Arctic Update Header
May 8, 2015

  

Arctic Spring- Arctic Matters: A Smithsonian Festival of the North, May 8-10, 2015 (Washington, DC). The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History will host an educational weekend event celebrating Arctic peoples, cultures, and science. The event coincides with the launch of the United States' 2015-2017 chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the international governmental body coordinating Arctic policy.  When the US last chaired the Arctic Council (1998-2000), the Arctic was considered to be at the edge of the world's concerns. Now it is front and center in terms of environmental change and geopolitical importance. Arctic Spring will feature educational programs including a symposium, science displays and interactives, family events, artifacts and art, cultural and musical performances, and films. Activities will occur throughout the museum over a three-day period. Museum scientists, cultural experts, Arctic residents, government agencies, artists and photographers will present research findings and engage visitors in exploring what is known and still needs to be known about the Arctic, its lands, ocean, animals, cultures, and peoples. 

The US Arctic Research Commission is a cosponsor of this event.

 

Today's Congressional Action:   

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The House and Senate are not in session.

 

 

Media  

 

A Closer Look: Humpback. Forty-five years after the humpback whales were first listed under the Endangered Species Act, federal scientists say that most humpback populations - including those common in Alaska - are stable and growing. Last month the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommended delisting the humpback whale. In this four-part investigative series, Sitka reporter Rachel Waldholz delves into the Endangered Species Act and what possible delisting could mean for the humpbacks. Alaska Public Radio  

 

Murkowski Unveils Energy Package With Several Bills Targeting Alaska Development. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski rolled out 17 new energy bills this week as part of her push to move a major legislative package through Congress this year -- including a handful of bills focused on her home state. Murkowski, Republican chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has the lead in crafting and moving the legislation through Congress. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Arctic sea ice Arctic Sea Ice Extent Down, Thickness Up: Data Center. Arctic sea ice extent averaged for April was smaller in size, but thicker. That's according to the Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center, which has been tracking ice with satellites since 1981. Arctic sea ice extent for the month averaged 14 million square kilometers, the second lowest April ice extent in the satellite record. Nunatsaiq Online

 

The Many Unknowns of Inevitable Arctic Oil Spills. Scientists from around the world have spent decades trying to answer the question: What happens when oil spills in ice? As global temperatures climb and the Arctic sea ice melts, shipping in the Arctic is on the rise and oil and gas companies are eying further development of the vast resources of the North. Inside Climate News

 

ARCUS Selects Rich as New Executive Director. The Board of Directors of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) announced today the selection of Robert H. Rich, PhD, CAE as its Executive Director. He will assume the duties of leading the Consortium's staff on 18 May 2015. Rich succeeds Acting Executive Director Helen Wiggins, who will remain as Director of Programs. The hiring of Dr. Rich, who will be based in the Washington, DC area, allows ARCUS to increase its presence and strengthen its ability to establish new collaborations within the national and international science community. Arctic Research Consortium of the United States

 

Villages Help Assess Climate Effects. There are some new faces in rural Alaska these days, and they're not necessarily a welcomed sight. As a result of changing climate, new species of fish, insects and plants are sprouting up in remote areas across the state. That's one of the transformations noted in a new climate and health assessment report released by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium last month. The latest account focuses on seven communities - Shishmaref, Unalakleet, White Mountain, Stebbins, St. Michael, Golovin and Teller - in the Bering Straight Region, but over the last several years, ANTHC has released several locally-driven studies focused on the Arctic and Southwestern Alaska. The Arctic Sounder

 

2014 NWT Fire Season Report: What You Need to Know. As the N.W.T. heads into its next wildfire season, the territory has put out a report on how it could have handled 2014's record fires better. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources conducted open houses in 24 communities in developing the report, and consulted with aboriginal and community governments and industry, among others. CBC News

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

Future Events

 

The Nordic Region Meets the United State of America: A Shared Arctic Agenda, May 11, 2015 (Webinar). On April 24th, the United States took on the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. What are its priorities in the Arctic Council and what about the all-important challenge: climate change? What is the role of the Nordic countries? Participants include: Karl Stoltz, Deputy Chief of Mission, American Embassy in Denmark; Kenneth Broman, Chief of Staff, Nordic Council of Ministers; Julia Gourley, U.S. Senior Arctic Official; Erik Vilstrup Lorenzen, Arctic Ambassador; Gitte Seeberg, CEO, WWF; Cathleen Kelly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Marianne R�geberg, Head of Arctic Affairs, Nordforsk; Margareta Johansson, Researcher, University of Lund; and, Jakob Nielsen, Moderator, Politiken.

 

Neighbors in the North: Canada, the United States, and the Arctic Council, May 14, 2015 (Bellingham, Washington, USA). The Border Policy Research Institute, the Center for Canadian American Studies, the Consulate General of Canada, and Western Washington University host this event to consider what it means for the Arctic and the US when the chairmanship of the Arctic Council passes from Canada to the United States. 

 

Effects of Oil on Wildlife, May 18-22, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This event is co-sponsored by International Bird Rescue and "Aiuka," which is a Brazilian conservation organization.  The event will focus on polar wildlife issues and integrating wildlife into oil response, etc.  Alaska Clean Seas is also a sponsor.  North Slope Borough will also be a part of this meeting. 

 

IARPC webinar on outcomes from Arctic meetings in Japan (ASSW, ISAR & ICARPIII), May 19, 2015, 3pm EDT. Connect via WebEx or teleconference to learn highlights from Drs. Larry Hinzman (IASC VP) and David Hik (IASC President) from Arctic Science Summit Week, in Toyama, Japan (April 23-30) that involved almost 700 international participants who helped plan future Arctic research.
 

