Trump's New Arctic Policy Has a Familiar Ring. The Trump administration was slow to turn its attention to the Arctic region, a state of affairs that those in the narrow Arctic policy domain did not necessarily bemoan. You could see it during Arctic conferences in 2017 and early 2018, when someone, usually a European, would ask an American, "Would you like to see the Trump administration more engaged on Arctic policy?" The answer was always hemming and hawing, and artful dodging. Given the politically charged issues that comprise the Arctic policy realm-climate change, relations with Russia and China, environmental issues, governmental relations with Indigenous peoples-many felt that a lack of political limelight helped preserve international cooperation and hard-won "Arctic exceptionalism." Defense One

 

Hot Summers Causing Arctic Sinkholes as Permafrost Thaws Rapidly: Study. Arctic sinkholes are appearing across the Canadian High Arctic as permafrost -- ice expected to be frozen year-round -- thaws and collapses due to climate change, according to research published Monday. Researchers found maximum thaw depths had already exceeded what they had expected to occur by 2090, according to the report published in Geophysical Research Letters journal. CNN

Here Comes Russia's Next Grand Arctic Seaport. The Utrenny terminal is built to handle shipments to and from the Arctic LNG 2 project. This week, it was approved by a state expert commission. The building process will proceed in seven stages, the first three of which will include the building of state-owned infrastructure objects, GLavgosexpertiza informs. That includes a major ship channel through the nearby shallow waters of the Ob Bay and the installment of navigational equipment. Barents Observer

 

UNCW Scientists Study Arctic Ecosystems to Advance Sea Ice Research. Eight UNCW scientists are on the brink of making major breakthroughs in sea ice research. Till Wagner, Heather Koopman, Andrew Castagno, Elizabeth Bailey, Connor Lester and Hillary Glandon, David Wells and Yvonne Marsan participated in the 3-week research trip last month to the Fram Strait in the Arctic Ocean. It was focused on learning more about the spring bloom of plankton at the edge of that ocean. WWAY NewsChannel 3

 

Canada's UN Submission Will-Eventually-Draw the Last Lines on the Map. In May 2019, Canada made a partial submission to the United Nations to recognize an extended continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Arctic Ocean. This means that Canada will soon have the last lines drawn on the map of Canada. Canada's submission was made to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) under Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Nunatsiaq Online