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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The Senate is expected to consider S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act. The House is expected to consider non-Arctic legislative provisions.
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Media
 The Luxury Cruise Ship Will Soon Sail through the Arctic. Here's What That Means for Alaska. This summer, an extravagant cruise ship voyage will make history, and it's starting in Alaska. A luxury vessel, the $350 million Crystal Serenity can carry up to 1,070 passengers and 655 crew members, and measures 820 feet long. On board, you'll find a casino, a library, penthouses and shops with name brands like Gucci, Armani and Dior, among other countless amenities. On Aug. 16, the ship, full of creature comforts, will set out to travel through one of the world's harshest sea routes - the icy and isolated waters of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic Ocean.
Alaska Dispatch News
Nunavut Research Institute Looking to Hand Out $2M for Marine Projects. The Nunavut Research Institute is looking to hand out $2 million for projects focusing on marine safety in the territory. This is the first time the research institute has issued a call for proposals for applied research, says Amanda Kilabuk, the coordinator for university studies at Nunavut Arctic College.
CBC News
 Beaufort Sea Polar Bears Are Spending More Time Ashore. And It May be a Wise Move.
As Arctic sea ice dwindles, polar bears are spending more time on land. Now a long-term
study tracks the dramatic change in behavior over the recent warming in the Beaufort Sea off northern Alaska and northwestern
Canada.
Polar bears in the beleaguered southern Beaufort Sea population are now three times as likely to come ashore in summer and fall as they were in the mid-1980s, according to the study, by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two universities. The bears that come ashore are also staying there much longer than bears did in the past, according to the study.
Alaska Dispatch News
Now Trending in DC: Arctic Issues. With Alaska's Arctic attracting increasing attention from policymakers and political wonks in Washington, D.C., Alaska lawmakers hope to turn that attention into tangible funds.
While interest in the region has been slowly growing for some time, several factors have converged to vault it to new prominence in Beltway circles. The United States is working its way through the second of two years as head of the Arctic Council, President Barack Obama is taking a whack at crafting a climate change legacy and private industries are eyeing the prospect of northern shipping routes opened by melting polar ice.
Alaska Dispatch News
In Anchorage, US Attorney General Announces New Focus on Alaska Native Issues. The Department of Justice is rolling out a new focus on Alaska Native issues. In Anchorage [last week] to discuss issues of criminal justice and public safety with Alaska Native leaders, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said it is unacceptable that Native residents are victims of violent crimes at rates much higher than the general population.
Alaska Public Radio
Coast Guard Icebreaker Departs for Arctic Mission.
One of the U.S. Coast Guard's icebreakers is heading north in the pursuit of science.
In
a release last week, the Coast Guard said the cutter Healy, was leaving Seattle on Tuesday for a four-month deployment to the Arctic Ocean.
The Healy's crew will work on three missions "focusing on the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of the Arctic Ocean and its ecosystems, as well as (performing) multibeam sonar mapping of the Extended Continental Shelf," the Coast Guard said.
Alaska Dispatch News
Sonar to Listen for Moving Icebergs Near Arctic Oil Platforms.
Run silent, run deep. There are hidden dangers in the Arctic Ocean. Submerged icebergs and other drift ice can cause serious damage and environmental disasters if they collide with ships or oil platforms. But soon we may be able to hear them coming.
That's the idea behind an ice-monitoring system being developed by Norwegian firm Kongsberg. The plan is to install a fixed array of sensors roughly 200 meters under the surface of the sea that will use sonar to listen out for ice on the move.
New Scientist
Weird Jet Stream Behavior Could be Making Greenland's Melting Even Worse, Scientists Say.
The vast northern ice sheet of Greenland melts every summer, pooling lakes of meltwater on its surface and losing fleets of icebergs from its finger-like glaciers. That's not surprising - it's summer - although in a warming climate, there are reasons to think these melt seasons are getting more intense, pouring more and more freshwater into the ocean. But when a group of scientists
looked back
at the last summer melt season - 2015 - they found something odd and troubling.
The Washington Post
 Russia Unveils New Navy Icebreaker in Arctic Military Focus. Russia yesterday floated a new icebreaker for its navy, the first in about 45 years, in a further sign of Moscow's growing military focus on the Arctic. Built at the Admiralty Shipyards in Saint Petersburg, Russia's second largest city and home to its Baltic fleet, the Ilya Muromets is the first of a series of icebreakers ordered by the defense ministry in recent years.
Malay Mail Online
Iceland Carbon Dioxide Storage Project Locks Away Gas, and Fast.
For years, scientists and others concerned about
climate change
have been talking about the need for carbon capture and sequestration.
That is the term for removing carbon dioxide from, say, a coal-burning power plant's smokestack and pumping it deep underground to keep it out of the atmosphere, where it would otherwise contribute to global warming.
New York Times
Feds, Intertribal Group OK Comanagement Agreement for Kuskokwim River King Salmon. Mike Williams heads a western Alaska Native organization, and he says last month's historic agreement with federal fish and wildlife regulators will ensure there'll be enough king salmon for subsistence users on the Kuskokwim River now and in the future.
KAUC
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
Funding Effective Interdisciplinary Collaborations: NGEE as a Case Study-IARPC Collaborations Webinar Series, June 14, 2016 (Webinar). The Next Generation Ecosystems Experiments (NGEE-Arctic) is a 10-year Department of Energy (DOE)- supported project whose mission is to improve mathematical models that predict climate through advanced understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological behavior of terrestrial ecosystems in Alaska. With a multidisciplinary team of researches from a range of institutions, NGEE-Arctic integrates field and laboratory investigations to inform climate models, ultimately scalable to the region and the Arctic. http://www.iarpccollaborations.org/news/4465
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 Tromsø as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.
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 aim
s at
covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.
**New this week**
Arctic 2020: Building a Sustained Observing System June 28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA and webinar).
With critical past, and potential future environmental changes affecting Alaska and the Arctic Region, the United States needs to rapidly expand long-term observing of the ice and marine environment across the greater Arctic Ocean Basin, as well as conditions across the state of Alaska. This will allow us to better monitor changes across the region, and support stakeholders with improving prediction capabilities for weather, marine ecosystems, sea-ice, and climate. This event is hosted by the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members, policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found
here. (The full link is:
http://wihah2016.com/)
13th International Conference on Gas in Marine Sediments: September 19-22, 2016 (Tromso, Norway).
GIMS 13
promotes the study of natural gas and release systems on a global scale and
facilitates interdisciplinary and international cooperation. The conference
intends to bring together geologists, biologists, microbiologist, geophysicists, oceanographers, geochemists and scientists from modeling disciplines. The forum will provide a platform for current knowledge and future programs in gas inventories, fluxes and their role within the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Conference is organized by CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The
Arctic University of Norway. Abstract submission deadline is May 30th and registration deadline is June 20th. For more information:
http://gims13.uit.no
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Virginia, 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.
Arctic Ambitions V: International Business Conference & Trade Show, October 4-5, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This once-a-year event uniquely focuses on business and investment opportunities flowing from developments in the Arctic. With interest in commercial development in the Arctic growing rapidly, WTC Anchorage initiated the Arctic Ambitions conference five years ago to address issues such as innovation, investment, infrastructure development, transportation, natural resources, and trade. At the event, corporate executives and senior government officials from across the Arctic, and around the world, make presentations and participate in panel discussions. This year's conference also includes a Trade Show and B2B Matchmaking Session. For more information, please contact Greg Wolf (
[email protected]) or call
907-278-7233.
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.
Arctic Technology Conference, October 24-26, 2016 (St. John's, Canada). Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world's most comprehensive Arctic event.
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