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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The Senate will consider H.R. 2028, the Energy and Water Appropriations. The House is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.
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Media
What Does the Pacific Arctic's New Normal Mean for Marine Life? Recent changes in global climate patterns have redefined what "normal" weather looks like. A "new normal" Arctic has a longer open-water period in summer and wider extremes of weather variability overall. Before 2010, for example, sea ice covered more than half of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas year-round. Now these seas have less than 50% sea ice cover, and only for an average of 67 days per year [Wood et al., 2015]. Temperature and wind drive changes in sea ice, but the effects are variable across the Pacific Arctic [Frey et al., 2015].
EOS
 Receding Sea Ice Off Alaska's Northern Coast Enables Firm to Lay Subsea Fiber-Optic Cable.
An Anchorage-based company is taking advantage of the open ocean off the coast of Alaska to lay a 1,200-mile subsea fiber-optic cable that'll provide faster and more reliable broadband internet connections to northern Alaska and the Interior.
"There is less ice off the coast of Alaska," Kristina Woolston is a spokeswoman for Quintillion Networks, "and so deploying the cable at a submarine level is possible now, where it may not have been five years ago."
KUAC
China Issues Guidance on Arctic Navigation. The Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America, is becoming more attractive for shipping as global warming melts the ice cover and keeps the route navigable for longer periods. The passage cuts the transit for ships by 30 percent when compared to the traditional routes passing through the Panama Canal.
MarineLink
 Luxury Cruise to Conquer Northwest Passage. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen took three years in the early 1900s to complete the first successful navigation of the Northwest Passage, the ice-choked arctic sea route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic. Only in 1944, did a ship make it through in a single year. This summer, the Crystal Serenity-a 820-foot-long, 13-deck cruise ship with a casino, a movie theater, six restaurants and a driving range-is planning to steam through in less than a month.
Wall Street Journal
US Details Arctic Infrastructure Needs. The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System has published A Ten-Year Prioritization of Infrastructure Needs in the U.S. Arctic which presents a framework for addressing Arctic infrastructure gaps.
The report makes 43 recommendations covering waterways management, physical infrastructure, information infrastructure, response services and vessel operations. Maritime Executive
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
ARCUS DC Arctic Research Seminar Series, May 19, 2016 (Washington, DC, USA). Mark Brzezinski, executive director of the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, will provide an update on the activities of the
U.S. Arctic Executive Steering Committee and the upcoming
White House Arctic Science Ministerial being planned for this fall. This event is part of the ARCUS Arctic Research Seminar Series which brings some of the leading Arctic researchers to Washington, D.C. to share in person and via webinar the latest findings and what they mean for decision-making. The seminars are open, and will be of interest to Federal agency officials, Congressional staff, NGOs, associations, researchers, and the public.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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