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** New this week **
The Annual Five Year Arctic Research Plan is Inviting Public Comment Before the Plan is Written. Here's What you Need to Know, web streaming 10:00 am AKDT, July 14, 2020.
Talk of Alaska will host this radio show.
Security, commerce, climate change and the voices of indigenous communities will all be part of the conversation when building the next five year Arctic Research plan. Which federal agencies decide what it will include and how can you weigh in to help shape the focus of the science? We'll discuss future Arctic research and why it's important, on the next Talk of Alaska.
Guests include:
Fran Ulmer, Chair, Arctic Research Commission, former Lt. Gov. of Alaska
;
Nikoosh Carlo
, Arctic Research Plan Development Director; and,
Simon Stephenson
, Head of the Arctic Sciences Division, U.S. National Science Foundation.
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Human Interaction and Disturbance of Denning Polar Bears on Alaska's North Slope.
Across the central coast of Alaska's North Slope, human-polar bear interactions concern both industry and wildlife managers alike. In response to sea ice reductions due to climate change, parturient polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation are increasingly accessing coastal topography for suitable denning habitat. Land-denning bears are more susceptible to anthropogenic stressors, chiefly in areas with high levels of energy exploration, extraction, and production. For over 30 years, denning polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation have been monitored directly or through opportunistic observations.
Science, July 10, 2020
Changes in Phytoplankton Concentration Now Drive Increased Arctic Ocean Primary Production. Historically, sea ice loss in the Arctic Ocean has promoted increased phytoplankton primary production because of the greater open water area and a longer growing season. However, debate remains about whether primary production will continue to rise should sea ice decline further. Using an ocean color algorithm parameterized for the Arctic Ocean, we show that primary production increased by 57% between 1998 and 2018. Surprisingly, whereas increases were due to widespread sea ice loss during the first decade, the subsequent rise in primary production was driven primarily by increased phytoplankton biomass, which was likely sustained by an influx of new nutrients. This suggests a future Arctic Ocean that can support higher trophic-level production and additional carbon export.
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The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 4.0. Bathymetry (seafloor depth), is a critical parameter providing the geospatial context for a multitude of marine scientific studies. Since 1997, the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) has been the authoritative source of bathymetry for the Arctic Ocean. IBCAO has merged its efforts with the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO-Seabed 2030 Project, with the goal of mapping all of the oceans by 2030. Here we present the latest version (IBCAO Ver. 4.0), with more than twice the resolution (200 x 200 m versus 500 x 500 m) and with individual depth soundings constraining three times more area of the Arctic Ocean (∼19.8% versus 6.7%), than the previous IBCAO Ver. 3.0 released in 2012. Modern multibeam bathymetry comprises ∼14.3% in Ver. 4.0 compared to ∼5.4% in Ver. 3.0. Thus, the new IBCAO Ver. 4.0 has substantially more seafloor morphological information that offers new insights into a range of submarine features and processes; for example, the improved portrayal of Greenland fjords better serves predictive modelling of the fate of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
USARC Larry Mayer was part of this project.
Scientific Data
Russian Mining Giant Report Another Fuel Spill in Arctic. A Russian mining giant reported another fuel spill in the Arctic on Sunday as the company faces an ongoing dispute with authorities over an oil spill from earlier this year. MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC reported a leak in a pipeline that occurred Sunday during a transfer of aviation field in the area of the settlement of Tukhard.
The Hill
 Intense Arctic Wildfires Set a Pollution Record. Intense wildfires in the Arctic in June released more polluting gases into the Earth's atmosphere than in any other month in 18 years of data collection, European scientists said in a report Tuesday. These fires offer a stark portrait of planetary warming trends. The Arctic is warming at least two and a half times faster than the global average rate. Soils in the region are drier than before.
New York Times
A 20,000-Ton Spill is Contaminating the Arctic-It Could Take Decades to Clean Up. After a storage tank in Norilsk, northern Russia, collapsed in late May, 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel was released into the environment. Strong winds caused the oil to spread more than 12 miles from the source, contaminating nearby rivers, lakes and the surrounding soil. The spill perhaps didn't get the international attention it warranted as it happened in the midst of a global pandemic and just a few days after the death of African-American George Floyd, which sparked a wave of Black Lives Matter protests. But the spill was a major disaster with serious implications.
Phys.org
New Churchill Facility Will Give Scientists Great Look at Arctic Environment. The Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO) is nearing completion of its construction which started in 2015. Construction is expected to be done by this fall and the observatory should be operational by November. The $44 million facility is run by the University of Manitoba and will include an Ocean Sea Ice Mesocosm (OSIM), a fully integrated Environmental Observing (EO) system and a logistic base.
Winnipeg Sun
 Satellites Size Up Bubbles of Methane in Lake Ice. According to one estimate, there are more than 3.6 million lakes in the Arctic. They are remote and hard to reach and sample in the field, especially when they are covered with ice during the Arctic's long winters. Yet they are critically important to understanding climate change. As tiny organisms in Arctic lake sediments called archaea break down organic matter, they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methane (CH4) has a heat-trapping power about 30 times stronger than carbon dioxide.
NASA
Coronavirus Hurting Alaska's Attempt to Reduce Tuberculosis. There have been 38 reported cases of tuberculosis in the state so far this year, The Anchorage Daily News reported. A federal report released in March said Alaska had 58 documented cases of the disease in 2019. COVID-19 has complicated the mission of eradicating tuberculosis in Alaska by reducing the public health resources that can be dedicated to fighting the illness caused by bacteria that attack the lungs, health officials said.
Radio Canada International
 Trump Says He's Working to Get 10 More Icebreakers for the Coast Guard from 'A Certain Place.' US President Donald Trump says his Administration is working to secure 10 icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard. He also claimed that these ships would be cheaper to acquire than that service's future Polar Security Cutters, a new class of heavy icebreakers, the first of which is now under construction. This comes just over a month after Trump ordered the Coast Guard to review its existing icebreaker plans and to look into the possibility of buying or leasing additional ice-capable ships, including nuclear-powered types.
The Drive
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Future Events
Webinar: Understanding Arctic Disaster Risk and Response, 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT, 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.
** New this week **
Public Information Session: 2022-2026 Arctic Research Plan Development, 2-3 PM EDT July 20, 2020 (webinar). If you are interested in being part of the conversation on Arctic research planning or are curious about what the Arctic Research Plan is and how it is being developed, please join us for an IARPC Webinar. The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) will share information on the development of the next five-year Arctic Research Plan, how you can get involved, and what kinds of input we are seeking. There will also be time for questions and discussion. All are welcome. Register for the webinar
here.
** New this week **
Arctic Science Coalition Building Webinar with Brett Veerhusen, 2-3 PM EDT July 29, 2020 (Virtual)
.
The most impactful Arctic research is driven by a strong, diverse coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations united by a common mission. In this virtual workshop Brett Veerhusen, Ocean Strategies founder, will share how he has built coalitions in fisheries research, management, and policy action in Alaska, and teach you how to move from an idea to an action plan by building a coalition that gets you to your Arctic research or policy goal.
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.
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.
update on schedule...
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan).
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.
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