Arctic Update Header
January 20, 2016

Today's Congressional Action:  
The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

Media  
 
Eni's Arctic Oil Field Approved After Delays and Overruns. A Norwegian regulator on Tuesday formally approved the production vessel at the world's northernmost oil field, Eni SpA's Goliat field in Norway's Barents Sea, which could potentially start pumping next month, over two years delayed and well over budget.
"Eni Norway has been given consent by the Petroleum Safety Authority to start using the Goliat floating production, storage and offloading vessel and related installations at the Goliat field," said Norway's Petroleum Safety Authority, or PSA. Wall Street Journal
 
ocean.jpg World's Oceans are Warming Quicker and Deeper, Scientists Say. The Earth's oceans are absorbing more and more heat from a warming world, and the pace of the temperature rise is increasing with each passing decade, researchers have discovered. In the past two decades alone, the oceans have taken up more than half the increase in heat created by the world's outpouring of greenhouse gases during the entire industrial era, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported Monday following a study of ocean temperature records dating back more than a century. Alaska Dispatch News
 
Drone (firefighting) Play UAV Challenge Game App at Arctic Matters Day. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Challenge mobile game app aims to inspire interest about real science and research opportunities in Alaska. UAV Challenge is a series of missions abstractly based on real research missions executed by the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration ACUASI program. Before, during, or after successfully completing a mission, the player can access links to the FrontierScientists.com website hosting videos with scientists describing their real UAV missions. We look forward to hearing your input after playing this under-construction game app. Expect to fly in the Aleutian Islands counting seals, along the Beaufort Sea sea ice mapping terrain, and in Kachemak Bay over sea otters. Speak directly with Elizabeth O'Connell, Frontier Scientists director, and with app developer Jay Byam, research project assistant, Research Computing Systems, University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Frontier Scientists

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events
  

2016 Arctic Frontiers, January 24-29, 2015 (Tromso, Norway).The Arctic is a global crossroad between commercial and environmental interests. The region holds substantial natural resources and many actors are investigating ways to utilise these for economic gain. Others view the Arctic as a particularly pristine and vulnerable environment and highlight the need to limit industrial development. Arctic Frontiers 2016 will discuss the balance between resource utilisation and preservation, and between industrial and environmental interests in the Arctic. Envisioning a well-planned, well-governed, and sustainable development in the Arctic, how can improved Arctic stewardship help balance environmental concerns with industrial expansion? How can the industrial footprints from future business activities be minimised? And last, but not least, what role will existing and emerging technologies play in making industrial development profitable and environmentally friendly, securing a sustainable growth scenario for Arctic communities?
 
16th Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 25-29, 2016 (Anchorage, AK, USA)A valuable meeting focusing on research results from the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and the Arctic Ocean. Good, in-depth, research from Alaska's marine regions.The agenda is available here. 
 
Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 8-12, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) is Alaska's largest statewide gathering of environmental professionals from government agencies, non-profit and for-profit businesses, community leaders, Alaskan youth, conservationists, biologists and community elders. The diversity of attendees and comprehensive agenda sets this conference apart from any other. Each year there are over 80 technical breakout sessions and sensational Keynote Events. There will be a full week of sessions on climate change, energy, environmental regulations, cleanup and remediation, fish & wildlife, solid waste, and more.
 
43rd Annual Meeting of the Alaska Anthropological Association, March 2-6, 2016 (Sitka, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Anthropological Association will be holding its 43rd Annual Meeting in Sitka, Alaska.  This year it is being organized by archaeologists and anthropologists of the National Park Service - Alaska Region.

5th Annual Fletcher Opening Arctic Conference, March 12, 2016. The Opening Arctic Conference builds on the Fletcher School's Warming Arctic International Inquiry series, to bring together high-level thought leaders from across disciplines, Fletcher's hallmark. Staged annually, Fletcher's event continues to address the foreign policy, economic, environmental and security implications of the opening Arctic, while dispelling myths.
 
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.
  
Alaska Rural Energy Conference, April 26-28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Rural Energy Conference is a three day event offering a large variety of technical sessions covering new and ongoing energy projects in Alaska, as well as new technologies and needs for Alaska's remote communities. Building on the growing success, the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power have joined forces again to organize and sponsor the 10th annual Alaska Rural Energy Conference.   

14th IATS Seminar, June 19-25, 2016 (Bergen, Norway).
The University of Bergen (UiB) is honored to host the 14th IATS Seminar in Bergen, Norway, from Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 June 2016 in co-operation with the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, an academic network with the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Troms� as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.
 
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.
  
Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.
 

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