Science Chief Breezes Through Democrats' Grilling. House Democrats pressed the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy about what they described as a pattern of undermining scientific research within the Trump administration. But OSTP Director Kelvin Droegemeier, who affirmed his belief in climate science, managed to get through a yesterday hearing mostly unscathed. E&E News

 

How Geopolitics Make the US Navy's Plans for Major Arctic Operations so Complicated. In response to new Russian rules on the Northern Sea Route, the U.S. Navy plans to undertake significant operations in the Arctic this summer, perhaps even a freedom of navigation, or FONOPS, exercise - though the exact nature of those operations remains unclear. But whatever form those operations take, they will be constrained by a complicated - and sometimes contradictory - set of geopolitical factors at work in the Arctic. Arctic Today

 

Trans Arctic Expedition's Final Stage Starts from Vladivostok. The Trans Arctic 2019 expedition's final stage began as the Professor Multanovsky left the port of Vladivostok on Thursday, the local government's press service said. "On Thursday, July 25, the Professor Multanovsky left the port of Vladivostok to begin the final stage of the Trans Arctic 2019 marine expedition," the statement of the press service reads. "The voyage ... will continue for 90 days." TASS

 

Cutter Healy Gets Underway for Month-Long Arctic Patrol. U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (WAGB-20) departed for a months-long deployment to the Arctic Ocean on July 22, the Coast Guard Pacific Area said in a release. The cutter will support multiple science missions as well as Operation Arctic Shield, the service's annual operation to execute Coast Guard missions, enhance maritime domain awareness, strengthen partnerships and build preparedness, prevention, and response capabilities across the Arctic domain. Seapower Magazine

 

Expanding the Knowledge of Arctic Ocean Bathymetry. Scientists from DTU Space, Denmark's national space research institute, have published a paper that reveals the first Arctic bathymetry map using marine gravity. The knowledge of the depth and shape of the Arctic Ocean floor - its bathymetry - is insufficient. Owing to year-round sea-ice coverage and the cost of research in this remote region, much of the Arctic Ocean's bathymetry has remained a mystery, until now, according to a recent publication of the European Space Agency. Bathymetry maps are crucial for studying ocean dynamics, currents and tides, as well as for ship safety. Several campaigns to map seafloor bathymetry through ship soundings have been proposed, but only small fractions of the Arctic Ocean have ever been covered. Hydro International  

 

NORAD Warns of New Cruise Missile Threat as Arctic Opens Up. The commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, Air Force Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, warned Tuesday that the United States faces an unaddressed threat from potential cruise missile attacks originating in Arctic latitudes. The general has previously noted that the Russian Navy has been deploying warships with cruise missiles on Arctic sea lanes, along with regular military aircraft patrols above the North Pole and "up to the edge of U.S. and Canadian airspace." Maritime Executive