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June 25, 2015

 

Today's Congressional Action:   

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The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation. The House is expected to begin consideration of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

 

 

 

 

 

Media  

 

Bowhead Bowhead Whale Spotted Of Hokkaido. First Sighting in Almost 50 Years in Waters Near Japan. A bowhead whale, the thick-bodied species that live in Arctic waters, was spotted in Nemuro Strait off the Hokkaido town of Rausu on June 23. The last sighting of a bowhead whale near Japan was in Osaka Bay in 1969, nearly half a century ago. The "Evergeen" sightseeing boat, run by a local tour company called "Shiretoko Nature Cruise," spotted the whale in waters about 1 kilometer from Rausu port at around 9:30 a.m. on June 23. The Mainichi

 

Hoeven Makes Grand PitchSen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) met with Adm. Bill Gortney, US Northern Command boss, to make the case for using Grand Forks Air Force Base to support US military operations in the Arctic, announced the senator's office. NORTHCOM oversees those activities. "The Department of Defense is working to build the Arctic mission, which is very important because of Russian activity in the Arctic," said Hoeven in the June 19 release. "Clearly Grand Forks can play a major role in this effort, so I've spoken with Admiral Gortney and invited him to come see what we're doing in Grand Forks," said Hoeven of last week's meeting. Grand Forks is home to Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft, which are high-altitude, long-range surveillance assets. The Arctic is becoming increasingly important to the United States, and Northern Command "will need the right tools to secure America's interests and national security in the region," states the release. "Because Grand Forks is closer to some parts of the Arctic than even Alaska, the base is well positioned for a role in this new military undertaking," states the release. Senator Hoeven

 

Trending Science: New 'Arctic-Proof' Drone to Track the Effects of Climate Change. Drones generally get a bad press but there's far more to them than destruction and war - for example drone technology can help save lives in disaster zones reaching places that no humans can tread. Now researchers from Laval University in Canada have revealed another surprising and positive drone application - tracking the impact of climate change in the Arctic. Laval University's Argo drone can survive in the extreme conditions of the Arctic Ocean, plunging depths of almost 2 000 metres to collect data about marine organisms. This means that it can collect previously inaccessible information to improve our understanding of the Arctic marine ecosystem and track the effects of climate change. Cordis

 

Scientific research using unclassified data collected by US Navy Submarines operating in the Arctic . Ann Windnagel, from the NSIDC, and Jackie Richter-
Menge, from CRREL, have written an excellent summary of the SCICEX program, highlighting the contributions of USARC's former chair Captain George Newton (USN retired). See ARCUS Newsletter article (and sidebar on Newton) here, in the Spring 2015 issue of "Witness the Arctic." 

 

Exceptional View of Deep Arctic Ocean Methane Seeps. Close to 30.000 high definition images of the deep Arctic Ocean floor were captured on a recent research cruise. This gives us an exclusive insight into the most remote sites of natural methane release in the world. Over a course of 12 days Dr. Giuliana Panieri and her colleagues from CAGE collected images from 7 areas of known methane release in the Arctic Ocean. One of them was Vestnesa Ridge, with over 1000 active seep sites at the depth of over 1000 m. Dr. Panieri collaborated with scientists and engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's MISO Deep-Sea Imaging Facility. The aim was to get a proper view of the deep Arctic Ocean floor. Environmental Research Web

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

Future Events  

  

6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). This biennial symposium, co-hosted by the US National Ice Center and the US Arctic Research Commission, brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic observations, climate change, and maritime operations. Past symposia expanded the discussion to include the impact of an ice-diminishing arctic on other nations and their maritime operations including commercial transportation, oil and gas exploration and exploitation, fisheries, and oceanographic research. The continuing reduction in Arctic sea ice extent remains a central focus. 


104th Meeting of the USARC, August 25-26, 2015 (Nome, AK, USA).

Attention researchers in the Nome region: USARC (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome . There will be limited opportunities for formal presentations to the Commission, as well as a community comment period. If you would like to share your research (or ideas on research) with the Commission and will be in the area during our visit, please contact USARC's Deputy Director, Cheryl Rosa, at  crosa@arctic.gov by June 30th. The Agenda will be forthcoming. 

 

Polar Law Symposium (8th) will be held in Alaska ( Sept. 23-24, UAF; Sept. 25-26, UAA). It's sponsored by UAF, UAA (and ISER), UAA Justice Center, UW Law School. Abstracts due 3/15/15. This year's conference theme is, "The Science, Scholarship, and Practice of Polar Law: Strengthening Arctic Peoples and Places."

2015 Arctic Energy Summit, September 28-30, 2015 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Institute of the North's 2015 Arctic Energy Summit builds on our legacy efforts to address energy as a fundamental element of the sustainable development of the Arctic as a lasting frontier.Central to this concept is a focus on providing pathways for affordable energy development in the Arctic and for Arctic communities.

 

2015 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 16-18, 2015 (Reykjavik, Iceland). 

The Arctic Circle is the largest global gathering on the Arctic. It is attended by heads of state and governments, ministers, members of parliament, 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. The Arctic Circle highlights issues and concerns, programs, policies and projects; it provides platforms for dynamic dialogue and constructive cooperation. While the plenary sessions are the responsibility of the Arctic Circle, the breakout sessions are organized by various participating partners in their own name and with full authority over the agenda and the choice of speakers.
 
The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change, November 3-6, 2015  (La Jolla, California USA).  The American Polar Society will host this Symposium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  A flyer with a partial list of presenters is available on the Society's website ( americanpolar.org ) and from the Society's Membership Chairman by email.

Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis Meeting, November 3-6, 2015 (Cape Cod, MA, USA). On November 3rd, the 2015 School for young scientists will consider "Regional Oceanography of the Arctic marginal seas" with lectures covering major features of atmospheric, sea ice and oceanographic regimes of the: Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, East-Siberian, Laptev Sea, Kara, Barents and Nordic seas.  On November 4-6, the meeting portion will summarize project accomplishments for the last 3 years of activities and will focus on the formulation of scientific questions and directions for FAMOS future research (2016-2019) to: (a) improve Arctic modeling, employing very high resolution models; (b) develop and test new arctic monitoring/observing systems and (c) improve predictions of Arctic environmental parameters with reduced uncertainties.


Due North: Next Generation Arctic Research & Leadership, November 5-8, 2015 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).  The Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) will convene an interdisciplinary conference of early career scientists working on Arctic issues. Topics will include:  Arctic Communities, Arctic Sustainable Development, Arctic Wildlife, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Arctic Food Security, Arctic Landscapes, Climate Change and Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, Policy, Politics and Leadership, Arctic Environment (Data and Techniques), Arctic Resources, and Future of Arctic.

Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting, November 17-19, 2015 (Seattle, Washington). The Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting will be 2.5 days and held at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, Washington. The conference will bring together individuals and teams involved in the collection, processing, analysis, and use of observations in the Arctic - from academia, agencies, industry, and other organizations. The meeting will be convened as a combination of plenary talks, parallel science sessions, and a poster session. The agenda and registration information will be forthcoming.

  

11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016), June 20-24, 2016 (Potsdam, Germany). The Alfred Wegener Institute has teamed up with UP Transfer GmbH and the University of Potsdam to organize a great conference for you, permafrost researchers. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.

  

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