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No Arctic-science events are announced today.
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Media
 Why are Siberian Temperatures Plummeting While the Arctic Warms? Climate change is warming the Arctic and melting sea ice, yet Siberia has experienced significantly colder and harsher winters for the past few decades. A study published yesterday in Science Advances shows that interactions between melting regional sea ice and the stratosphere-an atmospheric layer spanning about 10-50 kilometers above Earth's surface-play a key role in creating these frigid winter conditions. This stratospheric pathway "significantly contributes to the occurrence of the surface cold events over the Eurasian midlatitude, especially in Siberia and East Asia," Pengfei Zhang, lead scientist on the study, told Eos. Zhang is a postdoctoral researcher in climate science at Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind.
EOS
Research Vessel Departs for Study of 'Black Hole' of Hudson Bay. With an extensive refit complete, the William Kennedy will leave the port of Summerside, P.E.I., Wednesday to explore one of the most understudied regions of the Arctic - Hudson Bay. "Despite being Canada's largest ocean watershed, the Hudson Bay is like a black hole in terms of scientific knowledge with large gaps in oceanographic and near shore studies," Adrian Schimnowski, CEO of Arctic Research Foundation, one of the operators of the boat, said in a news release.
CBC News
A Convoy is Breaking its Way Through Russian East Arctic Waters. There is thick ice on the waters as a convoy of at least four vessels is sailing with west-bound course through the East Siberian Sea. Conditions are complicated and icebreaker assistance is needed. According to the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Institute, major parts of both the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea still have up to one meter thick ice. It is this year's first voyage from east to west on the Northern Sea Route. The shipping season from west to east started in late June when LNG Carriers Vladimir Rusanov and Eduard Toll sailed from Sabetta to the Chinese port of Jiangdu.
The Barents Observer
 Report to Congress on US Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Program. The Coast Guard polar icebreaker program is a program to acquire three new heavy polar icebreakers, to be followed years from now by the acquisition of up to three new medium polar icebreakers. The Coast Guard wants to begin construction of the first new heavy polar icebreaker in FY2019 and have it enter service in 2023. The polar icebreaker program has received about $359.6 million in acquisition funding through FY2018, including $300 million provided through the Navy's shipbuilding account and $59.6 million provided through the Coast Guard's acquisition account. The Coast Guard's proposed FY2019 budget requests $750 million in Coast Guard acquisition funding for the program.
USNI News
 COAST GUARD: Improved Acquisition Portfolio Management Could Help Address Aging Assets and Capability Gaps. The Coast Guard is modernizing its fleets of aircraft, cutters, and other assets, but it continues to lack a long-term plan to guide these efforts. Instead, it relies on a short-term focus of yearly budgets and its 5-year plan. This has led to unpredictable funding and capability gaps. For example, the Coast Guard has identified a need for three heavy and three medium icebreakers, but has only one of each.
US Government Accountability Office
High PFAS Levels Found in Barents Sea Polar Bears. Polar bears that hunt furthest north in the Barents Sea area - part of the Arctic Ocean - have 30-35% higher concentration of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in their blood compared with coastal bears, a Norwegian-Russian study has found. Scientists tracked 152 female bears over a five-year period and analysed their blood samples for concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), PFASs and hydroxylated-PCBs.
Chemical Watch
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Future Events
Seeking Comment: Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic, July 31, 2018 (Webinar). The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) is seeking comment from the public on the draft newly revised Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic. The Principles are directed at federally-funded researchers, though they may be useful to academic, state, local, and tribal researchers in the Arctic. Attend our listening session on July 31 at 11 AM Alaska / 3 PM Eastern to learn more and submit your comments:
here.
More than 750 participants generally register and
participate
in each Congress, and more than 400 scientific papers or posters are usually presented.
UArctic Congress 2018, September 3-7, 2018 (Oulu and Helsinki, Finland).
