2021 marked a milestone for the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Task Force initiative in Alaska. The seasonal MSTF initiative, first implemented in 2019, deploys Coast Guard teams to remote areas across the state to conduct vessel and facility inspections, provide operator training, improve maritime domain awareness, and conduct outreach for preparedness and safety programs. 

A perfect storm is ravaging the Arctic—literally. As the world warms, more lightning systems are igniting more peat fires. They burn through ancient buried plant material and release great plumes of greenhouse gases, which further warm the planet. At the same time, as plant species march north thanks to a more hospitable climate, the Arctic is greening. That darkens the landscape and absorbs more of the sun’s energy, further heating the region. It also provides more fuel to burn; dried plants above ground ignite more readily than permafrost, which is made from frozen dirt or sand or gravel mixed with dead plants. But permafrost is now thawing so rapidly that it’s creating massive sinkholes in the earth, up to 100 feet wide and 10 feet deep, a process known as thermokarst.

The authors of the Alaska chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment will host a virtual workshop to receive comments on climate change-related issues. The information gathered will help authors decide which topics to cover in their chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a US government report on how climate change affects people and places in the United States.

This event will convene Arctic leaders and voices from around the world. The Arctic Encounter has brought together thousands of Arctic stakeholders since its inception in 2013. Following two years of cancellation due to COVID-19, the Arctic Encounter is eager to welcome participants to Alaska for dialogue and presentations with elected leaders, business leaders, scientists, and more.

The participants in the forum will focus on improving the living standards in the Arctic region, preserving its unique ecological potential, ensuring sustainable socioeconomic development in polar territories, and strengthening international cooperation to this end. The IAF is a unique space for constructive cooperation with international and regional organizations and an opportunity to focus on Russian and international priorities, including climate change, the environment, economic cooperation in the Arctic, sustainable development of transport infrastructure, and human capital development.

Arctic Symposium 2022 continues momentum in Arctic defense and security collaboration established in prior ALCOM-hosted events. AAS22 seeks to address the challenges faced by the U.S. military and our allies and partners in understanding and responding to our respective national interests. AAS22 is planned and organized by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in support and in compliance to guidance from Alaskan Command (ALCOM) Staff and Commander. More information available soon.

Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2022. 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.

The events during the week of August 1st, 2022, will include Enhancing Arctic Science and Engineering Workshop along with Regional Development Tours and forums on the Arctic science to plan for the next 25 years of Arctic research. Participants will include scientists and engineers, Indigenous leaders, Arctic community members, policymakers, government organizations and businesses to celebrate past research success, take stock of current challenges and opportunities and plan for the next generation of collaboration and knowledge co-production that will keep Utqiagvik and Indigenous knowledge at the forefront of Arctic science and contribute to a safe and sustainable future for

the Arctic.