Arctic Update Header
July 11, 2019

Today no Arctic-science events are scheduled.
Media

Alaska Chokes on Wildfires as Heat Waves Dry Out the Arctic. Under the choking black smoke from the bog and forest fires in Siberia and Alaska, it can feel like the Earth itself is burning. The normally moist, black organic peat soil and lush forests have been drying, and when they catch fire, they burn relentlessly. Global warming has been thawing tundra and drying vast stretches of the far-northern boreal forests, and it also has spurred more thunderstorms with lightning, which triggered many of the fires burning in Alaska this year, said Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist with the International Arctic Research Center who closely tracks Alaskan and Arctic extreme weather. Inside Climate News
 
Viking Bones and DNA Will Decay Quickly as Greenland Thaws. Viking settlers abandoned Greenland some 600 years ago. But the frozen ground has preserved centuries of the seafarers' hardy existence on the western shores of the remote landmass, including bones and DNA. The Vikings, though, didn't first step foot on Greenland. The Saqqaq people arrived there first, around 3,800 years before the Vikings, as did other nomadic peoples. Yet now, all of their culturally invaluable organic remains are under threat from amplified Arctic warming - the fastest changing region on Earth.  Mashable
 
Office of Polar Program (OPP) Announces a Nationwide Search for Program Director in Polar Cyberinfrastructure. The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) announces a nationwide search for a Program Director in Polar Cyberinfrastructure. Formal consideration of interested applications will begin on July 10, 2019 and will continue until a selection is made. The Office of Polar Programs supports innovative research, engineering, and education in the Arctic and Antarctic across all scientific disciplines central to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) mission. Investments catalyze fundamental discovery of polar systems and their influence on global Earth processes to inform the nation and advance the welfare of all people. National Science Foundation
 
Russian Nuclear Submarine: Norway Finds Big Radiation Leak. Norway has found a radiation level 800,000 times higher than normal at the wreck of a Russian navy submarine that sank in the Norwegian Sea in 1989. A sample showed radioactive caesium leaking from a ventilation pipe in the Komsomolets. But researcher Hilde Elise Heldal said it was "not alarming", as the Arctic water quickly diluted it. BBC News
 
Arctic Waters Are Actually Warmer Than Great Lakes Right Now. Strange but true -- the surface waters in the Beaufort Sea are outpacing Lake Superior when it comes to temperature this summer. In a flip-flop scenario, a monitoring buoy near Prudhoe Bay, north of Alaska, is recording temperatures better suited to Lake Superior, while the lake shivers in temperatures more suited to the Arctic Circle. The Weather Network  
 
Russia, US Outline Areas for Deeper Discussion on Arctic Issues. Moscow and Washington have outlined the main areas for a deeper discussion of the issues relating to the Arctic Region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on the outcomes of the talks with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale. "The fact that the meeting took place in Helsinki has pushed us towards the discussion of Arctic issues. This is the area where both sides tend to have a positive outlook. We have outlined possible areas for further expanded discussion," he said. TASS
 
Small Temperature Bumps Can Cause Big Arctic Methane Burps. As temperatures rise in the rapidly warming Arctic, scientists are growing more and more concerned about the region's permafrost-the carbon-rich, frozen soil that covers much of the landscape. As permafrost warms up and begins to thaw out, microbes in the soil may release large quantities of both climate-warming carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, potentially worsening the effects of climate change. Researchers are carefully monitoring the natural emissions from permafrost in the Arctic. Scientific American
 
Available Positions: Arctic Council. The Arctic Council Secretariat is currently looking to fill the following positions in Tromsø, Norway: Executive secretary for ACAP; Executive secretary for EPPR; Communications - Public relations officer; and, Communications - Web and digital media officer. For more information see here.
Future Events
   
** New this week ** Satellite Hydrological Products and their Utility in the Alaska Region, July 17, 2019 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA and via webinar). Passive microwave sensors on low earth orbiting satellites have the ability to monitor several parameters associated with the Earth's hydrological cycle - falling precipitation, snow and ice parameters, soil moisture, etc. These observations are particularly useful for high latitude locations where geostationary satellites have limited coverage. In this presentation, a review of the methodology used to retrieve this information will be given, then followed by several practical applications for weather forecasting and climate monitoring. 
  

Over 400 registered, in-person attendees and
80+ confirmed speakers including:
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski
  • Sen. Angus King
  • Vice Commandant Charles Ray, US Coast Guard
  • RDML Tim Gallaudet, PhD, USN Ret., Deputy NOAA Admin.
  • Sen. Dan Sullivan
  • USARC Commissioner Jackie Richter-Menge
  • AMB Kåre Aas, Norway
  • Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette, Dept. of Energy
  • Hon. Fran Ulmer, Chair, USARC
  • AMB Ken Yalowitz (State Dept. retired), Wilson Center
  • AMB Harri Mäki-Reinikka, Finland
  • AMB Marie-Anne Coninsx, EU Ambassador at Large for the Arctic
  • Presidents and CEOs of four Arctic Alaska Native Regional Corps.: Rex Rock, ASRC, Wayne Westlake, NANA, Gail Schubert, BSRC, and Aaron Schutt, Doyon
  • VADM Dan Abel, USCG
  • Dr. Alysson Azzara, MARAD
  • Dr. Rebecca Pincus, US Naval War College
  • Dr. Peter Winsor, World Wildlife Foundation, Arctic Program
  • Lt. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, Commander, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, North American Aerospace Defense Command; Commander, Alaskan Command, US Northern Command, etc.
  • Dr. Atsushi Sunami, Pres., Ocean Policy Res. Inst., Sasakawa Peace Foundation
  • Liz Cravalho, Kotzebue, Alaska
  • Mellisa Heflin, Bering Sea region, Alaska
null  
 Kare Aas
 
 
Vice Admiral Dan Abel  



Mark your calendars to attend IDA-8, which some have called one of the best Arctic gatherings around. Historically, this biennial symposium was co-hosted by U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) and the US Arctic Research Commission (USARC). In 2019, these partners will join forces with the Wilson Center's Polar Institute, the Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the Univ. of Alaska, and the Patuxent Defense Forum (run by the Patuxent Partnership), and St. Mary's College of Maryland as co-hosts.

