The next Workshop on the dynamics and mass budget of Arctic glaciers and IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology annual meeting will be held at the University Center in Obergurgl, Austria, on 26-28 January 2023!

General information

The two-and-a-half-day meeting is open to all interested in Arctic glaciology and will be held in-person. The meeting will start around 9:00 in the morning on Thursday January 26 and finish around noon on Saturday January 28. The recommended arrival date is Wednesday January 25. Rooms in the University Center are available from January 25 to 29. Presentations will be live-streamed, but we do not accept online contributions, and interaction with the audience in Obergurgl is limited/absent. Thanks to funding from IASC we can provide travel support for a selection of early-career scientists and most likely do not need to ask for a registration fee!

Contributions

We welcome contributions on all aspects concerning the mass balance and dynamics of Arctic glaciers, including the Greenland Ice Sheet, and that utilize a broad range of methods, including field observations, remote sensing and modelling. In addition to this, the workshop will include a special cross-cutting session on “Glacier-atmosphere interactions in a warming and wetting Arctic”, which aims to provide an inter-disciplinary forum that brings together glaciologists and atmospheric scientists.

Contributions in the form of oral presentations and/or posters are welcome. Presentations will be 15-20 minutes, including discussion. For those who present a poster, time will be reserved in the program to give a short 2-3 minute introduction to the poster.

Registration for the meeting has now closed (November 25). We are currently preparing a programme.

Cross-cutting activity

During the meeting we will host a special cross-cutting session on ”Glacier – atmosphere interactions in a warming and wetting Arctic”. This cross-cutting activity is endorsed and supported by the Cryosphere and Atmosphere working groups of IASC (link). The activity aims to bring together experts within glaciology and atmospheric sciences, thereby fostering multi-disciplinary research in the Arctic. The cross-cutting activity will include one or more presentation sessions, followed by a discussion session. Confirmed keynote speakers: Gudfinna Adalgeirsdottir and Brice Noël.

Topics may include (but are not constrained to):

• Atmospheric circulation patterns and the impact on the Arctic land-ice mass budget
• Precipitation and snowfall in the Arctic – observations & modelling
• Coupling of glaciers and atmosphere in general circulation models (GCMs), regional climate models (RCMs) and earth system models (ESMs)

Accommodation & half-board

We encourage participants to book a room with half-board at the University Center during the meeting. Double rooms with half-board can be booked for the period January 25-29 at the following rates: ca. 135 euro for a shared room, ca. 185 euro for single occupancy. Reduced prices of ca. 110 euro (shared room) and 160 euro (single occupancy) apply for students. Breakfast and dinner at the University Center are included in the prices above, lunches are not. Since we have limited rooms available and hope to accommodate as many as possible in the University Center, room sharing is strongly encouraged. Since space may be limited, please do not wait too long with your registration!

To book a room at the University Center, please use the registration & abstract submission form and choose the type of room (shared or not), a room-mate (if you already have someone in mind) and your dates of arrival and departure. You will pay for the room at the University Center.

How to get there

Obergurgl can be reached via Innsbruck (and Ötztal) by bus or a combination of train and bus. The travel time is around 2 hours. For connections visit https://tickets.oebb.at/en/ticket. An alternative hub is Munich, Germany, from which train connections to Innsbruck exist (expect 2 additional hours). Some may find it convenient to share a rental car (3-hour drive from Munich to Obergurgl).

Financial support for early-career scientists

We have some financial support from the IASC Cryosphere and Atmosphere working groups to enable early career scientists to participate in the meeting and cross-cutting activity, in particular. Eligible for the funding will be early career scientist who meet the following criteria:

• are within 5 years after finishing their PhD
• are affiliated with an institution in an IASC member country (Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA)
• have submitted an abstract for the workshop
• have a research background relevant to the meeting
• have not yet received IASC travel support more than three times within the 5 years prior to January 2023

Please note that our support is limited and may not cover all expenses for those granted. If support is granted, reimbursement will be after the meeting through the IASC Office. Detailed information will be provided to those selected for the travel support.

To apply for the financial support, please complete the separate form here latest by November 25: https://forms.gle/tTQHtvj6mwj1xmjp8. A decision on the funding will be taken in the days after the deadline.

Skiing

The Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski-resort is a beautiful snow-secure skiing area between 1800 and 3080 m a.s.l. with 25 lifts and 112 km of slopes. For more details about the skiing opportunities and ski passes, please visit the website https://www.gurgl.com/winter.html.