Free, three-day virtual conference focused on sustainable energy and energy efficiency research featuring guest speakers and panelists from Alaska and around the world. Sponsored by the US Arctic Research Commission with cosponsorship by the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.

Several Alaska energy researchers will be featured during a national U.S. Arctic Research Commission conference this week. One of the big topics under discussion will be how rural Arctic communities deal with energy and climate issues. Bruno Grunau is the director of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks. He’s slated to introduce the climate, energy and equity keynote speeches on the first day of the conference.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has approved a government program to support traditional economic activity of small indigenous ethnic groups in the Arctic. Support will come in the form of wider internet access and promotion of local trades and their products on the Russian and international markets. “This program aims to contribute to the indigenous groups’ welfare, reduce unemployment, increase the amount of traditional products and improve the appeal of the Arctic as a tourist destination,” the press service of the cabinet of ministers reported.

In a hall packed with people without face masks, the President highlighted problems triggered by the coronavirus. Infrastructure was high on the agenda, and Putin made clear that it is time to build the Northern Latitudinal Passage. The President’s annual speech to the Legislative Assembly gathered several hundred of Russia’s most prominent politicians, state officials and public figures in the downtown Manezh Hall.

Scientists of the St. Petersburg State University as part of a team of experts from four countries began creating a dynamic model of geological processes, which have continued inside the Earth in the Arctic for millions of years. The model may be used to obtain new data and to analyze existing information on the Arctic’s geology to assess the region’s resource potential, the University’s Head of the Department of Regional Geology Viktoria Yershova told TASS.

Eerie wails, explosive trumpets and ghostly moans. The sounds from the underwater recorders had a story to tell, even without a single intelligible word: the whales had stayed put. The recordings gathered during the 2018-2019 winter in the freezing cold Arctic waters off Canada proved that a population of bowhead whales had skipped their usual migration south.

On March 3, 2021, President Joe Biden designated David Kennedy as Chair of the United States Arctic Research Commission (USARC), an independent federal agency that advises the President and Congress on Arctic Research. “I’m honored to be entrusted by President Biden with the responsibility of leading the USARC, a small, but important independent commission focused on advancing US Arctic research interests for the benefit of the nation. The research recommended by the commission, both basic and applied, helps inform the development of a wide range of public policy, on topics ranging from Arctic residents, climate change impacts, stewardship, security, and sustainable development.”

It will likely be another year before Allison Patterson sees the thick-billed murres on Coats Island again. The McGill University graduate student hasn’t been to the island in the northern part of Hudson Bay since summer 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and that will impact her research on the birds. “The biggest impact of missing years is on measuring adult-juvenile survival, which depends on regularly re-sighting the same banded individuals at the colony year-after-year,” Patterson said.

All through April, indigenous nomadic communities across Russia’s Far North are celebrating one of the most important festivities of the year: the Reindeer Herders' Festival. Observed annually for nearly 70 years, the festival gives nomadic herders a chance to see their extended family and friends, compete in traditional indigenous games and showcase centuries-old traditions to curious spectators from across the country.

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) has released a draft of the Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026 for public review in the Federal Register. The comment period will close on June 11, 2021. The draft plan addresses the most pressing Arctic research needs that require a collaborative approach and that can advance understanding of the Arctic, inform policy and planning decisions, and promote the well-being of Arctic and global communities. Download the plan and learn how to comment at iarpccollaborations.org/draft-plan.html

There are many challenges in building sustainable and thriving communities in the Arctic while addressing the impacts of a warming and changing Arctic landscape due to climate change. As one of eight Arctic nations that comprise the Arctic Council, the United States, under the Biden Administration has called for an increase in international cooperation to address climate change in all facets of its domestic and foreign policy, including the Arctic. Estonia, a close neighbor of the Arctic, is applying for Observer status in the Arctic Council, is committed to mitigating the impacts of climate change, and advancing sustainable development in the Arctic. This discussion will offer an exchange of views by experts from the United States and Estonia on ways to promote collaboration to address the critical issues facing the Arctic, especially in the areas of research, environmental protection, and sustainable development. Chair of the US Arctic Research Commission David Kennedy will speak at this event.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a nomination hearing to consider the presidential nomination of Dr. Eric Lander to be Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

This event is hosted by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. This workshop will be an assessment of the future maritime transportation system of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort sea regions.

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.

DHS S&T's Centers of Excellence (COE) Summit is set and focused on Homeland Security Challenges: Evolving Threats & Dynamic Solutions. This event is a special opportunity for COE researchers to connect and network with DHS components, federal, state, and local stakeholders, as well as industry partners to present current and emerging solutions to threats and challenges faced by DHS. Attendees can visit the Innovation Showcase, where COE and vendor partners showcase research breakthroughs, new products and tools to assist operational decision-makers and dynamic solutions to secure our Homeland.

ADAC will conduct the Center's Program Year 7 Annual meeting to focus on U.S. Coast Guard Project Champions, key stakeholders and the community of Arctic science and technology researchers. Included in the Program Year 7 Annual meeting are planned guest speakers from HQ U.S. Coast Guard, DHS S&T and senior Arctic Research leadership in Washington D.C.

For the first time, a Regional Conference on Permafrost will be combined with the bi-annual 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering. This conference is hosted by the US Permafrost Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Permafrost Association, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network, and the University of Colorado Boulder. A complete list of planned sessions is available here.

Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2022. 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.