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Making Connections for Our Changing Mountains
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Dear MRI Community,
After a brief summer break, the MRI Coordination Office is happy to be back and ready to continue to make connections with you all for our changing mountains – if not face-to-face during these unusual times, then at least virtually! As part of that, in August the MRI Coordination Office met with our Chair and Principal Investigators to review progress over the last few months, including the outcomes of the MRI Synthesis Workshops selected for 2020. An announcement will be posted next month. We also discussed work on several new and exciting ideas to support you, the mountain research community. More on that soon.
In this August newsletter, we report on the MRI’s most recent collaborative efforts to encourage early-career engagement in IPCC processes, and issue a call for your papers on transboundary sustainable mountain governance for a Sustainability Special Issue, guest edited by MRI Chair Jörg Balsiger and myself. We also share news of the virtual conference ‘Climate Change, Health, and Mountain Ecosystems and their Governance in Support of Sustainable Development in the Tropical Andes Region - Central America (Andes +).’ Taking place within the framework Conéctate A+ – and facilitated by the MRI, CONDESAN, and the University of Zurich – this online opportunity to connect and foster dialogue was attended by a fantastic 1200 participants from 37 different countries. We are grateful for the support of the swissuniversities Development and Cooperation Network (SUDAC) Clusters of Cooperation in the Global South programme in realizing Conéctate A+, and I will be providing an update on this conference and developments within the Conéctate A+ network more broadly as part of the upcoming SUDAC retreat in September. Take a look at the brand new Conéctate A+ website for more information!
As we bid farewell to August, we also say goodbye to Elizabeth McCreary, who so capably took over the MRI communications reins during our Communication Manager Grace Goss-Durant’s maternity leave. Thank you, Liz – and welcome back, Grace!
And finally, on a more personal note, this month the MRI was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our esteemed colleague Professor Konrad (Koni) Steffen, Swiss polar researcher and director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research - WSL. I was fortunate enough to work with Professor Steffen on the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, and his generosity of spirit and his passion and dedication to climate change research and the cryosphere were a real inspiration. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and his colleagues at this time. Those of you who wish to are invited to share your condolences online via this page on the WSL website.
Wishing you all a safe, healthy, and successful September.
Enjoy your read,
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Dr. Carolina Adler
MRI Executive Director
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Coming Up on the MRI's Agenda
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GEO Programme Board Meeting 19
1-3 September (virtual)
2020 Americas Symposium - Better Together: Geospatial Information
7-8 September (virtual)
The swissuniversities Development and Cooperation Network (SUDAC) Meeting
9-10 September, Bellinzona, Switzerland
World Data System Members Forum
23 September (virtual)
SCNAT Landschaftskongress
19-21 October, Lausanne, Switzerland
UIAA General Assembly
23-24 October (virtual)
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With new mountain events added regularly, don't forget to check out our online calendar.
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Last month, over 1,200 participants connected from 37 different countries to participate in the inaugural virtual conference on 'Climate Change, Health, and Mountain Ecosystems and their Governance in Support of Sustainable Development in the Tropical Andes Region - Central America (Andes +)', hosted by the Cluster of Cooperation Conéctate A+ network. The conference was a key opportunity to connect and foster a virtual dialogue and exchange, despite these challenging times for research and collaboration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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To encourage the next generation of mountain scientists to participate in the IPCC’s important work, the MRI collaborated with several partners to organize two group reviews of IPCC AR6 specifically for early career researchers (ECRs). These resulted in the submission of over 3,000 review comments by over 200 ECRs.
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This Special Issue of the journal Sustainability is guest edited by MRI Chair Jörg Balsiger and MRI Executive Director Carolina Adler, and welcomes contributions that address transboundary sustainable mountain governance. Submission deadline is 31 January 2021.
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What are the lessons that can be learned from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and how can these be applied to that other fundamental challenge and risk for humanity, climate change? Find out in our latest blog post, co-authored by MRI Principal Investigator Christian Huggel and originally published as part of The PLOS Collections Blog.
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The study provides a global estimate of rock cover on the Earth’s glaciers, and has revealed that the expanse of rock debris on glaciers - a factor that has been ignored in models of glacier melt and sea level rise - could be significant.
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Research published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, suggests that Greenland's glaciers have passed a tipping point of sorts, where the snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet each year cannot keep up with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers.
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A new analysis of sandstones from Antarctica indicates there may be important links between the generation of mountain belts and major transitions in Earth's atmosphere and oceans.
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Have an idea for a blog post or mountain news to share?
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A year of progress and advocacy for sustainable development in our changing mountains is celebrated in the Mountain Partnership Secretariat Annual Report 2019. Discover new capacity building initiatives and exciting innovations to support mountain communities – and find the Mountain Research Initiative featured on page 5!
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Glacier variations since the Little Ice Age are still poorly studied on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. Addressing this, new research published in Ice and Snow applies the cosmogenic surface exposure dating technique Beryllium-10 to study change of the Chalaati Glacier.
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A more comprehensive list of this month's new mountain publications can be found on our website.
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This proposed Special Issue will showcase expertise in the international research, policy, media, and other stakeholder communities in communicating climate change, and its relevance to the IPCC. Abstract submissions from the mountain research community could look at how mountains specifically have been depicted in climate change communications and the IPCC reports. Deadline 18 September 2020.
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GlacierMap needs your help! This exciting citizen science project from SIGMA Peru is calling for support from the general public to help map glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca of the Peruvian Andes. Take 20 minutes to map a glacier on the interactive app, and help contribute to our understanding of glacier change in the Andes!
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This UN flagship report on worldwide efforts to reduce disaster risk is calling for Contributing Papers. Papers which are selected and which successfully pass peer review will be made available online in an official annex to the Main Report. Abstract submission deadline 4 September 2020.
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Check out the MRI website for more open calls and publication opportunities.
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The SPI Exploratory Grants support Swiss-based scientists active in polar regions (including remote high-altitude regions such as the Andes and the Himalayas) by allowing them to launch short-term new ideas, fund additional field work, or launch new collaborations.
Deadline for proposals is 9 October 2020.
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The SPI Technogrants support Swiss groups developing, improving, or adapting technologies relevant for research in polar regions and other extreme environments, such as remote high-altitude regions.
Deadline for proposals is 9 October 2020.
For 2020, the Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (DARIAH) has selected two streams of funding on 'Arts Exchanges' and 'Arts, Humanities and COVID-19.'
Deadline for submission is 18 September 2020.
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For a full list of open funding opportunities, please see our website.
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German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
The project aims to solve the so-called Darwin’s naturalization conundrum by analyzing the similarity between invading plant species and the recipient community along elevation gradients.
Application deadline 10 September 2020.
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A regularly updated compilation of mountain job opportunities can be found on our website.
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Join the MRI Expert Database
The MRI Expert Database contains over 10,000 people involved in mountain research, management, governmental and non-governmental institutions, and the private sector. Don't forget to add or update your details for a chance to connect with colleagues all around the world!
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