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March 18, 2016
  
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.

Today's Congressional Action:  
The House and Senate are not in session.

Media  

Scientists: Climate Change is Behind Arctic's 'Starting' Winter Warmth. This winter was so unusually warm in Alaska -- and around the Arctic -- that it took even climate scientists by surprise. And it's virtually certain that climate change is one of the factors driving that record-setting warmth. At a Monday briefing during the Arctic Summit Science Week at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, one researcher called the record-high Arctic-wide temperatures posted in January and February "startling" and a major milepost in the long-term warming of the region. Alaska Dispatch News
 
The Vast, Shrinking Northern Glaciers That We Never Even Talk About. We all know that Greenland is losing a lot of ice. If you take NASA's word for it, it's currently losing ice mass to the tune of 287 billion tons per year, enough to raise sea levels the better part of a millimeter annually. Overall, it contains enough ice to potentially raise sea levels by as much as 20 feet. No wonder, then, when it comes to glacial loss and sea level rise, Greenland gets all of the attention (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway). But as new research suggests, it's far from the only major ice loser in the region. Alaska Dispatch News
 
Call for Papers. The Department of Art and Media Studies (Institutt for kunst- og medievitenskap) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Cinema Scandinavia invite proposals for presentations at its forthcoming two-day symposium on Arctic Cinema, to be held between the 21st and 22nd of November 2016 at The Faculty of Humanities, Trondheim, Norway. Symposium on Arctic Cinema
 
Sailors Camp Out in the Arctic. The Navy has set up camp on a sheet of Arctic ice. The five-week submarine drill, known as Ice Exercise 2016, is testing the Navy's operational readiness in the Arctic, while increasing sailors' experience in the region. The Navy hopes the exercise, which began earlier this month, also will advance the service's understanding of the Arctic environment, and develop partnerships and collaborative efforts, according to a Navy news release. Stars and Stripes
 
Is Fishing Truly Sustainable? Many studies have shown that raising cattle and pigs for food is hard on the environment, and fish has long been considered a better alternative. But the work of UC Merced graduate student Brandi McKuin indicates that because of emissions, fishing for large fish like tuna warms the climate just as much as raising pork, pound for pound. Phys.Org
 
Arctic Council Advances Work on Arctic Issues. At a meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, March 15-17, the Arctic Council gathered Senior Arctic Officials (SAOs) from the eight Arctic States, and the six Permanent Participant organizations representing indigenous peoples of the Arctic, to address ongoing efforts on a range of topics of high importance for the Arctic. Much of the discussion focused on the Council's work on climate change and resilience, including its expert group on black carbon and methane, multiple projects aimed at building resilience to climate change in Arctic communities, the "One Health" initiative, and placing the Council's overall work on climate change in the context of the COP21 climate agreement reached in Paris last December. Arctic Journal
 
Scientists, Policymakers Converge in Fairbanks for Arctic Science Summit Week. Hotels are booked up solid in Fairbanks this week, and rental cars are hard to find. Over a thousand people from 30 countries are in the Golden Heart City for a meeting of Arctic scientists and policymakers called Arctic Science Summit Week.One highlight is a meeting of the Arctic Council, a multinational governmental forum created to address the Arctic's pressing issues. KTOO
 
Arctic Floating University Experts to Study Novaya Zemlya in 2016. This year, professors and students at the Arctic Floating University, a research expedition at Northern (Arctic) Federal University, are planning to study the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the Vaigach and Kolguyev islands, Konstantin Zaikov, Director of the Arctic Center for Strategic Research at Northern (Arctic) Federal University, told TASS. The Arctic
 
BOEM Proposes New Rules for Air Pollution From Offshore Oil Operations. The agency that manages oil and gas leasing in federal waters has issued a set of proposed air quality regulations updating rules that have not changed in decades. The proposed regulations issued Thursday by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management cover air quality regulation for offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico and, thanks to a change made by Congress in its 2012 budget, in the offshore Arctic. Alaska Dispatch News

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events
 
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 23-25, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Fairbanks workshop aims to explore recent advances and innovations in indigenous science and scholarship in the circumpolar north and its neighbors. The workshop will bring together indigenous experts and researchers from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds to explore the role and contributions of indigenous frameworks and knowledge systems in advancing fields of science and informing global solutions.

Using an Environmental intelligence Framework to Evaluate the Impacts of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic, March 31, 2016 (Washington, DC, USA). The intensity and extent of ocean acidification in the Arctic will increase rapidly as atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise making the region a bellwether for the global ocean during the next few decades. The environmental changes brought on by ocean acidification could pose a significant threat to Arctic ecosystems that are already facing challenges from changes in sea ice distribution, warming and increased freshwater discharge. New ways of collecting and integrating critical environmental intelligence will be discussed in the context of developing resilience and adaptation strategies for dealing with ocean acidification. This event is sponsored by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States.

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 31-April 2, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Juneau Workshop, organized in collaboration with University of Alaska Southeast Department of Social Science, aims to explore the contributions and potentials of Arctic social sciences in the emerging synergies that involve humanities, natural sciences, and engineering. The connections we attempt to foster reach mainly into two directions within the recent history of Arctic research.

15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar, April 1, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The American Society for Circumpolar Health will host the 15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar in Anchorage, Alaska. This event will include the annual meeting of the American Society for Circumpolar Health, the Robert Fortuine Memorial lecture, and the Albrecht Milan Foundation will provide the Albrecht-Milan Emerging Professional Award to one of the Arctic Health Science Seminar presenters. The call for abstracts is open through Monday February 29, 2016.

The American Arctic: The United States as an Arctic Power in Science, Technology and Security, April 1, 2016 (San Francisco, CA, USA). The Association of American Geographers will host a panel discussion on the American Arctic. In 2015 the United States assumed the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. In recent years, the Federal government began to pay closer attention to the Arctic owing to dramatic environmental and social changes and growing economic interest in the region's vast resources. President Obama became the first sitting US President to visit the Arctic this August. US Arctic Research Commission Chair Fran Ulmer is expected to be a panelist.

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, April 14-16, 2016 (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. This workshop will gather a diverse group of scholars to discuss the state-of-the art in Arctic social sciences and develop visioning scenarios for the future of social science research in the Arctic. The core topics will parallel discussions held at other regional workshops (Portland, OR and Providence, RI), which include: social sciences research and climate change; interdisciplinary research in the Arctic; social sciences and humanities in the Arctic, and applied social sciences research.

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.   

High North Dialogue 2016: The Blue Future of the Arctic, May 25-26, 2016. HND is an annual conference hosted by the High North Center at Nord University, engaging a wide audience of researchers and future leaders of the region. It will address the necessary questions to effectively promote dialogue between interested stakeholders on how to sustainably develop the different realities of the many Arctics. PhD and Masters students can also participate in a week long credit awarding graduate course.

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, May 31-June 2, 2016 (Providence, Rhode Island, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The workshop will bring together researchers working on multidisciplinary natural/social science projects addressing issues of contemporary change in the North with social scientists focused on policy development at a global scale. This focus draws on the expertise of Brown University's Watson Center for International Studies (http://watson.brown.edu ), the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES, http://www.brown.edu/academics/institute-environment-society/about), and the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology's (http://www.brown.edu/haffenreffer) six-decade engagement with northern people and northern heritage.

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.

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Rhode Island, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons.  The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.

Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia).The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.
  
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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