As part of International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2009 the University of Alaska Fairbanks Marine Advisory Program and Northwest campus are hosting a speaker series in Nome, Alaska. This series is meant to facilitate discussions of current polar issues between local residents and academic experts.

Topics will range from the effects of climate change on fisheries and the sea ice pack, to storm systems and coastal erosion, to preservation of Native languages and art. Despite the importance of many of these topics in our region, experts rarely have an opportunity to interact with local residents because of the remote location of these communities and limited communication systems.

The potential for this series to reach rural residents is vastly expanded because of video conferencing equipment in village schools allowing speakers to reach rural communities of northwest Alaska from Stebbins to Diomede through the Bering Strait School District.

Speakers include:

Susan Sugai, "Sea Ice Monitoring in the Bering Strait," November 27, 2007

Amber Lincoln, "Bering Strait Artifacts, European Museums, and World History," January 15, 2008

David Atkinson, "Bering Sea Storms: Not Just Leftover Typhoons," January 29, 2008

Igor Krupnik, "The Changing Arctic: IPY and Northern Residents," February TBA

Terrence Cole, "Mutiny, Murder and Cannibalism: The Tragic Tale of A.W. Greely," February 29, 2008

Gay Salisbury, "Inspiration for the Iditarod: Leonhard Seppala, Nome and the 1925 Serum Run," March 1, 2008

Larry Kaplan, "Eskimo Languages of the Bering Strait and Beyond," April 15, 2008

Jean Carlo, "Arctic Voices: Contemporary Art from the Circumpolar North," April 29, 2008

More information

Contact:
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University of Alaska Fairbanks
Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
907-443-8410