The House of Sweden Conference, May 19-20, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). A two day conference focusing on changes, adaptations and opportunities for a changing Arctic. The conference will be divided into separate, but intertwined thematic segments - policy, science, climate change and green technologies. The conference is organized by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and is aimed at Arctic oriented policy-makers, researchers, business representatives and NGO's in the lead-up to the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Chair of the US Arctic Research Commission Fran Ulmer is scheduled to participate on a panel discussing the Next Steps of Arctic Cooperation.
 

The European Union and Arctic (2015 EU-Arctic Conference), May 29, 2015 (Dundee, UK). The School of Law, University of Dundee, UK and the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Troms�, Norway are pleased to announce the registration open for "The European Union and the Arctic" (2015 EU-Arctic Conference). This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from relevant disciplines such as international law, international relations, political science and marine biology, NGOs, representatives from EU institutions and international organizations to discuss the EU's potential contribution to enhance Arctic governance. A roadmap for increasing the effectiveness of the EU's action in the Arctic will be drawn at the end of the conference. 

 

Polar Research Board Spring Meeting, June 2-3, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). The Polar Research Board is a part of the Division on Earth and Life Studies of the National Academies.  The Polar Research Board will host its spring meeting in Washington, D.C.  Please see the link for the agenda.

 

7th International Conference on Arctic Margins, June 2-5, 2015 (Trondheim, Norway).  The next meeting, the 7th International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM VII), previously announced to be arranged in St. Petersburg, will be held in Norway.  ICAM VII is hosted by the Geological Survey of Norway. The International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) was founded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, formerly the Minerals Management Service, in 1991 with the underlying two-point theme of 1) Arctic understanding, 2) international cooperation in Arctic research. To these ends, ICAM has provided a successful forum for the exchange of information, collaboration in research, and presentation of results. ICAM is organized, hosted, and conducted by scientists for scientists which makes it a unique forum.

 

16th International Congress on Circumpolar Health: Focus on Future Health and Wellbeing, June 8-12, 2015 (Oulu, Finland). The congress will focus on human health and well-being in the Arctic and northern areas. It is open for everyone interested in Arctic issues, especially scientists, researchers, health care professionals, policy analysts, government agency representatives and community leaders. The congress is organized by the Thule Institute, University of Oulu in collaboration with the International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH), the Nordic Society for Circumpolar Health, the Society of Arctic Health and Biology, and the Rokua Health & Spa. The InternationaI Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH) series are arranged every three years in Arctic countries or countries related to Arctic issues. First congress of the series was arranged in 1967, and it was previously hosted by Oulu in 1971.

  

52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, June 10-14, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Animal Behavior Society was founded in 1964 to promote the study of animal behavior in the broadest sense, including studies using descriptive and experimental methods under natural and controlled conditions. Current members' research activities span the invertebrates and vertebrates, both in the field and in the laboratory, and include experimental psychology, behavioral ecology, neuroscience, zoology, biology, applied ethology, and human ethology as well as many other specialized areas.

 

2015 ESSAS Annual Science Meeting, June 15-17, 2015 (Seattle, WA, USA). This symposium, to be held at the University of Washington, is intended for interdisciplinary scholars who will be prepared to discuss their research in the sub-arctic North Atlantic, sub-arctic North Pacific, and the Arctic Ocean that bears on the issue of how changes in sea ice are likely to affect these marine ecosystems. The symposium will also consider the people who depend upon these ecosystems and how they may be able to cope with the changes in the ecosystem goods and services that are coming. These goods and services include the availability of transportation corridors, the availability of subsistence foods, and the opportunity for commercial fishing. To put the present day in a longer perspective, the symposium will include a session on the paleo-ecology of people in sub-arctic and arctic regions that were forced to adjust to changing sea-ice conditions in the past.

  

6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). This biennial symposium, co-hosted by the US National Ice Center and the US Arctic Research Commission, brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic observations, climate change, and maritime operations. Past symposia expanded the discussion to include the impact of an ice-diminishing arctic on other nations and their maritime operations including commercial transportation, oil and gas exploration and exploitation, fisheries, and oceanographic research. The continuing reduction in Arctic sea ice extent remains a central focus. 

 

Polar Law Symposium (8th) will be held in Alaska (Sept. 23-24, UAF; Sept. 25-26, UAA). It's sponsored by UAF, UAA (and ISER), UAA Justice Center, UW Law School. Abstracts due 3/15/15. This year's conference theme is, "The Science, Scholarship, and Practice of Polar Law: Strengthening Arctic Peoples and Places."

2015 Arctic Energy Summit, September 28-30, 2015 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).The Institute of the North's 2015 Arctic Energy Summit builds on our legacy efforts to address energy as a fundamental element of the sustainable development of the Arctic as a lasting frontier.Central to this concept is a focus on providing pathways for affordable energy development in the Arctic and for Arctic communities.

 
The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change, November 3-6, 2015 (La Jolla, California USA.)  The American Polar Society will host this Symposium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  A flyer with a partial list of presenters is available on the Society's website (americanpolar.org) and from the Society's Membership Chairman by email.

Due North: Next Generation Arctic Research & Leadership, November 5-8, 2015 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada). The Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) will convene an interdisciplinary conference of early career scientists working on Arctic issues. The organizers have issued a call for abstracts, due 5/31/15, on the following topics, full descriptions of where are available here, Arctic Communities, Arctic Sustainable Development, Arctic Wildlife, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Arctic Food Security, Arctic Landscapes, Climate Change and Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, Policy, Politics and Leadership, Arctic Environment (Data and Techniques), Arctic Resources, and Future of Arctic.

  

11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016), June 20-24, 2016 (Potsdam, Germany). The Alfred Wegener Institute has teamed up with UP Transfer GmbH and the University of Potsdam to organize a great conference for you, permafrost researchers. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.

  

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