The UArctic Congress 2018 will bring together key UArctic meetings and a science conference into one single gathering, including business meetings of the Council of UArctic, Rectors' Forum, Student Forum, and Thematic Networks & UArctic Institutes Leadership Team. The Congress is an integral part of the Finland's Arctic Council chairmanship program, and open to the public. The event will highlight the themes and priorities of the Finnish chairmanship, including the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Scientific Exploration of the Arctic and North Pacific (SEA-NorP), September 25-27, 2018 (Mt. Hood, Oregon USA). This workshop will include discussion of hypotheses that can be tested by scientific drilling in the region, the technology necessary to achieve those goals, ideal sites for drilling based on existing data, and where additional site survey data is needed. The goal of the workshop organizers is that multiple proposals will be initiated at the workshop, both for full cruise legs and for shorter, targeted expeditions around the following themes: ocean gateways, geohazards, volatile cycling, ice histories at transition zones, biosphere and climate.
** New this week **
Polar Law Symposium (11th annual), October 2-4, 2018 (TromsΓΈ, Norway)
. This symposium brings together established scholars and post-doctoral and doctoral researchers from all across the world to share research in the fields of polar law and policy. Leading experts are invited to give keynote lectures. A history of the symposium is
here
, news about it is
here
, and registration is
here
.
The second Arctic Biodiversity Congress is hosted by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council, and the Ministry of the Environment, Finland. The second Arctic Biodiversity Congress will build on the success of the first Congress, held in 2014 in Trondheim, Norway, and will bring together scientists, policymakers government officials, Indigenous representatives, Traditional Knowledge holders, industry, non-governmental organizations, and others to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Arctic biodiversity.
Arctic Circle Assembly, October 2018 (Reykjavik, Iceland).
The annual Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic, attended by more than 2000 participants from 60 countries. It is attended by heads of states and governments, ministers, members of parliaments, 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.
Arctic Science Forum Associated with the 2nd Arctic Science Ministerial, October 25, 2018 (Berlin, Germany and via webcast).
How vulnerable and how resilient are nature and the people of the Arctic region? How well do we understand the regional and global dynamics which are driving change in the Arctic? What impact will change in the Arctic have on us? These and other questions are the focus of this two-day conference. It will take interdisciplinary research in the Arctic to gain an understanding of past and future processes - a complex and cost-intensive venture. This makes an international network of Arctic research so important for delivering better results. Cooperation in research, the exchange of data, collaborative observation and monitoring schemes - international cooperation is imperative in research on the Arctic. Only the Science Forum on October 25th will be webcast.
American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, December 10-14, 2018 (Washington, DC USA). The AGU 2018 Fall Meeting will mark another dynamic year of discovery in Earth and space science, serve as the advent of AGU's Centennial year, and provide a special opportunity to share our science with world leaders in Washington, D.C. As the largest Earth and space science gathering in the world, the Fall Meeting places you in the center of a global community of scientists drawn from myriad fields of study whose work protects the health and welfare of people worldwide, spurs innovation, and informs decisions that are critical to the sustainability of the Earth.
started out in 2006 assembling the first global scientific conference on economic, societal and environmental sustainable growth in the north.
In January 2019, the hosts will arrange the 13th conference with the theme "Smart Arctic". The conference has a pan arctic perspective and builds new partnerships across nations, generations and ethnic groups. Arctic Frontiers provides a forum for dialogue and communication between science, government and industry in the
Ar
ctic. In 2019, the Arctic Frontiers plenary program will have five main sessions with the following tentative working titles: State of the Arctic, Blue Growth, Smart Solutions, Bridging the gap and Arctic business prospects. Following the plenary, we will organize an abstract driven science program addressing Plastics in the Ocean, the Future of Governance and Handling Vulnerability in Arctic Ecosystems, State of the Arctic and A Smart Arctic Future.
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year in different locations in the circumpolar area and represent the largest scientific meetings worldwide on circumpolar health. The ICCH congresses serve as the primary source of information exchange and scholarly communication in issues relating to circumpolar health.