During Visit to Unalaska, Sullivan Pushes for Greater Military Presence in Aleutian Island. U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan wants to increase Arctic security infrastructure throughout Alaska. During a short visit to Unalaska last week, he said the island and its port will play a role in that vision. Still, he stopped short of giving any specifics. As Russia and China work to expand their influence in the Arctic, Sullivan said federal officials in the U.S. are finally starting to recognize the strategic importance of the region - a recognition that may result in a greater military presence in the Aleutian Islands. KUCB

 

Refreezing the Arctic: How to Bring the Ice Back with Geoengineering. The Arctic is in a death spiral. The top of our world is heating up faster than anywhere else on the planet, setting new records for the speed and area of ice melt. We are on track this year to have one of the lowest summer sea ice coverages so far. It is a huge problem, because what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic. What's more, the Greenland ice sheet, which alone contains enough water to raise global sea levels by 6 meters, is disappearing. The frozen Arctic soil and sediment, or permafrost, is melting, releasing more and more carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. New Scientist

 

Arctic Lightning: A Bolt Struck Sea Ice Just 110 Miles From the North Pole in June, Making History. The closest observed lightning strikes to the North Pole occurred on June 28 and were 200 miles farther north than the storm on Aug. 10 and 11 that made headlines, a new analysis shows. The data was provided to The Washington Post by Vaisala, which operates a ground-based global lightning detection system. The June lightning discharges were as close as 110 miles to the North Pole, according to the data. These strikes were found when, prompted by the August lightning discharges, Vaisala researchers looked back through their records to see whether there had been any lightning discharges that were even closer to the top of the Northern Hemisphere. The Washington Post

 

Secret Science Plan Still a 'Real Mystery' Agency Adviser. More than a year after EPA leaders ignited a firestorm with a plan for limiting the agency's use of scientific research, they still have no clear answers on how fundamental aspects of the proposed regime would work, according to an update recently provided to an independent advisory panel. The proposed rule, titled "Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science," would bar the agency from tapping scientific studies in crafting major new regulations unless the underlying research data "are publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent validation," according to the text. E&E News