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September 9, 2015
 
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capital Today's Congressional Action:   
The House and Senate return from the August recess.  The House and Senate are not expected to consider Arctic legislation today.

Media  
 
New dean selected... Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks announced the selection of Dr. Brad Moran, professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, as the new Dean of the School of Fisheries and Oceans. 
Moran recently served as acting director of President Obama's National Ocean Council and assistant director for ocean sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Earlier, he was program director in the Chemical Oceanography Program at the National Science Foundation.
He earned a doctorate in oceanography from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1990, and conducted his post-doctoral research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
Moran will replace Joan Braddock, who has served as the school's interim dean since Michael Castellini retired in December 2014. More details here.

Arctic Kickstarter. Zac Hamilla, founder of the Arctic Studio (here) has initiated a Kickstarter project (here) titled, "The Arctic in U.S. National Identity." The project will result in a freely available research report on the nature and geography of U.S. Arctic identity and public consciousness. The Arctic Studio is a research organization focused on improving the quality of decision-making in political, economic, and security issues in the Arctic. Hamilla previously created the U.S. Navy's national Arctic intelligence analysis program and served as Principal Analyst for the Arctic at the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence from 2009 to 2014." 87% funded...almost there.
 
Coast Guard Icebreaker Reaches North Pole Unaccompanied, a US First. At 7:47 a.m. Saturday, after 28 days at sea, a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker reached the North Pole, making it the first U.S. surface ship to traverse it on a solo exhibition. It was 21 degrees outside and the crew on the bridge started cheering. The Healy, a medium-duty icebreaker, was there on a National Science Foundation-funded research expedition to document trace elements in every ocean on Earth as part of an international series called GEOTRACES. The ship left Dutch Harbor on Aug. 9 with about 145 people on board, including about 50 scientists from all over the world sampling the Arctic Ocean for the first time. Alaska Dispatch News
 
At GLACIER, Nations Urge Caution in Opening the Arctic to Fishing. As the Arctic opens, several countries are eyeing what may be a virgin commercial fishery in the central Arctic Ocean. How to regulate those new potential fishing grounds was on the table for discussion at the State Department's GLACIER conference in Anchorage last week. Several nations urged caution and the need for more science before opening the fishery. There are five nations whose borders surround the Arctic Ocean - and each has their respective fishing jurisdictions offshore. But none yet extend into the central Arctic Ocean, or what's called "the high Arctic." Alaska Public Radio
 
Arctic Sea Ice Nearing Annual Minimum Extent: Data Center. If you live near Baffin Bay or Hudson Bay, you might have trouble accepting the forecasts showing that this year's minimum sea ice extent, which typically occurs in mid to late September, is likely to come in as the third or fourth lowest in the satellite record. But that's the latest from the Colorado-based National Snow and Ice Data Center, which issued its latest news last week, based on recent satellite images. Sea ice extent remains below average in nearly every place around the Arctic except in Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay, where some ice still persists in sheltered coastal areas, the NSIDC said. Nunatsiaq Online
 
Could Changes in Arctic Precipitation Slow Ice Sheet Loss and Temper Sea Level Rise? In the Arctic, sea ice is melting and leaving larger sections of ocean exposed to air and sun. This phenomenon could fuel increased evaporation, leading eventually to more precipitation in far-north latitudes. Such changes-if they occur-could have important implications for global sea level rise, says Jason Briner, an associate professor of geology in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.Briner is leading a $2.8 million project to understand how rising temperatures and altered Arctic precipitation patterns could affect the Greenland Ice Sheet, the second-largest block of ice on Earth. If it turns out that global warming drives Arctic snowfall, oceans worldwide may not rise as quickly as they otherwise would. That's because increased precipitation could keep more of the world's water locked into the Greenland Ice Sheet as snow and ice. Phys.Org
 
Melting Ice Could Wake Up Ancient Frozen Viruses. Melting polar regions are already causing unprecedented sea level rise but there are other threats besides water buried in the swiftly melting ice. Since 2003, large viruses (longer than 0.5 microns) have been found ensconced in permafrost, a layer of soil in the Arctic that is usually permanently frozen. In a new study published in PNAS today, scientists announced that they were studying a 30,000 year old virus found in the same frigid environment. The ancient virus, Mollivirus sibericum, is able to infect a modern amoeba, which raises concerns among scientists. Popular Science

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.

 

Future Events
  
11th Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies (CHAGS XI), September 7-11 (Vienna, Austria). The study of hunter-gatherer societies has become, since the landmark conference "Man and Hunter" in 1966, a major topic of study within the social and human sciences community. While scholarly foci have changed during the last 50 years, the principle goal generated during the initial conference, to establish a unified field of hunter-gatherer studies, is as valid today as it was then. CHAGS XI hopes to explore how research results since 1966 and new research agendas can be applied for present and future study. 

Eighth Polar Law Symposium Alaska 2015, September 23-26, 2015 (Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska , USA). The Eighth Polar Law Symposium is co-hosted by Alaska Pacific University (APU), the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage (through its Justice Center and its Institute of Social and Economic Research), the University of Washington School of Law, and Vermont Law School, in cooperation with the Arctic Law Section of the Alaska Bar Association. The symposium will be held on both campuses of the University of Alaska. The 2015 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 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.
 
2015 Arctic Science Conference, October 1-3, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The conference theme is "Healthy Estuaries: Sustainability and Resilience." Conference topics include traditional scientific disciplines, science education, arctic social sciences, biomedical research, and artistic interpretation of the evolving North.  Abstract submissions are now being accepted. The deadline is August 1, 2015.
 
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.
 
In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process 2015, November 24-26, 2015 (Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland).When the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the so-called Rovaniemi Process, was adopted in 1991, it aimed at overcoming divisions and turning the zone of Cold War military tensions into a region of peace and co-operation. In this joint effort focusing on the protection of environment, and later, sustainable development, the Arctic states supported by indigenous organizations laid grounds for institutionalized collaboration and the emergence of Arctic regional identity. The second international conference will bring together decision-makers, scholars, artists, designers and students to address these questions and discuss the Arctic in global, regional and local perspectives.

Arctic Encounter Paris (AEP 2015), December 11-12, 2015 (Paris, France) (During the UN Convention on Climate Change - COP21). The Arctic Encounter Paris will take place at the French Senate at Luxembourg Palace and the French Military College, �cole Militaire, in Paris, France, on the final days of the monumental United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) where thousands of global citizens and government delegates will be gathered to deliberate the world's response to our changing planet in Paris. The AEP is the only Arctic policy side event current planned to take place during the UN Convention. A cocktail reception will take place following the closing panel.

3rd Annual Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES 2016), January 15-16, 2016 (Seattle, WA, USA). Building upon the preceding Arctic Encounter event in Paris, the third annual Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES) in Seattle, Washington will convene policymakers, industry leaders, and leading experts to confront the leading issues in Arctic policy, innovation, and development. As the largest annual Arctic policy event in the United States, the AES mission is to raise awareness, engage challenges, and develop solutions for the future of a region and a people. The two-day program includes two keynote luncheons, expert plenary sessions, break out sessions, a networking cocktail reception and seated dinner. A closing reception will take place at the conclusion of the program. The third annual AES at the University of Washington with a dinner reception at the Museum of History and Industry on South Lake Union, Seattle. 
 
Arctic Science Summit Week Arctic Observing Summit, March 12-18, 2016 (Fairbanks, AK, USA). ASSW is the annual gathering of international organizations that support and facilitate long-term planning in Arctic research. In 2016, ASSW will be held in conjunction with AOS, which brings people together to facilitate the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long-term operation of an international network of Arctic observing systems.
  
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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