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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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Media
MCON 2016 Mark Brzezinski. White House's Mark Brzezinski spoke to #MCON on "What Happens in the Arctic Does Not Stay in the Arctic" Here is a Youtube of his talk.
 Greenland Lost a Staggering 1 Trillion Tons of Ice in Just Four Years.
It's no news that Greenland is in serious trouble - but now, new research has helped quantify just how bad its problems are. A satellite study, published last week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, suggests that the Greenland ice sheet lost a whopping 1 trillion tons of ice between the years 2011 and 2014 alone. And a big portion of it came from just five glaciers, about which scientists now have more cause to worry than ever. Washington Post
Nunavik Beluga Hunt Plan up for Renewal Soon.
Beluga hunters in Nunavik are in the final stretch of the region's latest three-year beluga management plan, which expires in January 2017. So far, the plan, which launched in 2014, has allocated about 90 per cent of its total allowable take - that's 143.7 of 162 whales. And the region's wildlife board believes the plan has achieved what it set out to do, and that's to give hunters more flexibility in where and when they hunt. Nunatsiaq Online
Melting Arctic Ice and What it Means for Phytoplankton.
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is hosting the next lecture of the 2016 Café Scientifique series on Tuesday, July 26, from 6 to 7 p.m. The lecture, which will be held at Bigelow Laboratory, will be presented by Dr. Ben Twining and will explore the question, "What does melting Arctic ice mean for phytoplankton?" Dr. Twining is the vice president for Research and Education and a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory. He studies the chemical interactions between planktonic organisms and trace metals in aquatic environments. Plankton largely determine the flow of carbon through the global ocean and are the base of most marine food webs. In Arctic environments, reductions in ice area and thickness caused by climate change will alter the growth patterns of many species of phytoplankton. Recording the size and location of phytoplankton blooms will allow Twining and other researchers to model future changes in the populations of these organisms. Boothbay Register
Global and Arctic Temperatures the Warmest Since 1880, Climate Trackers Report.
The world has a fever, prompting climate-change agencies in the United States to sound an alarm July 19 about a 1.3 C increase in the global temperature recorded during the first six months of 2016. The size of that increase surpasses the previous record set in 2015. "2015, as some of you were aware, was a warm year, but 2016 really has blown that out of the water," Gavin Schmidt, who directs NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said July 19 at a news conference. Nunatsiaq Online
 NASA Science Flights Target Melting Arctic Sea Ice.
NASA's Operation IceBridge completed the first research flight of its new 2016 Arctic summer campaign on July 13. The science flights, which continue through July 25, are collecting data on sea ice in a year following a record-warm winter in the Arctic.
The summer flights will map the extent, frequency and depth of melt ponds, the pools of melt water that form on sea ice during spring and summer. Recent studies have found that the formation of melt ponds early in the summer is a good predictor of the sea ice yearly minimum extent in September: if there are more ponds on the ice earlier in the melt season, they reduce the ability of sea ice to reflect solar radiation, which leads to more melt. Alaska Native News
Warming Arctic Could Disrupt Migration Patterns of Millions of Birds.
Millions of birds pass through the Arctic on their annual migration routes. They arrive north to breed, expecting cool summer weather. The effects of global warming can be measured in all corners of the globe, but the Arctic continues to experience the most dramatic rates of climatic change. Soon, researchers suggest, many bird species will find their preferred Arctic breeding grounds unsuitable. Hannah Wauchope, a researcher at the University of Queensland, predicts most Arctic shorebirds won't be able to breed in the Arctic by 2070. UPI
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
Hickel Day of the Arctic- Northern Forum, July 26, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA).
To celebrate our annual "Day of the Arctic," the Institute of the North has organized a special luncheon featuring speakers from the Northern Forum, an intergovernmental, subnational platform for advancing sustainable development in the Arctic. Speakers include: Mr. Byron Mallott, Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska; Mr. Yuri Zakharinsky, Vice-Governor of Krasnoyarsky Krai, Chair of the RCC; Mr. Alexander Mazharov, Vice-Governor of Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Okrug; Mr. Alexander Zhirkov, Speaker of the Parliament of Sakha Republic; Mr. Leonid Nikolaev, First Vice-Governor of Chukotsky Autonomous Okrug.
** New this week **
CMTS Speaker Series, August 4, 2016 (Washington, DC USA).
There will be presentation under the US Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) Speaker Series by Ms. Susan "Sudie" Hargis, Tribal Liaison for US Coast Guard District 17, Alaska. It will be held Thursday, August 4, 2016, 10:30 a.m. to Noon at the US Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC. A webinar option is also available. Please see the attached notice for CMTS contact and webinar access information or contact
[email protected]
. Ms. Hargis is extremely well-respected in her work with the US Coast Guard and will share her expertise with Alaskan and Arctic Tribal outreach and engagement. I encourage you to join this timely presentation as we all seek to support the President's Arctic initiatives for Tribal outreach.
Hosted by Saint Petersburg State University, the UArctic Congress 2016 will feature Science and Meeting sections, including:
- Acclaimed keynote speakers and scientific experts presenting their latest research.
- Parallel sessions on an array of Arctic science, policy, and education topics.
- Formal meetings for representatives of the Council of UArctic and UArctic Rectors' Forum.
- Pre-Meetings to foster contacts and enhance networking.
- Opportunities for promoting and marketing your organization and activities.
- A UArctic Student Forum with workshops.
- A Cultural and Social program like no other.
The 2016 UArctic Rectors' Forum and the 19th annual meeting of the Council of UArctic form an integral part of the congress.
Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members, policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found
here. (The full link is:
http://wihah2016.com/)
13th International Conference on Gas in Marine Sediments: September 19-22, 2016 (Tromso, Norway).
GIMS 13
promotes the study of natural gas and release systems on a global scale and
facilitates interdisciplinary and international cooperation. The conference
intends to bring together geologists, biologists, microbiologist, geophysicists, oceanographers, geochemists and scientists from modeling disciplines. The forum will provide a platform for current knowledge and future programs in gas inventories, fluxes and their role within the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Conference is organized by CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The
Arctic University of Norway. Abstract submission deadline is May 30th and registration deadline is June 20th. For more information:
http://gims13.uit.no
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Virginia, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.
Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia).
The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.
Arctic Ambitions V: International Business Conference & Trade Show, October 4-5, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This once-a-year event uniquely focuses on business and investment opportunities flowing from developments in the Arctic. With interest in commercial development in the Arctic growing rapidly, WTC Anchorage initiated the Arctic Ambitions conference five years ago to address issues such as innovation, investment, infrastructure development, transportation, natural resources, and trade. At the event, corporate executives and senior government officials from across the Arctic, and around the world, make presentations and participate in panel discussions. This year's conference also includes a Trade Show and B2B Matchmaking Session. For more information, please contact Greg Wolf (
[email protected]) or call
907-278-7233.
Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.
Arctic Technology Conference, October 24-26, 2016 (St. John's, Canada). Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world's most comprehensive Arctic event.
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