Arctic System Science Conference

Program

The Arctic System Science Conference 2026 is planned for in-person participation and we have capacities for about 250 participants. The conference has teleconferencing facilities for participating in certain sessions, listening to presentations, and giving presentations remotely. However, it is not a fully hybrid event, meaning that not all parts of the conference, such as poster sessions, social events, and local ad hoc discussion groups, will be available online.
There will be plenary sessions with all conference participants in one room, parallel session blocks as part of the scientific sessions, flexible time blocks (i.e., time for ad hoc discussions), and an extended poster session. The core scientific program will be accompanied by side events and other activities focusing on polar research, including a dedicated session for Early Career Researcher Session.

Travel Support Program for Early Career Researchers and Participants from Indigenous Communities

Thanks to the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) we have funding available to support Early Career Researchers and participants from indigenous communities with their travel costs.

Contributions and particpation of Early Career Researchers (ECR) as well as people from indigenous communities is of fundamental importance for the conference and the future of polar science. For this reason the conference supports active participation in the conference by travel support.
The program is open to researchers who are students or within 5 years of receiving their PhD and we highly encouraging participants from indigenous communities (especially by prioritizing travel grants). Award recipients and amounts will be decided by a small committee, based on the applicant's contributions to polar science, contributions to the Arctic System Science Conference 2026 (i.e., session convening, poster or talk, etc.) and need for support (or lack of any other support).

Interested people should fill this travel support application form and send it us via mail. The application due date is given in the key dates table within the general information tab.

Abstracts

Please submit an abstract if you would like to present a poster or give a talk.

As soon as abstract submission is open, you will find a link to the submission webpage (Helmholtz-hosted Events Management service) here.

• Max length: 250 words
• Format: PDF or DOCX
• Language: English

Sessions

A list of scientific sessions with their descriptions will be available below after the publication date specified in the General Information tab. The proposed conference sessions have mainly an interdisciplinary and cross-cutting character. Each session has a short name for easier assignment and findability.
The time tables for session slots (1 time slot = 105 min, default: max. 7 talks with 13 min stage time, see guidelines below) assembled by the session conveners are listed below the descriptions. Most sessions with fewer than 5 presentations were combined in pairs in a time slot to reduce the number of parallel sessions. The list of posters can be found at the bottom of the page.

Note: Session time tables and contributions could change on demand and in justified cases until and throughout the conference week. We will keep this webpage updated. Use the browser search function "ctrl+f" (Windows) or "cmd+f" (MacOS) to rapidly search this website for your contribution. If you have any questions concerning your contribution, do not hesitate to contact us.

Presentation, Poster and FLEX Time guidelines

Oral presentations (talks) are 10 minutes in length plus 3 minutes for questions (13 min stage time each talk). Exceptions from this default are planned and coordinated by the conveners via direct contact with the relevant contributers. Please bring your presentation on a USB stick and in PPTX or PDF format. Keynote is not supported, please convert your presentation into the above-mentioned formats yourself. Keynote speakers will have different time frames, to be agreed upon individually.

Posters must not exceed the size 84 cm width and 119 cm height (~DIN A0 portrait, no landscape!). All poster presenters need to bring their poster printed. We don't have a printing service on-site. Posters will be up from Monday afternoon until Friday. Posters will be put up on site and removed only by the conference team. Please bring your poster Monday morning to the front desk.

FLEX time (incl. side meetings) during the conference are time slots on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon for individual open ad-hoc meetings for all sizes of groups. If you are part of a group of people which like to discuss about a specific topic, the FLEX time concept allows this during the conference and allows other participants to join. You can ‘register’ such a meeting by filling the open fields in an online spreadsheet or by contacting the front desk. The link will be sent to all participants before the conference.
FLEX time slots can be used for side meeting already planned in advance. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need assistance.

We reserved in total 6 rooms of different capacities (10 to 295 seats) at 3 different buildings allowing meetings of each group size. Each room is equipped with video conference hardware to include online participants. Registering a FLEX time meeting is possible any time before the desired time slot online and during the conference by adding the requested information in the online spreadsheet. The conference front desk will assign the rooms and fix the slots. In general, keep the limited number of rooms in mind → first come, first serve! We can not realise more than 6 meetings at the same time. In case of overbooking, we will mark overbook-meetings in red in the spreadsheet and the convener needs to come to the front desk as soon as possible and we will try to find a solution in consultation with you. The spreadsheet will be also visible on screens during the week on site for all participants so that each participant can check it for planned meetings and decide to join a group. If you have difficulties to edit the spreadsheet online on site, please come to the front desk for assistance. Each meeting needs a convener / speaker who needs to give a brief summary (less than 5 min) on Friday in the plenary about the meeting. Here you can summarise the progress of the group or address open questions to all attendees.

Registration

Please register before the conference. As soon as registration is open, you will find a link to the registration webpage (Helmholtz-hosted Events Management service) here.

Venue

The Arctic System Science Conference 2026 will take place on the Telegrafenberg campus in Potsdam, Germany (see map below).

The main venue is building H (green House H in the map) with the large plenary hall and 3 modular seminar rooms. The front desk will be located across from the plenary hall in the foyer of building H. Additional rooms for sessions, side meetings and flexible booking are located in the building A45N and A45S (light blue).
There is a regular bus service (line 691) starting at Potsdam main station and ending in front of the main entrance of building H. You need to buy a bus ticket to use it (e.g., directly from the bus driver with cash). The distance between Potsdam main station and building H are about 1.5 km (15 min) by walking.

Accommodation

Please book your hotel room individually and as early as possible. You don't have to wait until the registration/confirmation process is finished. Be aware of the hotel occupancy rate during spring time in Potsdam. We have no contingents for our conference. Furthermore, please check carefully the possibility of short-term cancellation to avoid unnecessary costs. Another possibility is to stay in Berlin (best near the train stations: Hauptbahnhof, Zoologischer Garten and Charlottenburg). Traveling from Berlin to Potsdam every day takes some time, but there are several trains going regularly.

Food & Beverage

9 Coffee breaks with snacks, 1 evening snack and 1 social dinner are planned and included in the conference fee. With the exception of dinner, all activities will take place on the Telegrafenberg. The 5 lunches will be provided in the local canteen (building H) and need to be payed individually on site. 15 € per day are more than enough for the most expensive meal, a bottle of soft drink, a desert and 1 ice cream portion. There is every day another selection of vegan, vegetarian and meat including meals published at the beginning of the week here: Weekly Meals.

Please note: Payment in the canteen is only possible with EC, debit, and credit cards or digital services such as Apple Pay. Cash is not accepted.