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 Department of Energy Partners With CCHRC to Expand Research Capabilities in Alaska's Extreme Weather Conditions. Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the expansion of its research capabilities in harsh climates through a collaboration with Alaska's Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). CCHRC staff will become NREL employees through this expanded partnership. Based in Fairbanks, Alaska, CCHRC's mission is to promote and advance the development of healthy, durable, and sustainable homes for Alaskans and other circumpolar people who live in some of the harshest conditions on Earth.
Department of Energy
Expert: The Arctic Needs a Network of Marine Reserves. Pursuant to the international Convention on Biological Diversity adopted by Russia, the size of marine protected areas shall reach 10 percent of its exclusive economic zone by 2020. Currently, this indicator is about 2.4 percent, as Director of WWF Russia Dmitry Gorshkov said in his interview on the Future of Russia: National Projects website. "We have room for improvement, not only to increase the indicator, but also to preserve unique seas important for the entire planet. And no one should think that strict bans will be put on any economic activity. We need to take a reasonable approach to laying out protected areas and finding a balance between nature conservation and economic development <...> Indeed, the main objective of our work is to keep the harmony between nature and humans," he stressed.
The Arctic
Concerns Oil Spill From Siberia Could Reach Arctic Ocean. A Russian environmentalist has warned that a recent oil spill in Siberia could reach the Kara Sea, which forms part of the Arctic Ocean. The spill happened on May 29 at a power plant about 2,900 kilometers northeast of Moscow. An estimated 18,143 tonnes of diesel fuel was spilled from the power plant's storage facility, contaminating waterways.
SBS News
 Inuit Women in Canada's Arctic Suffer 'Unnecessary Violence' From Police, Legal Aid Board Says. The Legal Services Board of Nunavut says it has "significant concerns" about the quality of policing and conduct of officers as reported by its Inuit clients in Nunavut's 25 communities. The board is calling for a systemic review of policing in Nunavut. The allegations include "repeated and systematic instances of unnecessary violence," and a lack of oversight and training specific to Inuit culture.
Radio Canada International
Nunavut Declares Whooping Cough Outbreak in Sanikiluaq. The Government of Nunavut has declared an outbreak of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in Sanikiluaq. The government first announced a public health advisory following the discovery of a case of pertussis in the Hudson Bay community on May 28, but has not until now called it an outbreak. "There's more cases and we're aware of transmission ... so it's now an outbreak," said Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavut's chief medical officer, during the Government of Nunavut's news conference on COVID-19 on Monday, June 8.
Nunatsiaq Online
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Future Events
ICESAT-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek, June 15-19, 2020 (Virtual). ICESat-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek is a 5-day hackweek to be held at the University of Washington. Participants will learn about technologies used to access and process ICESat-2 data with a focus on the cryosphere. Mornings will consist of interactive lectures, and afternoon sessions will involve facilitated exploration of datasets and hands-on software development.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial Research Community Workshops, June 15, 2020 (virtual)
.
Organizers invite participation in an online workshop to discuss topics and ideas that participants think are important for policy makers and the Arctic Science Ministers to better understand and prioritize at the Third Arctic Science Ministerial
(ASM3)
.
Bringing together States, Arctic Indigenous participants, and international organizations, ASM3 aims to take action on coordinated Arctic observing, research, and education in an open and transparent format which includes all Arctic stakeholders.
Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop, June 16-17, 2020 (Virtual)
.
The first virtual Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop co-hosted by the
Alaska Center for Energy and Power
and the
U.S. Arctic Research Commission is to be held
June 16-17, 2020 (9 am to 1 pm AKDT)
.
The goal of the workshop is to connect stakeholders and help develop a clearer vision of electric vehicle research and policy priorities for Alaska and the Arctic.
Local, national, and international speakers will engage with each other, as well as  audience members, on topics including vehicle charging behavior,
cold weather performance, electrical grid impacts and policy opportunities.
Registration and workshop details can be found at
here
.
Arctic Science Storytelling Webinar With Film Michael Snyder, June 24, 2020 (Virtual). Great stories can change the world, and you have one to tell! Join the Migration in Harmony NSF-Research Coordination Network and our collaborator, award-winning filmmaker Mike Snyder, in this virtual workshop to learn how you should think about your research topics and experiences in the context of a story, how to develop photographer and videographer partnerships, and how to pitch your work to different outlets. The event is hosted by Migration in Harmony. Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN) is 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.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, November 21-22, 2020 (Toyko, Japan). Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. While the reasons for these changes in climate largely stem from activities outside of the Arctic, the Arctic is warming at a rate of nearly double the global average. 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. The Third Arctic Science Ministerial will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
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.
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