The American Polar Society regularly organizes symposiums, usually on a biennial basis, to disseminate new knowledge and research.
These events have been mounted at universities affiliated with major polar research institutes, such as Ohio State University (Byrd Polar Research Center) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and National Snow and Ice Data Center).
Attendees range from polar veterans to armchair enthusiasts who value the uniqueness of the polar regions and policy makers who play critical roles in shaping its destiny.
Topics have included “Women’s Roles in Polar Regions: Past, Present, and Future,” the “International Polar Year 2007-2008,” and “Ice and Climate Change at the Poles: Personal Accounts and Satellite Evidence.”
2013
Marine Biological Laboratory
On April 15-18, 2013, APS presented at the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, a most successful symposium, “The Polar Regions in the 21st Century: Globalization, Climate Change and Geopolitics.” The distinguished speakers included:
- Lonnie Thompson (“Earth’s Climate History from Mountain Glaciers and Ice Cores”)
- Paul Mayewski (“Journey Into Climate: Challenges, Realities, Predictions and Opportunities”)
- Kevin Schaefer (“Global Climate and Policy Impacts of Thawing Permafrost”)
- R. Tucker Scully (“Fitting Together the Political Pieces: Regional Cooperation in Antarctica and the Arctic”)
- Susan Solomon (“The Trends in Accumulating Greenhouse Gases and their Influences on the Earth’s Climate”)
2015
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Two years later, on November 3-6, 2015, APS sponsored “The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change,” a cutting-edge forum produced in collaboration with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego. Principal speakers were:
- Norman R. Augustine (“The Science of Climate Change—and the Change in the Climate of Science”)
- Sylvia A. Earle (“Exploring and Protecting Polar Oceans”)
- Walter H. Munk (“Climate and the Gulf Stream”)
- James E. Hansen (“Ice, Polar Oceans and Sea Level”)
- Julian A. Dowdeswell (“The Marine Geological Record of Past Ice Sheet Growth and Decay”)
We anticipate in the near future scheduling a new symposium celebrating a wide spectrum of polar activities and interests.