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President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts. Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key positions in his Administration... Dr. Julia Nesheiwat, Ph.D., of Florida, to be a Member of the Arctic Research Commission. The White House
  Woodrow Wilson Center Polar Institute- ADAC Arctic Security Dialogues: Toward a US Army Arctic Strategy, 4:00 pm AST on December 11, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Security Dialogues, hosted by the Wilson Center's Polar Institute and Arctic Domain Awareness Center,address a broad spectrum of security issues to include, but not limited to, national security, homeland security, and the many components of civil security. "Toward a U.S. Army Arctic Strategy" is the second program in the series, following the inaugural discussion on the US Air Force Arctic Strategy. The U.S. Army has yet to publish an Arctic Strategy, though one is currently in development. The conversation is expected to included developing challenges, emerging opportunities, strategic priorities and essential components that could influence an upcoming U.S. Army Arctic Strategy. A panel of retired U.S. Army General Officers and security experts will contribute perspectives and suggestions on policy, planning and/or operations for drafters to consider in the development of the U.S. Army's Arctic Strategy.
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Arctic Report Card: Update for 2020. The Arctic Report Card (ARC) provides an annual update on the state of the Arctic's climate and environment as well as highlights of Arctic science news of the past year. ARC2020 features 16 essays, 11 of which provide updates on a wide range of Arctic science topics, from the past year's air temperatures and sea ice conditions to the latest in bowhead whale research. Taken as a whole, across a variety of disciplines and viewpoints, the story is unambiguous: the transformation of the Arctic to a warmer, less frozen, and biologically changed region is well underway. Extreme high temperatures in the Eurasian Arctic in spring and summer 2020 provide a clear demonstration of the strong connections within the Arctic environment that characterize this region. Three closely connected essays examine the acquisition of observational data and their use in modeling to understand physical systems in the Arctic. ARC2020 also marks the publication's 15th anniversary. Two essays reflect back across the evolution of the ARC itself and the tools utilized to help understand the changes in progress. We must report that, like so much else, ARC2020 was altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. A planned essay on the impacts of the changing Arctic on food security from the viewpoints of Indigenous marine mammal hunters from two northwest Alaska communities had to be postponed to a future ARC due to travel and community-related exposure restrictions. (December 2020)
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 Denmark Apologizes for a 'Heartless' Social Experiment that Took Greenland Children From Their Families. Nearly 70 years after 22 Greenlandic children were taken from their families and brought to Denmark to learn to be "role models" for a country that was on the cusp of modernization, the Danish state has formally apologized for subjecting them to an experiment that broke "their bonds to their families and relatives, to their life stories, to Greenland and their people." Today, Greenland is a self-governing member of the Kingdom of Denmark, but, in 1951, when the children were sent to Denmark, it was a colony. Arctic Today
 Increased Shipping Stressing Out Narwhals, Say Researchers: Study looks at blubber to measure the stress hormone cortisol. Researchers have found evidence to suggest increased marine traffic is stressing out narwhals. A new study, discussed on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the ArcticNet science conference, has found the stress hormone cortisol increased in the marine mammals by 200 per cent after more vessels started visiting Eclipse Sound, near Pond Inlet, after 2006. Eclipse Sound, located off north Baffin Island, is home to the world's largest population of narwhals. It's also where the Mary River iron mine project is located. Nunatsiaq News
Beast of the Central Arctic. Starting last year, scientists floated through the Arctic Ocean on an icebreaker and measured the ocean, atmosphere, and sea ice in unprecedented detail. Aboard the ship was a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) nicknamed Beast, which was capable of diving beneath the ice and going on expeditions of its own. Christian Katlein, a sea ice physicist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, operated Beast. Katlein was one of the hundreds of researchers to join the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), which just wrapped up this past October and was the largest polar expedition to the central Arctic in history. EOS
