Arctic Update Header
May 12, 2015

 

ATTENTION RESEARCHERS IN THE NOME REGION:The US Arctic Research Commission (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome, Alaska, August 25-26, 2015. There will be limited opportunities for formal presentations to the Commission, as well as a community comment period. If you would like to share your research (or ideas on research) with the Commission and will be in the area during our visit, please contact USARC's Deputy Director, Cheryl Rosa, at [email protected] by June 30th.

 

Today's Congressional Action:   

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The House and Senate are in session and expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

 

Media  

 

Shell in Chukchi Shell's Chukchi Exploration Plan Wins Federal Approval. Federal regulators on Monday approved Royal Dutch Shell's plan to resume oil exploration in the Arctic Ocean three years after a series of mishaps, mistakes and legal problems forced the company to temporarily shelve its drilling program. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's approval for Shell's drilling plans in the Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska is conditioned on additional permits from government agencies and on adherence to special rules crafted for Arctic conditions, officials said. Alaska Dispatch News
 

Scientists Praise Contributions of Dutch Explorers Who Dies on Arctic Ice. Ten days ago, the grinding slow-motion rivers of floating sea ice flowing around Canada's Arctic archipelago claimed the lives of Marc Cornelissen and Philip de Roo, seasoned Dutch polar trekkers combining an adventurous spirit with environmental activism and citizen science. After several recovery efforts were aborted due to foul weather and unstable ice, one body (as yet unidentified) was retrieved on Friday, Canadian police said. But there is little closure for loved ones, and the loss of these men still reverberates through the environmental organizations that supported their work and among polar scientists whose research was aided by the data they collected. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Ocean Currents Disturb Methane-Eating Bacteria. Bacteria that feed on methane can control its concentration once it is released from the ocean floor. This can potentially stop the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere. But ocean currents can easily disturb dinner, according to new study in Nature Geoscience. Offshore the Svalbard archipelago, methane gas is seeping out of the seabed at the depths of several hundred meters. These cold seeps are a home to communities of microorganisms that survive in a chemosynthetic environment - where the fuel for life is not the sun, but carbon-rich greenhouse gas. Environmental Research Web

 

Mercury Buildup in Birds Sounds Warning for All. Western Biology professor Brian Branfireun said the complete extinction of the arctic ivory gulls - of which there are 80 per cent fewer today than in 1980 - may be only decades away due to higher levels of methyl mercury found in the birds. Higher-than-normal mercury levels may be wiping out the endangered gull, but now researchers are warning other species - including humans - are at risk from this deadly neurotoxin. And we have only ourselves to blame. Exchange Magazine

 

Maine Makes Bid to Host Arctic Council Meeting. Here's an example of continental drift, 21st century-style: the state of Maine, on the NE Atlantic coastline of the US, far from the Arctic Circle, is looking to play a larger role in the Arctic and the Arctic Council under the U.S. chairmanship of this Arctic forum. To that end, the city of Portland, Maine, population 66,000, located 2,235 kilometers south of Iqaluit and 7,301 km from Fairbanks, Alaska, wants to host an October 2016 meeting on how to protect the Arctic marine environment. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Researchers Help Resolve Ancient Climate Puzzle. In a study that offers a cautionary message to global policy-makers, a team of researchers from Canada, Australia and the United States has shed new light on a mysterious period of accelerated climate change that occurred 55 million years ago, long before humans appeared. The team's analysis, published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience, concerns the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a relatively brief period in geologic time when Earth's average temperature rose by an estimated five to eight degrees C. The episode is of interest to climate scientists because it offers the best-known natural analogue to human-induced global warming. It also corresponds to big changes in the distribution of animal life around the world, including the first appearance of primates and hoofed mammals in the Western Hemisphere. The Globe and Mail

 

Gov. Walker Signs Arctic Policy Bill. In an Anchorage ceremony, Gov. Bill Walker signed House Bill 1 into law. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, "outlines the state's priorities for Arctic policy," according to an email from the governor's office, "and spells out ways in which the state will attain those priorities." Juneau Empire

 

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No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

Future Events 


 

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.

 

ATTENTION RESEARCHERS IN THE NOME REGION: The US Arctic Research Commission (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome, Alaska, August 25-26, 2015. There will be limited opportunities for formal presentations to the Commission, as well as a community comment period. If you would like to share your research (or ideas on research) with the Commission and will be in the area during our visit, please contact USARC's Deputy Director, Cheryl Rosa, at [email protected] by June 30th.

  

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. 


104th Meeting of the USARC, Nome, AK, Aug. 25-26, 2015.

Attention researchers in the Nome region: USARC (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome. There will be limited opportunities for formal presentations to the Commission, as well as a community comment period. If you would like to share your research (or ideas on research) with the Commission and will be in the area during our visit, please contact USARC's Deputy Director, Cheryl Rosa, at [email protected] by June 30th.

 

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.

Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis Meeting, November 3-6, 2015 (Cape Cod, MA, USA). On November 3rd, the 2015 School for young scientists will consider "Regional Oceanography of the Arctic marginal seas" with lectures covering major features of atmospheric, sea ice and oceanographic regimes of the: Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, East-Siberian, Laptev Sea, Kara, Barents and Nordic seas.  On November 4-6, the meeting portion will summarize project accomplishments for the last 3 years of activities and will focus on the formulation of scientific questions and directions for FAMOS future research (2016-2019) to: (a) improve Arctic modeling, employing very high resolution models; (b) develop and test new arctic monitoring/observing systems and (c) improve predictions of Arctic environmental parameters with reduced uncertainties.


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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