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No Arctic-science event is scheduled for today.
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[Wilson Center] Arctic Infrastructure Inventory. The Arctic Infrastructure Inventory (AII) tracks infrastructure projects in the Arctic. With nearly 8,000 projects listed, and thousands more that will be added as it grows, AII aims to be a tool and resource for all stakeholders in Arctic infrastructure-including policymakers, industry, researchers, community leaders, and more. (January 2021)
[Congressional Research Service] Report to Congress on Changes in the Arctic. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The seven other Arctic states are Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), and Russia. The Arctic Research and Policy Act (ARPA) of 1984 (Title I of P.L. 98-373 of July 31, 1984) "provide[s] for a comprehensive national policy dealing with national research needs and objectives in the Arctic." The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the lead federal agency for implementing Arctic research policy. (January 2021)
[Department of the Navy] A Strategic Blueprint for the Arctic. America's interests, stretching from Maine in the North Atlantic across the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait and Alaska in the North Pacific to the southern tip of the Aleutian Island chain, are best served by fostering compliance with existing rules to assure a peaceful and prosperous Arctic Region. This forward looking regional blueprint describes how the Department will apply naval power as we continue to prepare for a more navigable Arctic Region over the next two decades. (January 2021)
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Media
Keeping Watch Over Seabirds at the World's Edge. The half-sunk ship looks like something torn off a steampunk dirigible. The masts and stack jag crazily. Doorways gape. Part of the hull, torn off, points skyward a short distance away, leaving a corroded warren of chambers exposed below midship decks. Sea flows through the gaps. This wreck is the Milos Reefer, a Greek cargo vessel that dragged onto the rocks in 1989 and has been marooned here, disintegrating at the edge of St. Matthew Island, a rugged, 50-kilometer strip of land in the Bering Sea far off Alaska's west coast, ever since. "Is that a kittiwake nest?" exclaims Marc Romano, squinting deep-set eyes to his binoculars, as we bob nearby in a skiff. Indeed, a messy puck of mud and grass crowns a mast, lorded over by a black-legged kittiwake, a small, gull-like seabird with black wing tips and a squeeze-toy cry. Hakai Magazine
 Two Icebreaking LNG Carriers Meet in High Arctic in January. The icebreaking LNG carriers Christophe de Margerie and Nikolay Zubov are about to pull off an unprecedented feat: both are transiting Russia's Northern Sea Route in January, and they are on track to pass each other at a location in the East Siberian Sea - without icebreaker escort. The development is a testament to the capabilities of the Sovcomflot-operated Christope de Margerie class, but also to the commercial implications of a warming Arctic, with younger and thinner average ice cover. Maritime Executive
 Arctic Infrastructure Inventory Highlights Gaps and Opportunities. A new online database of Arctic infrastructure launched in December, with the goal of filling an information gap and promoting better development in the region. The Arctic Infrastructure Inventory, a project of the Wilson Center's Polar Institute, lists thousands of economic projects across the Arctic, including energy projects, icebreakers, roads, airports and air strips and hospitals. James DeHart, U.S. coordinator for the Arctic region at the State Department, said that "infrastructure across the region obviously has great importance and implications for national security. And obviously great importance to local communities, Native communities, around the region." Homeland Security Today
Transport Canada to Put New Eyes in Arctic Skies with $36M Drone. The waters of Nunavut will have an extra set of eyes on them in 2023 after the Government of Canada purchased a new surveillance drone last month. The drone, which will be part of Transport Canada's National Aerial Surveillance Program, will have the ability to detect oil spills, survey ice and marine habitats, monitor shipping and help with search and rescue, humanitarian efforts and illegal fishing enforcement, the federal government said in a December news release. Nunatsiaq Online
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Future Events
Breaking Ice Ceilings, Melting Ice Walls, and Imaging a Better Tomorrow, noon EST on January 13, 2021 (virtual). Dr. Julie Decker, the Director and CEO of the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, will present on how we can work with creative and critical practice and practitioners to imagine a better tomorrow and working to co-create with communities, and Dr. Jessica Graybill, Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Russian & Eurasia Studies Program at Colgate University , will address aspects of advancement for non-majority researchers and scholars working in polar fields. This webinar is part of the Breaking the Ice Ceiling webinar series, which aims to illuminate polar research and achievements (past and present) by those who identify as women and to foster discussion on systemic change in polar sciences (Indigenous, natural, and social sciences) to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Register for free here.
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.
Co-producing Arctic Conservation | The Wolf-Pack Hunting Approach, 1:00 pm on February 3, 2021 (virtual). In this webinar, you will learn from Victoria Qutuuq Buschman about co-producing Arctic conservation with Indigenous communities and from Dr. Tayana Arakchaa about Tozhu Hunting Strategy in the Siberian Taiga. This webinar is part of the Breaking the Ice Ceiling webinar series, which aims to illuminate polar research and achievements (past and present) by those who identify as women and to foster discussion on systemic change in polar sciences (Indigenous, natural, and social sciences) to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Register for free here.
 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.
 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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