Russia to Recruit Convicts to Clean Up Arctic Pollution. Russia plans to recruit prisoners sentenced to forced labor to clean up pollution in the Arctic, the state-run TASS news agency reported Thursday, citing Federal Prison Service (FSIN) official Elena Korobkova. The announcement follows a string of environmental incidents to hit the fast-warming region this year, most notably a massive fuel spill from a Norilsk Nickel storage tank in May that environmentalists called the largest-ever oil spill in the Arctic. Some 21,000 tons of diesel fuel spilled into the soil near the city of Norilsk and waterways up to 30 kilometers away. The Moscow Times
 Russian Intimidation of Bering Sea Fishermen Shows Gap in Arctic Investment, Sen. Sullivan Says. The second-in-command of the U.S. Coast Guard shouldered some of the blame on Tuesday for incidents in August in which the Russian military intimidated Bering Sea fishermen out of American waters. Admiral Charles Ray told a U.S. Senate panel the Coast Guard knew Russia was conducting a military exercise in the area and failed to tell the Bering Sea fishing industry. KTOO
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Future Events
** New this week ** Arctic Telecommunications and Data Infrastructure: Quintillion's Solution for North America, 2:00 pm EST on December 14, 2020 (virtual). Broadband connectivity is a prerequisite for economic growth, education, national security, and the provision of public services in the COVID-19 era. Yet many communities throughout the North American Arctic lack reliable, affordable, and redundant internet access. Insufficient telecommunications and data infrastructure affect critical defense and homeland security assets and missions, while Chinese and Russian investments in the Arctic continue to grow. The region's dynamic social, environmental, and political landscape requires more advanced, secure telecommunication and data infrastructure. This event is hosted by the Polar Institute of the Wilson Center.
** New this week ** Addressing the Gender Gap in Russian Science, 10:00 am EST on December 15, 2020 (virtual). While Russian women actively participate in hard sciences, there is a noticeable opportunity gap between male and female scientists. In 2019, women made up just 5.3 percent of membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences, and women earn about 73 percent of the salary of their male counterparts. What specific gender-related challenges do women scientists face in Russia? How does it compare to other post-Soviet countries and the West? What is the role of the Soviet legacy, and how do the current national dynamics fit in with the global context? Olga Dobrovidova, Ina Ganguli, and Olga Valkova will address these questions. This event is hosted by the Kennan Institute and the Science and Technology Innovation Program.
Creeping Security in the Arctic? 12:00 pm CET on December 18, 2020 (virtual). Niklas Eklund is an associate professor at the Department of Political Science and Deputy Director at the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University. His research is on public administration, security, leadership and crisis management. He has also contributed to the 'Handbook of Arctic Security' in which he introduce Sweden from a state-based security perspective. In December, Arcum is arranging an online seminar within the Umeå Arctic Seminar series, where Niklas will talk about the creeping securitization in the Arctic. This event is organized by the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University.
** New this week ** Polar Guardians: Coast Guard Icebreaking in the High Latitudes, 3:30 pm EST on December 18, 2020. The Wilson Center's Polar Institute and CASP will host the first public screening of the documentary, "Polar Guardians: Coast Guard Icebreaking in the High Latitudes." The film will be introduced by the Admiral Karl L. Schultz, the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard, who will address both the legacy and the future of Coast Guard missions in the polar regions. An expert panel to follow the documentary's release will feature Fran Ulmer, former chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Admiral Thad Allen, 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
** New this week ** ADAC Customer and Partner's Roundtable, 1:00 PM EST on January 13, 2021 (virtual). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) is a US Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate Office of University Programs, (OUP) Center of Excellence in Maritime Research hosted by the University of Alaska. In accordance with ADAC's "Year 7 Work Plan" ADAC conducts quarterly Customer and Partner's Roundtables. The Center will host its Second Program Year 7.
