Arctic Update Header
May 25, 2016
 
** Upcoming**  Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska.   This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members,  policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making  running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found here. (The full link is: http://wihah2016.com/)

High North Dialogue 2016: The Blue Future of the Arctic, May 25-26, 2016. HND is an annual conference hosted by the High North Center at Nord University, engaging a wide audience of researchers and future leaders of the region. It will address the necessary questions to effectively promote dialogue between interested stakeholders on how to sustainably develop the different realities of the many Arctics. PhD and Masters students can also participate in a week long credit awarding graduate course.

Today's C ongressional Action:   
The House is expected to consider an amendment to S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act, and continue consideration of H.R. 5055, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.  The Senate may move to consideration of S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act.

Media 

Healy, Coast Guard Congress Takes a Big Step Toward Funding a New $1 Billion Arctic Icebreaker. Alaska moved significantly closer to seeing a new Arctic icebreaker Tuesday as a Senate appropriations subcommittee added $1 billion to a bipartisan funding bill for a Navy-built ship. The move marks a major step forward in a yearslong campaign by Alaska lawmakers and others who say the U.S. needs to mind its dwindling Arctic infrastructure, particularly as a melting ice cap makes way for increased commercial shipping traffic and Russian military activity raises national security concerns. Alaska Dispatch News
 
Arctic Headed for Temperature Highs Not Seen in 52M Years: New Research.  If the world doesn't find a way to reduce its climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, the Arctic will face a warmer and wetter future, with temperature rises of between 14.7 C and 19.5 C by 2300.  That's a prediction from research published May 23 in the journal   Nature Climate Change   which says "the unregulated exploitation of the fossil fuel resource could ultimately result in considerably more profound climate changes than previously suggested."  Nunatsiaq Online

russian flag Russia Getting Helicopters for Arctic Operations.  The Russian military will reportedly receive five Mi-8AMTSh-VA helicopters for operations in the Arctic in the coming year.  The helicopters have been adapted for low temperatures, limited visibility and other operational requirements in the "Extreme North,"   Russian Helicopters Group told Tass news agency on Wednesday.
UPI
 
Space Weather is a Hidden Risk to Arctic Cruises, and it Could be a Significant One. In August, the 820-foot cruise ship Crystal Serenity will cast off its lines in Seward, Alaska, head for the Bering Sea and steam north. From there it will make a hard right turn, sailing through the Arctic Ocean north of Canada, down through Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea in the North Atlantic. Thirty-two days after leaving port, it will dock in New York City. If the voyage is successful, it will be the first time a cruise ship has made the trek through the Northwest Passage, and 1,000 passengers will be along for the ride. The Washington Post
 
Evacuation in the Arctic Put to the Test. How long could you survive if you became shipwrecked during a cruise in the Arctic ice? In order to find some of the answers to this the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel KV Svalbard served as the home and workplace to a week long research mission, headed by the University of Stavanger, to the remote archipelago of Spitsbergen - or Svalbard - which is its Norwegian name. "The increase in cruise traffic in the polar regions in recent years is the backdrop to the mission, and a major shipwreck in the waters around Svalbard is a realistic scenario" says professor Ove Tobias Gudmestad from the Department of Mechanical and Structural Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Stavanger, which is responsible for the scientific part of the voyage. Phys.org

Legislative Action futureevents   

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events
     
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, May 31-June 2, 2016 (Providence, Rhode Island, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The workshop will bring together researchers working on multidisciplinary natural/social science projects addressing issues of contemporary change in the North with social scientists focused on policy development at a global scale. This focus draws on the expertise of Brown University's Watson Center for International Studies (http://watson.brown.edu), the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES, http://www.brown.edu/academics/institute-environment-society/about), and the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology's (http://www.brown.edu/haffenreffer) six-decade engagement with northern people and northern heritage.

14th IATS Seminar, June 19-25, 2016 (Bergen, Norway).
The University of Bergen (UiB) is honored to host the 14th IATS Seminar in Bergen, Norway, from Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 June 2016 in co-operation with the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, an academic network with the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.

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.

Arctic Ambitions V, June 23-24, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). Arctic Ambitions V conference focuses on commercial opportunities in the Arctic, such as engineering, construction, architecture, natural resource development, environmental services, maritime shipping and logistics, and international trade. This event is sponsored by World Trade Center Alaska.

Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members, policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found here. (The full link is:  http://wihah2016.com/)

13th International Conference on Gas in Marine Sediments: September 19-22, 2016 (Tromso, Norway).   GIMS 13  promotes the study of natural gas and release systems on a global scale and   facilitates interdisciplinary and international cooperation. The conference   intends to bring together geologists, biologists, microbiologist, geophysicists, oceanographers, geochemists and scientists from modeling disciplines. The forum will provide a platform for current knowledge and future programs in gas inventories, fluxes and their role within the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Conference is organized by CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The  Arctic University of Norway. Abstract submission deadline is May 30th and registration deadline is June 20th. For more information:  http://gims13.uit.no
 
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Virginia, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons.  The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.

Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia).  The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.

Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.

Arctic Technology Conference, October 24-26, 2016 (St. John's, Canada).  Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world's most comprehensive Arctic event.

The 5th Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) project School and Meeting, November 1-4, 2016 (Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA).The major goals of the meeting are to discuss results of ongoing FAMOS activities, and to plan 2016-2017 coordinated modeling and observing projects, with a special focus on high and very high spatiotemporal resolution processes. You can register here.
 

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