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AC3 2021
October 25th - 28th 2021, Potsdam, Germany
Summary
The (AC)³ Science Conference was organized by the Transregional Collaborative Research Centre TR 172 on Arctic Amplification and took place in Potsdam from the 25th to the 28th of October. The last day was a PhD day. About 100 participants of the conference were mainly affiliated with the Universities Leipzig, Cologne, and Bremen as well as the Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS). Besides the (AC)³ community also a few external scientists, like me, participated in this event and used this conference for networking and scientific exchange - in person - after such a long time of online meetings.
Conference activities and benefits
It was great to meet the (AC)³ community that I partly knew already. This was my first bigger in-person meeting during my PhD (3rd year) due to the presence of the pandemic for most of the time of my PhD. I am very grateful that I finally had the opportunity to present my PhD work in person. On Monday, we traveled with a few people from Bremen to Potsdam by train. After arrival and registration, we checked out the beautiful surrounding. Our hotel and conference location was next to the Templiner See and surrounded by forest. This was perfect for walks during the lunch break or after dinner. The afternoon and evening were reserved for networking events. Thus, we had sufficient time for many conversations. I was very motivated to use this event as a in-person networking possibility and was very happy about the many interesting conversations.
On Tuesday, we had a mix of invited talks and talks by (AC)³ PhD candidates. We had interesting talks about Arctic cloud properties, sea ice, melt ponds, and more! From this, I got a good insight into the different topics of the (AC)³ community, which is rather focused on the atmospheric processes. In the afternoon, I listened to the work of the cross-cutting activities of (AC)³ and we had some free time. Long days of in-person meetings are quite energy consuming and require some recovery time in between.
On Tuesday evening there was a wonderful talk by Esther Horvath about her work during the MOSAiC expedition from a photographer’s point of view. She gave us an inspiring insight into Arctic fieldwork from a different perspective. Many scientists at the conference have experience in Arctic fieldwork and participated in the MOSAiC expedition themselves, but the unique view from an experienced and passionate photographer was fascinating for everyone.
On Wednesday, the last conference day, we had two poster sessions. We had an engaging scientific exchange. I presented my poster on “Leads in helicopter-borne thermal infrared imagery during the MOSAiC winter”. It was a valuable experience for me to receive face-to-face feedback from other scientists. This even led to a few collaboration ideas. The unfamiliar situation of a loud poster hall compared to a silent home office made it quite demanding for most of us. But in the end, everyone was happy and enjoyed the conference very much.
PhD day
For the PhD candidates the conference was extended by one day for an organized PhD event from the (AC)³ community. I was very happy to have one more day to get to know other PhD candidates. It started on Wednesday evening with a fun event: tapas and pub quiz! On Thursday, we discussed different topics on sustainability, mental health, and fieldwork experience. I am glad to have some new connections and will continue the exchange and collaborate with them.
All in all, attending the (AC)³ science conference, as my first bigger in-person meeting, was an important experience for my PhD studies. I had the opportunity to present my work to a new community, get to know new people, interesting work and stories. I benefit from the many discussions and some new ideas for future work.
Linda Thielke