Alaska Native Perspectives of an Evolving Arctic Environment, 12:00 pm AKST on January 15, 2021. Join AKWorld for this discussion of climate, security, economic opportunity, science, resilience and other implications of a changing Arctic. Whether you are in Florida, California, Alaska, or another state in-between, you have experienced significant weather changes amplified by a rapidly changing Arctic. Come, listen, and join the conversation with two Alaska Native women who have firsthand knowledge and understanding of this important issue for Alaska, the United States, and the World.
2021 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 26-28, 2021 (virtual). The Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) has  been bringing together scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public for over twenty years to discuss the latest marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. Showcasing Alaska's marine science remains the utmost priority despite the challenges we all have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also exploring some additional events (virtual panels, social hours, etc.) surrounding the virtual launch of AMSS 2021, so stay tuned! We are looking for panel ideas Topic ideas may include but are not limited to: coastal resiliency, ocean noise, marine debris, perspectives on changing ecosystems, co-production of knowledge, economics of climate change, and the future of the Arctic Research Post-COVID in local communities. (submit here: https://alaskamarinescience.org/2021-panels).
Arctic Frontiers 2021, February 1-4, 2021 (virtual). Arctic Frontiers  started out in 2006 assembling the first global scientific conference on economic, societal and environmental sustainable growth in the north. In February 2021, we will arrange the 15th conference with the theme "Building Bridges". 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 Arctic.
ALCOM's Arctic Senior Leader Summit, 2021, March 10-11, 2021 (virtual). In support of U.S. Northern Command's Arctic mission, please consider joining Lt General David Krumm, USAF, Commander Alaska Command, Alaska NORAD Region and 11th Air Force and a host of Defense and Security Leaders for Arctic Senior Leader Summit 2021 (ASLS 21) 10-11 March 2021. This event is oriented to addressing senior leader strategic views on the developing range of security and defense matters affecting the Arctic region. Due to the on-going complications of in-person meetings as a result of COVID 19, Arctic Senior Summit 2021 will be conducted via video conference. Day 1 of ASLS 2021 is focused on plenary presentations and follow-on strategic discussions. Day 2 ASLS 2021 is a planned tabletop exercise. Further details and registration to be provided soon via ASLS 21 planning team at the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. Please see: https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Events for more details or email ADAC center leadership at https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Team.
Arctic Science Summit Week, March 20-26, 2021 (Lisbon, Portugal). The Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the  Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Local Organizing Committee will host the Arctic Science Summit Week 2021. The Conference is organized by FCT, Ciência Viva, AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community and by IASC and partners. Framed by the overarching theme for the Science Conference "The Arctic: Regional Changes, Global Impacts," Lisbon invites International experts on the Arctic and Indigenous Peoples to discuss the "New Arctic" and also its impacts and interactions to and with the lower latitudes.
 ** New this Week ** One Health, One Future, April 6-11, 2021 (virtual). This is expected to be the largest circumpolar One Health conference held in the United States in 2021, with participation anticipated from across the Arctic region. The event is part of the United States contribution to One Arctic, One Health, an Arctic Council project now in its sixth year of operation. The project aims to develop a circumpolar network of One Health experts that can share knowledge, conduct exercises, and spur collaborative investigations of One Health phenomena.
2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses, May 3-6, 2021 (Hanko, Finland). Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2021. This symposium will bring together molecular microbial ecologists specializing in different organism groups to share our latest results and discuss methodological problems, as well as future prospects in the field, including practical international collaborations. The environmental focus will be on cryospheric environments including sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost, but excellent research in other polar environments is also invited. The methods to be discussed will focus on 'omics' techniques, ranging from single cells to metagenomes, but research using additional methods is encouraged as well.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan). The  Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. Considering the need for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and repair measures, the relevance of an international Arctic Science Ministerial has never been greater. It is necessary to strengthen scientific cooperation and collaboration among both Arctic and non-Arctic States in order to develop our understanding of the rapid changes impacting the Arctic. The First Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM1) was hosted by the United States in 2016, and two years later, the Second Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM2) was co-hosted by Germany, Finland, and the European Commission. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
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