| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Today's Congressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
|
Turtles Turning Up in Anchorage: Are They Surviving the Alaska Winter? A 7-inch-long male red-eared slider turtle was pulled out of Chester Creek by a wildlife biologist Tuesday, another indication that Alaska's largest city might have a turtle problem -- or more exactly, a people-turtle problem. Turtles are not native to Alaska. Except for a few wayward sea turtles occasionally sighted in Southeast Alaska's coastal waters, the state hasn't been home to native reptiles since the Cretaceous Period -- about 68 million years ago. Wildlife biologists believe the turtles are being introduced to Anchorage's lakes and creeks by people who no longer want them as pets. Alaska Dispatch News
 Hunting Seals in Thinning Ice, Polar Bear Breaks Dive Record in Norway. A gangling polar bear in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard was spotted diving underwater for more than three minutes -- far longer than has been recorded in the past, according to a report from CBC News. The bear was spotted by a tour guide who filmed and timed the dive in an area where there wasn't enough ice to aid the bear with its hunt for seals, according to the CBC report. Alaska Dispatch News
Coast Guard Boss: Ahoy! Icebreakers on Budget Horizon. The head of the U.S. Coast Guard says lawmakers and the national security staff are waking up to the need for more icebreakers as the Arctic opens to increased ship traffic. "This is really generating a lot of interest and I am optimistic that on my watch we will see, no fooling, forward progress as we look at building a national fleet of icebreakers," said Admiral Paul Zukunft, in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. this week. Alaska Public Radio
 Upcoming Arctic Meetings in Alaska. With the U.S. taking chairmanship of the eight-nation Arctic Council earlier this year, Alaska is poised to welcome a flurry of Arctic-related conferences, symposiums and other events. Some are directly related to the council, while others are not. Here are some of the Arctic-related events the state is hosting in the coming months and years: The Institute of the North's Hickel Day of the Arctic and Robert O. Anderson Sustainable Arctic Award ceremony is scheduled for Aug 18 in Unalakleet. The event is named for former Interior Secretary and Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel, who founded the institute and championed circumpolar cooperation; the award is named for the founder of Atlantic Richfield Oil Co., an oilman who oversaw discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay. This year's honoree is Wilfred Boyuck Ryan, founder of a small company called Unalakleet Air Taxi that grew into Ryan Air. Alaska Dispatch News
Snowy Owls Flock to Western Sweden. More than a dozen snowy owls have been seen nesting in western central Sweden, the largest number in more than 30 years. Swedish Radio's local channel in Jämtland County reports that conservationists are happy with the discovery. "The snowy owl is one of the most charismatic species we have," said Anders Wirdheim, information officer at the Swedish Ornithological Society. Alaska Dispatch News
Russia to Spend $93 Million on Arctic Monitoring System. Russia increased its attempts to stake a claim over a large portion of the Arctic Ocean when it announced plans to set up a $93 million dollar monitoring system in the region by 2025, the security company RTI systems said Friday. The announcement came after the nation submitted a bid to the United Nations Monday to incorporate 460,000 square miles of the Arctic into its territory, causing concerns by non-profits and government officials alike that Russia was becoming too aggressive in the Arctic. The security system, which will include both civilian and military aspects, was set to include surface radars, underwater lighting, an orbit space system, and remotely-controlled drones. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been steadily increasing the nation's presence in Arctic waters and said that the decision to do so was both for reasons of national security and access to natural resources. International Business News
Russian Arctic Scientists to be Evacuated. The icebreaker "Kapitan Dranitsyn" left Murmansk on August 4th to pick up equipment and personnel from the floating research station "North Pole-2015". The planned evacuation will take about two weeks, and the icebreaker is expected to return to Murmansk in mid-August, TASS reports. "The scientists have been able to get really valuable scientific data on biodiversity and signs of climate change in different environments," Russia's Minister of Natural Resources Sergey Donskoy said. MarineLink
Warning Area in Arctic Airspace to Aid Research and Exploration. A 700-mile-long airspace that stretches north from Oliktok Point-the northernmost point of Alaska's Prudhoe Bay-to about 400 miles short of the North Pole has been put under the stewardship of Sandia National Laboratories by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Oliktok Point is a base of operations for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility, a multi-platform scientific user facility with instruments at fixed and varying locations around the globe for obtaining continuous field measurements of atmospheric data. Phys.Org
N  ational Geographic Redraws Atlas to Reflect Shrinking Sea Ice. In yet another sobering sign that climate change is drastically altering our planet, National Geographic has updated its "Atlas of the World" in what it calls "one of the most striking changes in the publication's history." The 10th edition of the atlas now features a much smaller Arctic ice sheet. The GIF below shows the progressive changes between 1999 and 2014 as global warming has led to an uptick in melting sea ice. The alterations are sobering. Huffington Post
|
| Legislative Action No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday. |
| Future Events
Industry Needs for Seasonal and Sub-seasonal Sea Ice Information and Predictions, August 11, 2015 (Webinar AKDT). Sea Ice Prediction Network webinar will provide a brief overview of contrasts and commonalities between sea ice variables relevant for geophysical or climate research and those relevant for operational needs in Arctic seas. For more information, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at ARCUS ([email protected]).
