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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House and Senate are in session and expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.
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Nunavut Plans to Scrap Transportation Strategy, Start Over. The Government of Nunavut plans to scrap a High Arctic transportation strategy that's been under development since before 1999 and develop a new strategy from scratch, Transportation Minister Monica Ell-Kanayuk said in the Nunavut Legislative Assembly Feb. 29. Ell-Kanayuk was answering questions posed by Quttiktuq MLA Isaac Shooyook, who told the minister flights between his High Arctic community and Ottawa can cost more than $6,000.
Nunatsiaq Online
 Nunavut Premier Talks Climate Change Ahead of First Ministers Meeting. Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna says while the North sees the devastating effects of climate change first-hand, measures to lower greenhouse gas emissions cannot put the "very delicate economy" in the territories at risk. When Taptuna attends the first ministers meeting in Vancouver this Thursday, he says he will bring the message that "climate change mitigation and adaptation needs to go hand-in-hand with responsible economic development," while pushing for the federal government to support an upgrade to Nunavut's aging diesel power generators.
CBC News
'Sustainable' Fish Linked to Arctic Destruction. Despite prominent displays of commitment to sustainability on their packaging, Greenpeace warns that well-known brands such as Birdseye, Findus and Iglo are using fish trawled from the 'Arctic Galapagos', an ecologically significant area.
Greenpeace campaigner, Frida Bengtsson, said: "Climate change is opening up whole areas of the Arctic for the very first time. Some companies see this as a business opportunity, but we think it's a chance to protect a fragile ecosystem before it's too late. We cannot destroy a marine environment that we don't even understand. World Fishing & Aquaculture
Dodging Wind Farms and Bullets in the Arctic. A lone reindeer emerges from the forest, prompting the Sami herders to bring their snowmobiles to a stop in the middle of a clearing. All three are bundled in sheepskin hats and wool capes, called luhka, against the chill wind of a late-January morning in the Norwegian Arctic.
National Geographic
"Termites of the Sea" Found Munching Wood Near Arctic Shipwrecks. Øyvind Ødegård spends a lot of time around very cold water, looking for the remains of well-preserved shipwrecks along the coastlines of central Norway and in the Baltic Sea. One thing he never hopes to see are shipworms, long slimy creatures with an insatiable appetite for wood. So the discovery last month of an enormous timber filled with them-in a place much farther north than they'd ever been found-now has Ødegård wondering if the wrecks' days are numbered. As
first reported last week in Science, the crew of the research vessel Helmer Hanssen was plying Arctic waters when they hauled up a 21-foot log loaded with the mollusks, which are so efficient at tunneling their way through wood that they can annihilate an entire ship in a matter of years.
Smithsonian Magazine
 Arctic Ecosystem, Biorefining Research at UBC Science Receive $1.2 Million in NSERC Funding. Six UBC projects have received $3.5 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Among the projects tapped for the grants are ocenographer Philippe Tortell's Subarctic climate change research and chemist Harry Brumer'sworkon biotechnology and forestry products. The funding comes from NSERC's Strategic Partnership Grants, which support scientific partnerships to strengthen the Canadian economy, society and environment. "NSERC's support of these exciting projects not only furthers scientific research, but also helps strengthen science and technology across Canada," said John Hepburn, vice president, research and international at UBC. "The Strategic Partnership Grants enable our researchers to build important, constructive partnerships with industry and government."
The University of British Columbia
Ice Cores, Polar Bears and Whale Sounds at 11th Polar Science Weekend. Investigate a real ice core from Greenland, survey microbes from the coldest parts of the world, explore an Arctic ice camp and meet with polar scientists - many of whom are from the University of Washington. It's all part of
Polar Science Weekend, returning to Seattle's Pacific Science Center March 4-6. The three-day event features interactive exhibits and opportunities to talk with top polar scientists who work in some of the most remote and challenging places on Earth.
University of Washington
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
5th Annual Fletcher Opening Arctic Conference, March 12, 2016.
The Opening Arctic Conference builds on the Fletcher School's Warming Arctic International Inquiry series, to bring together high-level thought leaders from across disciplines, Fletcher's hallmark. Staged annually, Fletcher's event continues to address the foreign policy, economic, environmental and security implications of the opening Arctic, while dispelling myths.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 23-25, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Fairbanks workshop aims to explore recent advances and innovations in indigenous science and scholarship in the circumpolar north and its neighbors. The workshop will bring together indigenous experts and researchers from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds to explore the role and contributions of indigenous frameworks and knowledge systems in advancing fields of science and informing global solutions.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 31-April 2, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Juneau Workshop, organized in collaboration with University of Alaska Southeast Department of Social Science, aims to explore the contributions and potentials of Arctic social sciences in the emerging synergies that involve humanities, natural sciences, and engineering. The connections we attempt to foster reach mainly into two directions within the recent history of Arctic research.
15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar, April 1, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA).
The American Society for Circumpolar Health will host the 15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar in Anchorage, Alaska. This event will include the annual meeting of the American Society for Circumpolar Health, the Robert Fortuine Memorial lecture, and the Albrecht Milan Foundation will provide the Albrecht-Milan Emerging Professional Award to one of the Arctic Health Science Seminar presenters. The call for abstracts is open through
Monday February 29, 2016.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, April 14-16, 2016 (Cedar Fall, Idaho, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. This workshop will gather a diverse group of scholars to discuss the state-of-the art in Arctic social sciences and develop visioning scenarios for the future of social science research in the Arctic. The core topics will parallel discussions held at other regional workshops (Portland, OR and Providence, RI), which include: social sciences research and climate change; interdisciplinary research in the Arctic; social sciences and humanities in the Arctic, and applied social sciences research.
Alaska Rural Energy Conference, April 26-28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Rural Energy Conference is a three day event offering a large variety of technical sessions covering new and ongoing energy projects in Alaska, as well as new technologies and needs for Alaska's remote communities. Building on the growing success, the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power have joined forces again to organize and sponsor the 10th annual Alaska Rural Energy Conference.
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.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Rhode Island, 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.
** New this week **
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.
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2016 (Fairbanks, AK, USA).