Maps Merge Data on Birds and Ships to Mitigate Oil Spills. A local scientist and entrepreneur is leading a mapping project to find out where potential oil spills could have the worst effects on seabirds. Martin Renner owns Turnagain Consulting based in Homer and has a background in biology. A little more than two years ago, Fish and Wildlife Service got a grant and contracted Renner. "The motivation was fairly specific, for oil spills affecting birds in the Aleutian Islands." Alaska Public Radio 

Polar Code Approval is Timely for Busy Bering Strait. The Bering Strait, the narrow chokepoint between the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, has been a watery crossroads for millennia. Skin boats paddled by indigenous residents were followed by commercial whaling ships, which were followed in the 20th century by vessels supporting the newcomers who mined for gold and drilled for oil. Now, with summer Arctic sea ice dwindling, commercial and resource-extraction ambitions are expanding -- and so is Bering Strait ship traffic. Crossings of the strait by large vessels more than doubled from 2008 to 2012, going from about 220 to more than 480, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. And at the Port of Nome, the closest thing the United States has to a full-service Arctic port, vessel use has exploded, from 34 recorded dockings in 1990 to 446 in 2014. Alaska Dispatch News

From Alaska to Finland, Big Arctic Military Exercises Get Started. The Arctic airspace from Alaska to Finland will buzz with activity over the next week, as NORAD, the United States-Canada alliance aimed at protecting North American airspace, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European-North American defence alliance, each start major military exercises in the skies above the Arctic. "Amalgam Dart," one of NORAD's annual exercises, will train Canadian and U.S. air force members in aerospace defence and detection, while the Arctic Challenge Exercise will also exercise and train units in air operations. Nunatsiaq Online

New Security Landscape in the Arctic. The ice melting in the Arctic has devastating effects on polar bears and wildlife in general, but it also opens up new perspectives in terms of economy -- and security. At a conference in Washington on the future of the Arctic, former U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Robert Papp told Swedish Radio's correspondent that the United States is closely following the Russian military buildup in the Arctic. "Everything we have seen them doing so far, is lawful, considered and deliberative. So we'll just continue monitoring it and not overreact to it," he said. Alaska Dispatch News

Russia and NATO Launch Rival War Games. Russia and NATO have launched rival military exercises in the latest sign of rising military tensions in eastern and central Europe. About 250 aircraft and 12,000 servicemen will take part in Russian combat readiness drills over the Urals mountains and Siberia in what the country's defence ministry has described as a "massive surprise inspection." The snap exercises launched yesterday involving aviation and air defence forces in Russia's central military district began on the same day NATO launched its own long-planned exercises in the Arctic. The Telegraph

[Opinion] The Arctic Ocean and Wildlife Warrant Special International Protection. Imagine traveling seas beset by hurricane force winds, extreme waves, poorly charted waters, and long seasons of darkness. Where calls for help may not be readily answered. Now, imagine pristine seas where exotic wildlife, some traveling great distances to feed or have their young, are found in abundance. A place that has sustained capable, local people for millenniums. This is not a science fiction adventure to some far off planet. Instead, both descriptions could be applied to navigating Arctic waters. Both fearsome and plentiful, the Arctic merits special attention. Huffington Post

[Opinion] Time for US to Lead on Arctic. The U.S. assumed the Chair of the Arctic Council last month in an international event held in Canada and attended by leaders from around the world. Unfortunately, it seems like this barely registered to most Americans. A recent study found only 32 percent of U.S. residents are either clearly or vaguely aware of the Arctic Council's existence. Alaskans, who have a natural affinity for the Arctic, didn't fare much better, with only 35 percent aware of the Arctic Council. When you compare this awareness level with 70 percent of Icelanders knowing the work and importance of the Arctic Council, it's clear step one of our chairmanship needs to be educating ourselves about the doors this opportunity opens to us through this international body. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

[Opinion] US Icebreaker Fleet is Falling Behind; Needed for Strategic Arctic. On a crisp November day 41 years ago, Champagne was cracked over the massive hull of the icebreaker Polar Star on the Seattle waterfront. The ship cranked up its 78,000-horsepower engines and churned off toward the Pacific Ocean. A few days later, it was joined by its sister icebreaker, the Polar Sea, also built at Seattle's now-closed Lockheed shipyard. That was the last time the United States built new heavy-class icebreakers. Since then, the government-owned icebreaker fleet has dwindled to just two working vessels, the medium-class Healy, primarily used for research, and the aging Polar Star - both based in Seattle. The Polar Sea is mothballed on the Seattle waterfront, potentially bound for the scrap heap. The Seattle Times