The Alaska Arctic: A Summit on Shipping and Ports, August 23-25, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). Alice Rogoff will host the summit along with the state of Alaska and various partners, including President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson of Iceland and Mead Treadwell, president of Pt Capital and former Alaska lieutenant governor. The purpose of the meeting is to build partnerships to develop safe and reliable shipping through the Alaskan Arctic. These partnerships will be necessary to finance needed ports of refuge, search and rescue equipment, transshipment facilities and icebreakers. At the same time, the interests of local and indigenous residents must be an integral part of any development planning.
104th Meeting of the USARC, August 25-26, 2015 (Nome, AK, USA).
USARC (Fran Ulmer, Chair) will hold its next meeting in Nome, where Ulmer will present the
2015-2017 Goals Report. The Commission will tour the new, light icebreaker vessel
R/V Sikuliaq in the Nome port, and will hear from local researchers on topics such as health, social science, marine science, marine mammal co-management research, federal research, renewable energy, climate shipping, port development, and water and sanitation, among other topics. A draft agenda is
here
.
Eighth Polar Law Symposium Alaska 2015, September 23-26, 2015 (Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska , USA). The Eighth Polar Law Symposium is co-hosted by Alaska Pacific University (APU), the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Alaska Anchorage (through its Justice Center and its Institute of Social and Economic Research), the University of Washington School of Law, and Vermont Law School, in cooperation with the Arctic Law Section of the Alaska Bar Association. The symposium will be held on both campuses of the University of Alaska. The 2015 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.
2015 Arctic Science Conference, October 1-3, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The conference theme is "Healthy Estuaries: Sustainability and Resilience." Conference topics include traditional scientific disciplines, science education, arctic social sciences, biomedical research, and artistic interpretation of the evolving North. Abstract submissions are now being accepted. The deadline is August 1, 2015.
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. In the Spirit of the Rovaniemi Process 2015, November 24-26, 2015 (Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland).When the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy, the so-called Rovaniemi Process, was adopted in 1991, it aimed at overcoming divisions and turning the zone of Cold War military tensions into a region of peace and co-operation. In this joint effort focusing on the protection of environment, and later, sustainable development, the Arctic states supported by indigenous organizations laid grounds for institutionalized collaboration and the emergence of Arctic regional identity. The second international conference will bring together decision-makers, scholars, artists, designers and students to address these questions and discuss the Arctic in global, regional and local perspectives.
Arctic Science Summit Week Arctic Observing Summit, March 12-18, 2016 (Fairbanks, AK, USA). ASSW is the annual gathering of international organizations that support and facilitate long-term planning in Arctic research. In 2016, ASSW will be held in conjunction with AOS, which brings people together to facilitate the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long-term operation of an international network of Arctic observing systems.
|
| 
  
4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 510
Arlington, VA 22203, USA
External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site (
www.arctic.gov) do not constitute endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC Web site.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
