERC Arctic Station ‘Open Day’ on Monday 26th January 2026. The event will be held at the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge and online and the agenda is now available on our website and can be viewed here.
Registration to attend in-person or online is free (deadline for in-person attendance is 16th January) and you can secure your place via this https://forms.office.com/e/P3nnZqPpbW.
Situated in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, the NERC Arctic Research Station provides exceptional facilities, field support and comfortable accommodation for researchers from UK universities and research institutes as well as their international collaborators. It has supported over ~40 projects in the last 3 years covering a diverse range of environmental research, including ecology, glacial and periglacial geomorphology, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry, and marine science and we look forward to supporting many more in the future!
Arctic Science Summit Week 2026: Registration is now open
Registration for the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2026 in Aarhus, Denmark (25 March- 1 April 2026) is open! ASSW 2026 will include Community Meetings and Workshops (25 – 30 March), the ASSW 2026 Science Day with the theme Arctic Observations (29 March), and Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) 2026 (30 March – 1 April).
The conference is planned in a hybrid format, offering both options for in-person as well as online participants. Various registration options are offered:
- Full ASSW 2026 (26 March- 1 April 2026)
- Single one-day ticket for any one ASSW 2026 day (maximum of 2 days)
- Arctic Observing Summit 2026 only (30 March -1 April 2026)
Early bird registration rate is available until 31 January 2026 (23:59 CET).
Requests for nominations for peer reviewers and experts for AMAP and CAFF/PAME related activities
We have been asked to circulate the information below and ask that if you have any interest in any of the four activities, please contact Megan Richmond (Megan.Richmond@fcdo.gov.uk) in the first instance. Please note, any nominations should be sent to Megan directly. Please note the relatively short deadlines.
Request for nominations for peer reviewers of the AMAP 2026 Climate Change Update report. Deadline is 16th January 2026.
The 2026 AMAP Climate Change Update report will soon be ready for peer review. The review is now scheduled for 2 March to 30 April 2026 and the AMAP Secretariat are seeking nominations for peer reviewers.
The objective is to identify three reviewers for each of the eleven substantive chapters of the report, as well as one or two reviewers who would consider the report as a whole. The 11 chapters are: 1. Introduction, 2. Overview of multiple Arctic climate indicators, 3. Greenland Ice Sheet and Arctic land ice, 4. Snow changes in the Arctic, 5. Attribution and Impacts of changing Arctic sea ice and upper ocean conditions, 6. Observed status and emerging trends of Marine Heat Waves (MHWs) in the changing Arctic, 7. Marine biochemical and ecosystem changes, 8. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), 9. Terrestrial Carbon Cycling, 10. Attribution of Arctic Amplification, 11. Persistent Arctic Weather Patterns.
To conduct the peer review, nominated experts should not have been associated with drafting of the chapters concerned, but have relevant knowledge in the fields of science that are being addressed (if possible, also including the Arctic geographical perspective).
For further information about this work or what details are required for the nomination, please contact Megan Richmond. Any nominations for this activity should be sent to Megan Richmond by 16th January 2026.
Call for experts for the CAFF/PAME Spatial Planning Tool Project. Deadline is 16th January 2026.
The joint PAME/CAFF project “Development of a planning tool for area-based conservation of Arctic species and ecosystems: A case study on sea ice-dependent species” hereby calls for expert nominations to join the project’s expert group to ensure guidance based on broad cross-sectorial, cross-disciplinary scientific and Indigenous participation.
During Phase I – Horizon scan and scoping (2025 Sep – 2026 Aug) the project’s steering group seeks expert advice and input in particular, on:
- defining and implementing pathways for meaningful Permanent Participant engagement and contribution to the project
- identifying existing databases, data layers and sources, as well as data gaps for environmental, species distribution and human use.
Looking ahead to ensure a smooth transition into Phase II – Data portal and digital atlas (2026 Sep – 2027 Aug) and Phase III – Spatial planning app (2027 Sep – 2029 Aug) the project’s steering group also warmly welcomes advice and input on:
- potential users of the conservation planning tool, and their needs and ways of engagement;
- potential spatial conservation planning approaches and methods, specifically within a systematic conservation planning framework;
- potential conservation features based on ecological and societal values held for sea ice dependent species;
- potential ways to successfully uphold FAIR and CARE principles in spatial conservation planning.
For further information about this work or what details are required for the nomination, please contact Megan Richmond. Any nominations for this activity should be sent to Megan Richmond by 16th January 2026.
Nomination of experts for the AMAP scoping on Monitoring of Zoonoses in the Arctic. Deadline is 22nd January 2026.
The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) invites nominations of and/or expressions of interest for participation in a novel AMAP initiative dealing with Climate, Contaminants, Wildlife and Human Health. The initial task of the nominated experts will be the development of a scoping document on Monitoring Zoonoses in the Arctic. The document to be delivered to the AMAP Working Group will inform future work.
Key components of this scoping initiative may include:
- An overview of existing monitoring and response systems for zoonoses across the Arctic states.
- A consideration over Emerging Threats (range expansion, introduction and dissemination, shifting dietary practices, ecology etc.).
- An overview of emerging technologies for threat detection, response and mitigation.
- Pathways for knowledge translation to ensure that monitoring and response are culturally and contextually appropriate.
Work will begin as soon as practical and initially span over the two-year period 2026-2027. The workload will be shared among the designated experts according to capacity, through virtual and opportunistic meetings every 3-4 months.
AMAP encourages nominations of individuals with relevant knowledge and expertise both in this and closely related subjects, including Indigenous and early career experts.
For further information about this work or what details are required for the nomination, please contact Megan Richmond. Any nominations for this activity should be sent to Megan Richmond by 22nd January 2026.
Nomination of experts to contribute to the next AMAP assessment of human exposure to contaminants and their effects. Deadline is 22nd January 2026
The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) invites nominations of and/or expressions of interest from subject matter experts to participate in the preparation of a new assessment of human health in the Arctic. This will be a follow-up to and extension of the material regarding dietary transitions in the Arctic and levels of human exposures to contaminants in the Arctic and their health implications that was presented in the report AMAP Assessment 2021: Human Health in the Arctic | AMAP .
In addition to the general introduction, the report will comprise three substantive chapters: Dietary transitions in the Arctic, Trends in contaminant levels in humans in the Arctic, and Health effects of chemicals in the Arctic.
This work will be carried out over a two-year period in 2026 and 2027, with publication anticipated for early 2028. The deliverable for this task is a fully referenced background document similar to the earlier reports in this series, together with a Summary for Policy-makers.
AMAP encourages nominations of individuals with relevant knowledge and expertise in the subject areas covered, including early career scientists and Indigenous knowledge holders.
For further information about this work or what details are required for the nomination, please contact Megan Richmond. Any nominations for this activity should be sent to Megan Richmond by 22nd January 2026.
Gino Watkins Fund Award
The Gino Watkins Memorial Fund gives grants annually of up to £4,000 towards expeditions that meet its objective of improving knowledge of the polar regions. The call for applications for this award is now open, with a deadline of the 31 January 2026. All details can be found on the Royal Geographical Society’s website.
Upcoming events
Arctic Frontiers, 2 – 5 February 2026, Tromsø, Norway
Arctic Circle Forum, 3-4 March 2026, Rome, Italy
Arctic Science Summit Week, 25 March – 1 April 2026, Aarhus University, Denmark
Arctic Circle Assembly 2026, 8 – 10 October 2026, Reykjavik, Iceland (to note, the call for session proposals opens in January, registration opens in June)