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Media
 USARC Director Receives 2019 Presidential Rank Award. Not many people go there, outside of the Alaskans that live there - but the Arctic region is of vital interest to the United States. Since 1984, the U.S. Arctic Research Commission has been studying the Arctic coming up with research priorities for the region. Now the Commission's Executive Director has received a 2019 Presidential Rank Award. Dr. John Farrell joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio to discuss.
Federal News Network
 The Arctic May Have Crossed Key Threshold, Emitting Billions of Tons of Carbon into the Air, in a Long-Dreaded Climate Feedback. The Arctic is undergoing a profound, rapid and unmitigated shift into a new climate state, one that is greener, features far less ice and emits greenhouse gas emissions from melting permafrost, according to a major new federal assessment of the region released Tuesday. The consequences of these climate shifts will be felt far outside the Arctic in the form of altered weather patterns, increased greenhouse gas emissions and rising sea levels from the melting Greenland ice sheet and mountain glaciers.
The Washington Post
 NOAA Warns of Risks in a Warming Arctic. In the 2019 edition of its annual Arctic Report Card, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns of rapid changes driven by warming in the far north - including changes to the Bering Sea fisheries that provide 40 percent of the annual U.S catch. Arctic and subarctic fish species are shifting to the north, a phenomenon corresponding to a loss of sea ice and warming bottom temperatures. Since 1980, surface air temperatures have risen throughout the Arctic. The annually-averaged land based surface air temperature from October 2018 through September 2019 was the second-highest on record (the highest was in 2016). Every year since 2014, the average has exceeded that experienced between 1900 - when recordkeeping began - and 2013.
Maritime Executive
 2019 Arctic Report Card Warns of California-sized Algal Blooms and Imperiled Livelihoods. Dead seals, marked with bald patches, washing onto shores or floating in rivers. A 900-mile-long bloom of algae stretching off the coast of Greenland, potentially suffocating wildlife. A giant, underground storehouse of carbon trapped in permafrost is leaking millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, heralding a feedback loop that will accelerate climate change in unpredictable ways.
PBS Newshour
The Past Six Years Have All Been the Hottest on Record in the Arctic. Record-breaking temperatures are wreaking havoc upon the land and sea in the Arctic, according to the annual Arctic Report Card from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report card was released Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting in San Francisco. NOAA first began releasing its annual peer-reviewed Arctic Report Card in 2006 to warn of rapid changes in the region and to highlight a few specific trends each year. This year, the report focused upon extraordinary changes in the Bering Sea, particularly in the past two years. And for the first time, Indigenous residents of the Arctic presented their own perspectives directly in the report.
Arctic Today
Arctic Council Creates Ne Expert Group on Nuclear Emergencies. Two fatal accidents during the summer of 2019 was a wake-up call for radiation emergency authorities monitoring northern waters. On July 1st, the nuclear-powered special purpose submarine Losharik catches fire when on mission outside the Kola Peninsula. Six weeks later, a nuclear-powered cruise missile explodes while being recovered from the seabed outside Nenoksa naval weapons testing site in the White Sea.
The Barents Observer
 DNA Recovered from Arctic Lakes Holds Clues for our Future World. High in the Canadian Arctic on Baffin Island, beneath 10 meters of water and many more of mud, sits a refrigerated archive of Earth's past life. The deep sediments in a small lake called CF8 hold ancient pollen and plant fossils. But it now appears that the mud harbors something else: ancient DNA from as far back as the Eemian, a period 125,000 years ago when the Arctic was warmer than today, left by vegetation that otherwise would have vanished without a trace. "We feel confident that we are getting authentic results," says Sarah Crump, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Colorado in Boulder who is presenting the work here this week at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Science
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Future Events
Arctic Frontiers, January 26-30, 2020 (Tromso, Norway).
Arctic Frontiers is a global scientific conference on economic, societal, and environmental sustainable growth. This year's theme will be "The Power of Knowledge," with a pan-arctic emphasis, and
builds new partnerships across nations, generations and ethnic groups.
Arctic Frontiers provides a forum for dialogue and communication between science, government and industry in the Arctic. The
plenary program will have five main sessions with the following working titles: State of the Arctic, The power of knowledge, Robust and resilient Arctic communities, Powered by knowledge, Arctic oceans - distant connections, Sustainable business development. An abstract-driven science program will address Arctic Food Security, Local or Global Arctic? Multi-scaled considerations of connections and remoteness in climate-impacted, Disruptive Technologies and Knowledge-based Development in the Arctic.
ISAR-6: Arctic Research: the Decade Past and the Decade Future, March 2-6, 2020 (Tokyo, Japan). Rapid changes are taking place in the Arctic that impact regional human and natural systems, and affect the global environment. The International Symposium on Arctic Research (ISAR) will meet for the sixth time since its first symposium in 2008 to identify changes in the Arctic environment and society, and to discuss possible future sustainable development. The hosts invite all researchers with interests in the Arctic to participate in this multidisciplinary symposium and share their insights, their challenges, and to explore the possible futures of the Arctic.
International One Health, One Future 2020 International Conference, March 11-14, 2020 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA). This year's conference, presented by University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for One Health Research in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, will host internationally recognized keynote speakers across eight themes. There will be something for all stakeholders - community members, health care providers, state and federal agency employees, researchers, educators and students. One Health recognizes the interdependence of human, animal and environmental health, and that a holistic approach to the well-being of all will lead to improved health outcomes and enhanced resilience.
Linking Experts in Polar Science and Technology, March 12, 2020 (Boulder, Colorado USA). The Polar Technology Conference (PTC) brings together polar scientists, technology developers, and field technicians from academia, state and federal agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. This interdisciplinary space provides an opportunity for technical and theoretical exchange on challenges impeding polar research and field operations. Community input is crucial to ensure that technological infrastructure investments are efficient, satisfy science drivers, and meet field requirements. The conference will address approaches to working and studying in the polar regions, including: terrestrial, marine, atmospheric, and social science disciplines; autonomous instrumentation; observation platforms; and all levels of logistical support.
Arctic Science Summit Week and the 5th Arctic Observing Summit. March 27 to April 2, 2020, (Akureyri, Iceland).
The Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) is a high-level biennial summit that provides a platform to address urgent and broadly recognized needs of Arctic observing across all components of the Arctic system. The theme of AOS 2020 is Observing for Action. AOS 2020 will be held in Akureyri, Iceland (March 31-April 2) and will focus on pressing issues related to the use, design, optimization and implementation of the observing system. To that end, submissions in the form of white papers, short statements and poster abstracts are requested that address any and all aspects of the overarching theme and sub-themes. Currently seeking submissions to the AOS. See link for additional information.
The 7th Annual Arctic Encounter, April 16-17, 2020 (Seattle, WA USA).
The 2019 Arctic Encounter Seattle drew participants and stakeholders from over 20 nations, including over 80 speakers, 27 sponsors, 17 media partners, northern fashion and photography art installations, 13 guest performers, the second annual Far North Fashion Show, live podcast recording sessions, musical and spoken word performances, and over 10 artist exhibitors. The 2020 Arctic Encounter Seattle expects to increase engagement in new sectors and engage participants through policy debates, research presentations, live performances, and more. The Arctic Encounter is the largest annual Arctic policy and business conference convening in the United States, with partnerships and convening efforts worldwide.
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