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June 12, 2015

  

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.

 

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 International 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.

 

Today's Congressional Action:   

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The Senate is expected to consider the Department of Defense Authorization Act. The House will consider a number of legislative provisions including the Department of Defense appropriations bill.

 

 

 

 

 

Media  

 

Pentagon - Defense House Passes 2016 Defense Spending Bill. The House on Thursday approved this year's spending bill for the Pentagon in a 278-149 vote. Passage of the $579 billion bill came after the White House threatened a veto of the legislation over insufficient funding levels and controversial policy riders that would prohibit funds from being used to transfer detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay to the United States. The Hill

 

Senate Panel Advances $51.1B Bill to Fund Commerce, Justice, Science. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a $51.1 billion bill Thursday in a 27-3 vote to fund the Commerce and Justice Departments, as well as science agencies for fiscal 2016, which begins Oct. 1. "This appropriations bill is responsible for helping to keep Americans safe and spurring scientific and economic innovation," Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) said. The GOP-led panel adopted an amendment from ranking member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) on medical marijuana in a 21-9 vote. The provision would prohibit the Justice Department from using funds to prevent states with medical marijuana laws from implementing them. The Hill

 

Murkowski Votes 'Nay' on Icebreaker Provision in Defense Bill. In Congress Thursday morning, a U.S. senator proposed adding nearly a billion dollars to a Defense spending bill to acquire an icebreaker - and that senator was not from Alaska. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is normally an ardent advocate for more icebreaking capacity, but she felt compelled to vote against the icebreaker amendment. In the Senate Appropriations Committee, it was Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, who talked up the need for an icebreaker. "The amendment includes $940 million to accelerate a Coast Guard icebreaker. We all know the reality of climate change is having an impact on national security. And the Arctic is a contested region, with China and Russia asserting their interest there. The U.S. is falling behind in its Arctic capabilities." Alaska Public Radio

 

Appeals Court Upholds Shell's Arctic Oil Spill Plans. A federal appeals court Thursday upheld the Interior Department's approval of two oil spill response plans crafted by Royal Dutch Shell for the company's planned Arctic drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit split its vote, 2-1, upholding approval of Shell's oil spill response plans in a ruling Thursday. Environmental groups that brought the lawsuit claimed the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement should have rejected the plans for 2005, 2007 and 2008 leases and required additional environmental reviews. The groups worry that a spill from offshore drilling in the Arctic could have devastating environmental consequences. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Saami Reindeer Herder Takes Suicide Prevention Message to Arctic Health Workers. We must talk about suicide with our friends and family - and receive help from understanding health professionals when we're in need. This was the message contained in a story told by a Saami reindeer herder June 11 to a group attending the International Congress on Circumpolar Health in Oulu. It's a familiar message for people from northern Canada, but this time the messenger was dressed in the traditional blue, red and green tunic of his reindeer-herding community, while he spoke about problems that are as common to the indigenous Saami as they are to Inuit. Nunstsiaq Online

 

UA Fairbanks Leading Way on Arctic Research. What may be the world's biggest conference on Arctic science will be held next March at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. About 800 to 1,000 scientists and government officials from around the world will be gather on UAF's campus, said Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Larry Hinzman. The meeting - actually dozens of meetings and workshops - will happen over the university's spring break, which means dormitory space will be available with students temporarily off the campus. The spillover will be a boon for Fairbanks hotels and restaurants. Alaska Journal

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

Future Events  

 

US Arctic Policy, June 12, 2015 (Montreal, Canada). On April 24, 2015 the United States began its chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a period of two years. The US agenda has three focus areas: economic and living conditions for Arctic communities; Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the impacts of climate change. To discuss these issues and other Arctic geopolitics themes with scholars, students and various stakeholders from the general public, US Special Representative for the Arctic, Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., USCG (Ret.). will be a keynote speaker. This event is hosted by CIRRICQ.

  

AGU and AAAS Film Screening, Panel Discussion, and Congressional Briefing, June 15-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). In celebration of National Oceans Month, the American Geophysical Union and The American Association for the Advancement of Science invite you to view the award-winning film, Antarctica: On the Edge.  The screening and panel discussion will take place on June 15 at 5:30 PM, at the AAAS Auditorium in Washington, DC. On June 16 at 2:00 PM, our panelists will meet again with Members of Congress and special gusts at a Congressional briefing. RSVP by noon on Monday, June 15 at http://events.signup4.com/extremes. If you have any questions, please email Zoe Williams, AGU ([email protected]) or Sara Spizzir ([email protected]).  

 

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. 


104th Meeting of the USARC, August 25-26, 2015 (Nome, AK, USA).

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. The Agenda will be forthcoming. 

 

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.

 

2015 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 16-18, 2015 (Reykjavik, Iceland). 

The Arctic Circle is the largest global gathering on the Arctic. It is attended by heads of state and governments, ministers, members of parliament, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists, and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic. The Arctic Circle highlights issues and concerns, programs, policies and projects; it provides platforms for dynamic dialogue and constructive cooperation. While the plenary sessions are the responsibility of the Arctic Circle, the breakout sessions are organized by various participating partners in their own name and with full authority over the agenda and the choice of speakers.
 
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. Topics will include: 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.

Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting, November 17-19, 2015 (Seattle, Washington). The Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting will be 2.5 days and held at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, Washington. The conference will bring together individuals and teams involved in the collection, processing, analysis, and use of observations in the Arctic - from academia, agencies, industry, and other organizations. The meeting will be convened as a combination of plenary talks, parallel science sessions, and a poster session. The agenda and registration information will be forthcoming.

  

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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