CRYOEXCHANGE

Scotland has a long and rich history of interaction with the landscapes and people of the Earth’s Polar and high-mountain regions, and possesses exceptional strengths in the study of these globally significant and sensitive environments. By providing opportunities for discussion and interdisciplinary collaboration, CryoExchange aims to leverage this expertise in cold-region physical, biological and social science to address the significant challenges that exist in a time of unprecedented climatic and societal changes. To succeed in this endeavour, CryoExchange will build from the success of previous cryosphere-focused SAGES fora and develop around the following core objectives:

pooling the expertise that sits across Scotland’s academic, industrial and government sectors in topics related to cryospheric change and its impacts on interfacing environments and societies,
identifying strategic areas of potential collaboration within and between research disciplines and stakeholder interests, particularly where cryospheric change impacts society (e.g. natural hazards and risk in deglaciating and thawing landscapes; degradation of built and natural infrastructure; ice sheet dynamics, sea level change and coastal communities; glaciers and permafrost as water resources; integration of Indigenous and local knowledge into broader understanding of climate change impacts and adaptation),
enhancing research and stakeholder engagement in Scotland through facilitating relationship-building and knowledge-sharing opportunities,
supporting collaborative, cross-disciplinary research activities (e.g. development of funding proposals; design and circulation of educational outputs; co-supervision of postgraduate students),
through collaboration and elevation of existing and impactful initiatives, engaging outwardly with the public and specifically connecting to communities that are under-represented within the geosciences, and
amplifying the visibility of this expanded and multi-disciplinary research community with stakeholders (e.g. those managing climate-related risks), with an emphasis placed on communication with the Scottish Parliament, Scottish government and the general public.

To maximise the impact of this forum, its members will seek synergy with relevant, cryosphere-interfacing initiatives and interests within the Scottish government, non-government, academic and industrial sectors. This may include, though is in no way limited to, consideration of policy directions, large-scale initiatives in which Scotland-based researchers play leading roles, and/or arts and culture events. CryoExchange activities will span the Polar regions and mountain environments, and in terms of disciplinary involvement, will consider all aspects of cryospheric science (e.g. permafrost, sea ice, interactions with biology and marine science), and will explore cross-over issues with humanities and social sciences (e.g. glaciers and permafrost as water resources, natural hazards associated with deglaciation, climate change impacts on Indigenous people of the Arctic). CryoExchange looks to offer a home to a broad suite of Scotland’s cold-regions experts, and to foster collaboration within and across the many disciplines who work in these important and sensitive environments.

CryoExchange Science Communications workshop - meeting update

On 21 November the forum hosted two science communication workshops at the University of Edinburgh. Ximena Aguilar Vega (PhD Candidate, University of Stirling) had participants consider the use of creative and emotive approaches to research communication through her CryoPoetry Lab. Guest speakers Helen Millman (World Economic Forum), Damon Davies (Scottish Parliament Information Service) and Craig Smith (Scottish Government) contributed to our afternoon "Science-Policy Bridge" workshop. The three experts shared thoughtful insight into the inner-workings of the policy realm and advice for how researchers can begin to engage with it. Many conversations were prompted throughout the day, with these discussions continuing over the evening and onwards from there!

How do we effectively communicate the excellent cryo-research being conducted in Scotland? CryoExchangers came together at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute last week to explore this, considering creative approaches and the intricacies of the policy-sphere we look to impact. Many, many thanks to all participants and our fabulous guests (Ximena Aguilar Vega, Craig Smith, Damon Davies and Helen Millman).

CryoExchange Science Communications workshop - 21 November 2024

We are very excited to present the forum with 2 x ½ day workshops at the University of Edinburgh's ECCI Building.

The agenda for the day is as follows:

10:30-12:30 CryoPoetry Lab
12:30-13:30 Lunch (expenses covered by the forum)
13:30-16:30 Policy-Ice Bridge (option to join online for 13:30 - 15:00 for panel presentations and Q&A)
17:00-18:00 Pub
18:30-20:00 Dinner (expenses not covered by the forum

We hope that you will join us! Please let us know if you will attend one or both of these sessions, and the post-event social, by filling out this survey

Registration deadline: 16 October 2024.

The SAGES CryoExchange forum kicked-off with a fun and motivating exchange of ideas at the University of Stirling.

We're looking forward to seeing where this group goes next!