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 Arctic Science Storytelling Webinar With Film Michael Snyder, June 24, 2020 (Virtual). Great stories can change the world, and you have one to tell! Join the Migration in Harmony NSF-Research Coordination Network and our collaborator, award-winning filmmaker Mike Snyder, in this virtual workshop to learn how you should think about your research topics and experiences in the context of a story, how to develop photographer and videographer partnerships, and how to pitch your work to different outlets. The event is hosted by Migration in Harmony. Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN) is an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.
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Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:
If you find yourself looking for a good read, consider boosting your Arctic knowledge with this report.
 (Alaska Ocean Observing System, June 2020)
Bering Science: Spring 2020 Bering Region Ocean Update-Learn What's Changing. The Bering Sea is experiencing many changes. Loss of sea ice and record high ocean and air temperatures impact wildlife and all aspects of life for coastal communities. 2019 saw many notable events, such as unusual mortality of ice seals, whales and sea birds; and changes in movement patterns and abundance of sub-arctic fish species. We created this publication to share what scientists are learning about some of the most striking changes in the Bering Sea region. This report focuses primarily on what we saw in 2019 in the northern Bering Sea, with some information about the southern and eastern Bering and the southern Chukchi.
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Putin's Grand Plan for Arctic Shipping Might Wreck in Barents Sea. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) was again on the agenda as Russia's Arctic Commission convened last week to discuss key developments in the country's north. The Northern Sea Route covers the waters between the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the Bering Strait. The shipping route's development has been a top priority ever since President Vladimir Putin included it in his "May Decrees" in 2018.
The Moscow Times
 Temperatures Above the Arctic Circle Hit Record High. Siberia is baking. In some towns, the weather is 30 degrees above normal. NPR's Rebecca Hersher reports. REBECCA HERSHER, BYLINE: Over the weekend, a town in northeastern Siberia reported a high temperature of 100.4 degrees. If that measurement is verified, it will be the highest temperature ever recorded above the Arctic Circle. But Siberia's current heat wave started months ago.
NPR
Why the Arctic is Warming so Fast, and Why That's So Alarming. On Saturday, the residents of Verkhoyansk, Russia, marked the first day of summer with 100 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Not that they could enjoy it, really, as Verkhoyansk is in Siberia, hundreds of miles from the nearest beach. That's much, much hotter than towns inside the Arctic Circle usually get. That 100 degrees appears to be record, well above the average June high temperature of 68 degrees. Yet it's likely the people of Verkhoyansk will see that record broken again in their lifetimes: The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet-if not faster-creating ecological chaos for the plants and animals that populate the north.
WIRED
Qugruq Celebrates Community and the Gift of the Whale. The bells sounded over Point Hope this spring as whaling captains and their crews brought back to land the many agviq that will feed the community throughout the year. This week, community members came together for Qaġruq, Tikiġaq's summer feast and celebration of that bounty. For three days, residents shared food, dancing, stories and games and enjoyed their time together on the land.
The Arctic Sounder
 Rapid Warming is Probably Behind a Spike in Mercury Levels in Svalbard Polar Bears. Polar bears in and around Svalbard are carrying increasing loads of mercury in their bodies, a sign that rapid warming is releasing mercury previously locked up by freezing temperatures, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, examined nearly 200 hair samples collected between 1995 and 2016 from polar bears on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago and nearby ice. It found that bears' mercury levels, though widely varying, increased significantly over the period. Mercury is a potent neurotoxic pollutant that can accumulate in the bodies of both humans and wild animals and is
linked to a host of ill effects.
Arctic Today
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Future Events
** New this week **
Webinar: Understanding Arctic Disaster Risk and Response, July 15, 2020 (Virtual). Arctic environmental change is creating new hazards, and is shifting how we understand and plan for challenges, from disasters to military strategies. Traditional methods to assess risks may underestimate impacts, particularly when geophysical and ecological changes undermine resilience and adaptability, and when external shocks, like COVID-19, stress systems. Dr. Chad Briggs, a Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will explore tools to develop Arctic risk scenarios, and will discuss security simulations of disaster response in Alaska during the current pandemic. The event is hosted by Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN), an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.
Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (Reykjavik, Iceland). The annual Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic, attended by more than 2000 participants from 60 countries. It is attended by heads of states and governments, ministers, members of parliaments, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, November 21-22, 2020 (Toyko, Japan). Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. While the reasons for these changes in climate largely stem from activities outside of the Arctic, the Arctic is warming at a rate of nearly double the global average. 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. The Third Arctic Science Ministerial will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
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.
Save the Date: 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.
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