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** New this week** After the Arctic Ice Melts, January 31, 2019 (Anchorage, Alaska USA).
The Arctic has been warming almost twice as quickly as the rest of the planet and its effects can be felt worldwide. Research thus far shows the warming Arctic impacts weather patterns as far away as mid-latitude areas like California by weakening the jet stream. Colder water in the Pacific Northwest is becoming more acidic and unstable for farming shellfish, while melting permafrost and coastal erosion in Alaska is causing infrastructure collapse and loss of biodiversity. Join Alaska World Affairs Council and Former Lt. Gov & Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission Fran Ulmer for a conversation about the arctic, climate change, and the intersections of environmental science and policy.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 28 - Feb. 1 (Anchorage, AK)
. For
over 20 years, Alaska's premier marine research conference
brings together scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public to discuss the latest marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. About 700 people are expected to attend this 4-day long, annual conference.
Each day of the conference highlights Alaskan marine ecosystems: Gulf of Alaska (Tuesday), Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands (Wednesday), and the Arctic (Thursday). Research topics discussed range from ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, to local traditional knowledge. Since its inception, NPRB has been a proud sponsor and one of the leading organizers of AMSS. USARC is a co-sponsor of this event.
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Media
 The Future of the Arctic. The Arctic is changing and what that means for future development, travel, infrastructure and safety is on the minds of not only those who live there, but scientists, policy makers and business leaders. What does smart and sustainable development look like for this remote region and who should make those decisions? Guests include Fran Ulmer, chair of the US Arctic Research Commission.
Talk of Alaska
Burlington's CCIW Scientist Honored for Work in Arctic. Derek Muir's summer spent surveying the tundra for copper ore bodies in the Northwest Territories as a university student, had a profound impact on him. He was charmed by the open country, clean air and great vistas. Thirty years and numerous trips to the North later, Muir, who has worked for Environment Canada at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington since 1997, was honored recently with the Weston Family Prize for Lifetime Achievement in Northern Research.
The Hamilton Spectator
 To Catch a Wave, Rocket Launches From Top of World. On Jan. 4, 2019, at 4:37 a.m. EST the CAPER-2 mission launched from the Andøya Space Center in Andenes, Norway, on a 4-stage Black Brant XII sounding rocket. Reaching an apogee of 480 miles high before splashing down in the Arctic Sea, the rocket flew through active aurora borealis, or northern lights, to study the waves that accelerate electrons into our atmosphere. CAPER-2, short for Cusp Alfvén and Plasma Electrodynamics Rocket-2, is a sounding rocket mission -- a type of spacecraft that carries scientific instruments on short, targeted trips to space before falling back to Earth.
Science Daily
 Ocean Heat Waves Like the Pacific's Deadly 'Blob' Could Become the New Normal. When marine biologist Steve Barbeaux first saw the data in late 2017, he thought it was the result of a computer glitch. How else could more than 100 million Pacific cod suddenly vanish from the waters off of southern Alaska? Within hours, however, Barbeaux's colleagues at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Seattle, Washington, had confirmed the numbers. No glitch. The data, collected by research trawlers, indicated cod numbers had plunged by 70% in 2 years, essentially erasing a fishery worth $100 million annually. There was no evidence that the fish had simply moved elsewhere. And as the vast scale of the disappearance became clear, a prime suspect emerged: "The Blob."
Science
High Ceilings and a Lovely View: Denisova. Over the past decade, the Denisova Cave in Siberia has yielded some of the most fascinating fossils ever found. To the naked eye, they are not much to look at - a few teeth, bits of bone. But the fossils contain DNA dating back tens of thousands of years. That genetic material shows that Denisovans were a distinct branch of human evolution, a lost lineage.
New York Times
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Future Events
Part of the AAAS meeting: Science in the New Arctic: The Converging of Natural and Social Sciences, (February 17, 2019). Organized by Andrey Petrov and Jack Kaye, moderated by Jessica Graybill, and with John Farrell as Discussant. Included talks are "Indigenous Knowledge and Interdisciplinary Science in the Arctic" (Carolina Behe), "Towards Knowledge Co-production in the Arctic" (Dmitry Streletskiy), and "Enhancing International Research in the Arctic" (Paul Berkson).
Arctic sciences are at the forefront of discovery resulting from research that engages indigenous knowledge and connects to policy decisions about the region. This session brings together speakers from various disciplines representing multiple organizations to discuss recent achievements in Arctic sciences with respect to fundamental and policy-focused interdisciplinary and international research. Topics to be addressed include examples of Arctic-based research that crosses regional and disciplinary boundaries, and the key methodological strengths of this research, as well as how Arctic-based research could contribute to disciplines and research in other regions, and the role of funding agencies in advancing this exchange.
 of the AAG includes over 8,500 geographers converging from the U.S., Canada, and nearly 60 other countries in a typical year including geographers, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, and other leaders for the latest in research and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience.
 The 6th Annual Arctic Encounter Seattle, April 25-26, 2019 (Seattle, WA, USA). The sixth annual Arctic Encounter Seattle will engage the topic of innovation in the Arctic, specifically disruptive business and investment models, energy and power, climate research, national security, new economic and trade models, and popular media and awareness movements impacting the Far North. The 2018 Arctic Encounter Seattle drew over 300 participants from across Alaska, the U.S., and the world, including over 100 speakers, 32 sponsors, 11 media partners, fashion and photography installations, a live permafrost exhibition, 13 guest performers, fashion designers, and artist exhibitors to the downtown Seattle waterfront at Pier 66. The 2019 Arctic Encounter Seattle expects to increase engagement in new sectors and engage participants through policy debates, research presentations, performances, and more. The two-day Arctic Encounter Seattle will include an opening reception, two continental breakfasts, two keynote luncheons, a networking reception with Alaskan glacier ice cocktails, and a seated three course dinner including keynotes and live musical entertainment from the Far North. The Arctic Encounter is the largest annual Arctic policy and business conference convening in the United States, with partnerships and convening efforts worldwide.
Save the Date!
Mark your calendars to attend IDA-8, which some have called one of the best Arctic gatherings around. Historically, this biennial symposium was co-hosted by U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) and the US Arctic Research Commission (USARC). In 2019, these partners will join forces with the preeminent Wilson Center's Polar Institute, as a third co-host. The now 2-day symposium will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater, in Washington, DC. The event will focus on a broad cross-section of naval and maritime operations and issues in an ice-diminishing Arctic. The symposium brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic governance, geopolitics, marine operations, infrastructure, science, and environmental observations, from the local, regional, and pan-Arctic scale. Information on prior symposia, including lists of speakers, video clips, and copies of presentations, is available here. Attendance is free, and registration will begin in Spring 2019. The event will be webcast live, and video recorded.
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External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site (
www.arctic.gov) do not constitute endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC Web site.
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