Last call for poster submissions! If you'd like to present a poster (48" x 36") at the symposium, please fill out this online form ( https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZH69n8rTLPyAVTtz34aDewwmZqGGtoW8UTjpdOLhZJ-sjJg/viewform) or send the following info to LT Bryan Brasher ( bryan.brasher@noaa.gov) by close of business on  Wednesday, July 10th:
a. Title of your poster presentation
b. Full name of lead author, and author's email address
c. List of co-authors, if any

The 2-day symposium will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater, in Washington, DC. The event will focus on a broad cross-section of naval and maritime operations and issues in an ice-diminishing Arctic. The symposium brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic governance, geopolitics, marine operations, infrastructure, science, and environmental observations, from the local, regional, and pan-Arctic scale. Information on prior symposia, including lists of speakers, video clips, and copies of presentations, is here. Attendance is free, and registration is now open, here . The event will be webcast live, and video recorded.
 
Navigating the North, Innovation Summit 2019, August 6, 2019 (Anchorage, Alaska USA).  The inaugural event of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC). This daylong summit will be hosted in downtown Anchorage and will feature a variety of open discussions and TED-style remarks on everything from broadband, to entrepreneurship, to data centers, and federal government initiatives.

18th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering / 8th Canadian Permafrost Conference, August 18-22, 2019 (Quebec, Canada). Sustainable infrastructure development and permafrost science, in a climate change context, will be the focus of the discussions of this international conference.

2019 Sea Ice Symposium, August 18-23, 2019 (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada). IGS co-hosts a sea ice symposium every 5 years. The Centre for Earth Observation Science (University of Manitoba) is excited to be hosting the first IGS event to be held in Canada. The symposium will include oral and poster sessions, and will provide a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment to facilitate face-to-face interactions and networking. Additional activities will include an opening reception, a banquet dinner and a mid-symposium afternoon excursion. 

Arctic Futures 2050: Science and Policy for a Changing Arctic, September 4-6, 2019 (Washington, DC USA).  In 2019, the Study of Environmental Arctic Change  (SEARCH) and partners will convene Arctic scientists and decision makers to jointly forecast  Arctic research needed to inform policy in the coming decades. The conference also is intended to foster more effective and iterative collaborations among Arctic scientists and decision makers. Early-bird registration has been extended through July 17th. Register online and save 50%.

Alaska Unmanned Aircraft Systems Interest Group Meeting, September 23-26, 2019 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA). The Alaska Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is accepting submissions from potential speakers through May 1. Focus areas include policy/ regulations, research and education training, commercial aspects of UAS. More information will be available here.

Bridging Science, Art, and Community in the New Arctic, Sept. 23-25, 2019, (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia USA). The University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, VA, is hosting a conference and workshop entitled "Bridging Science, Art, and Community in the New Arctic" from Sept. 23-25, 2019, sponsored by the National Science Foundation Navigating the New Arctic program, with additional support from UVA's Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures, and Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation. The UVA Environmental Resilience Institute's Arctic CoLab is organizing the event, with assistance from the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS).

EU Arctic Forum, October 3-4, 2019 ( Umeå, Sweden). The European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the Government of Sweden will jointly organize a high-level EU Arctic Forum . The EU Arctic Forum will bring together key Arctic players and stakeholders to assess recent developments in the region and to discuss the new challenges ahead. The EU Arctic Forum will include several keynote addresses and two high-level panel sessions on the morning of 3 October. Foreign ministers from EU member states as well as the Arctic Council will be invited to participate.

** New this week ** 2019 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 10-13, 2019 (Reykjaví­k, 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. Registration now open...

Large-scale Volcanism in the Arctic: The Role of the Mantle and Tectonics, October 13-18, 2019 (Selfoss, Iceland)The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Chapman Conference will focus on the diversity of Arctic magmatism and tectonics from the Paleozoic to present-day. The conveners are Owen Anfinson, Bernard Coakley, Carmen Gaina, and Grace Shephard. The program will focus on five themes including: Theme I: pre-breakup and rifting;Theme II: seafloor spreading;Theme III: mantle-derived heterogeneity (including plumes and large-igneous provinces);Theme IV: subduction related volcanism, and, Theme V: HALIP and environmental effects.  The website (link above) is open for abstract submission until June 19th and for meeting registration until September 9th. Funding is available for travel support, particularly for early career scientists. Travel support will be awarded on the basis of submitted abstracts and to promote diversity among attendees.
 
Understanding and Responding to Global Health Security Risks from Microbial Threats in the Arctic , November 6-7, 2019 (Hanover, Germany). The workshop will be planned as a collaboration between the U.S. National Academies Polar Research Board, Board on Life Sciences, and the Board on Global Health as well as the InterAcademy Partnership and the European Academies Science Advisory Council. Additional information about the project and a form to submit nominations (by April 5) can be found here. Contact Lauren Everett ( leverett@nas.edu) with any questions.

IX International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future," December 5-7, 2019 (St. Petersburg, Russia). Save the date for Arctic: Today and the Future. More information to follow.

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