Arctic Update Header
July 8, 2020


***New this week***   Arctic Policy Study Group - Study Launch, 8:00 to 9:30 AM AKDT, July 8, 2020 (virtual)Commonwealth North.  Please join Arctic Policy Study Group Co-Chairs Mead Treadwell, Tom Barrett, Moire Bockenstedt, Bob Cox, and Gail Schubert and invited guests from our Arctic collaborators as Commonwealth North begins a new look at policies that are shaping the Arctic. We will review the   charge statement  for the study group, hear from the co-chairs and collaborators, and consider the content and schedule for the coming sessions. Register here.
Media

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. Wildfires are spreading across a large swath. In June, fires released 59 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, greater than all the carbon emissions produced by Norway, an oil-producing country, in a year. New York Times
 
Climate Change May Cause Extreme Waves in Arctic. Extreme ocean surface waves with a devastating impact on coastal communities and infrastructure in the Arctic may become larger due to climate change, according to a new study. The new research projects the annual maximum wave height will get up to two to three times higher than it is now along coastlines in areas of the Arctic such as along the Beaufort Sea. The new study in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans suggests waves could get up to 2 meters (6.6 feet) higher than current wave heights by the end of the century. Phys.org
 
arctic shipping Arctic Shipments to Asia Grow as LNG Carriers Shuttle to Eastern Markets. Shipments on the Northern Sea Route continues to increase despite of pandemic and world economic meltdown. In the first half of 2020, goods volumes on the Russian Arctic shipping route amounted to 14,5 million tons. That is an increase of 1,1 percent compared with the same period in 2019, the federal sea and river agency Rosmorrechflot informs on its Instagram page. LNG shipments from Sabetta constitute a lion's share of the goods, and since May a significant goods volume has been shipped also eastwards to Asian markets. The Barents Observer
 
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. Scientists have opportunistically recorded polar bear responses to aircraft, snow machines, track vehicles, heavy machinery, trucks, dogs, and humans afoot within the denning area. The long-term nature of this work and associated human-bear interaction observations represent a unique dataset that provides insight to wildlife managers into the way polar bears have responded to anthropogenic stimuli in active oil fields. Arctic
 
e-internships at the US Department of State. From September to the end of the upcoming school year, the State Department's Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) program will allow selected students to work on projects that advance the work of government on multiple fronts. The specific  VSFS project, titled, " Enhancing Youth Engagement in the Arctic" can be applied to by going to  USAJobs.gov and specifically  here.  Applications may be submitted until July 31. The key requirement for the unpaid e-internship is that applicants must be U.S. citizens and students enrolled in a scholastic institution of higher education. Note that by "Arctic" State Dept. means all of Alaska (any community or issue that is addressed by the Arctic Council or the State Department staff in the  Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs).

Call for Nominations: Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (AICC).  The Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Committee (AICC), a committee of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS), serves a liaison function by providing oversight and advice to the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs and to U.S. research icebreaker operators, for the purpose of enhancing scientific facilities and capabilities aboard U.S. research icebreakers, primarily the USCGC Healy (operator: United States Coast Guard) and the RV Sikuliaq (operator: University of Alaska Fairbanks). The AICC solicits, synthesizes, and presents the needs of the Arctic science community to the icebreaker operators and to the NSF, fulfilling an ombudsman role when necessary and facilitating the efficient and effective execution of scientific research by U.S. icebreakers.  University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System
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 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. 

AGU Fall Meeting, December 7-11, 2020 (San Francisco, California USA). Fall Meeting is the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists in the world. More information will be available at the link.

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.
 

2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost/ 19th International Conference Cold Regions Engineering, July 11-16, 2021 (Boulder, Colorado USA). 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.

USARC header

Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter jmml_blue5_btn.gif

4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 510
Arlington, VA 22203, USA 
(703) 525-0111 (phone)
www.arctic.gov
info@arctic.gov
 
External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site ( www.arctic.gov) do not constitute endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC Web site.