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April 22, 2015

 

Today's Congressional Action:   

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The House and Senate are in session and expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

 

Media  

 

Scholars Announced for Inaugural Fulbright Arctic Initiative. Seventeen researchers from Arctic Council nations, including the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden will engage in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving and multidisciplinary research over the next 18 months as a part of the U.S. Department of State's Fulbright Arctic Initiative. The diverse group of scholars will explore public-policy research questions and offer innovative solutions through a variety of disciplines ranging from geology and biology to law, sociology, global health, and art. See more information on the scholars, including their names and affiliations, here. US State Department  

 

Arctic Council Initiatives to Sustain Arctic Cooperation. A group of 45 international experts, government officials and representatives of leading NGO's met in Washington, DC, on February 23, 2015, and unanimously concluded that the Arctic must and can, with adequate political will, remain an area for peaceful cooperation, scientific research and sustainable development. And to the extent possible, it should be kept apart from the current complex geo-political environment. This vision is already challenged by events in the region and outside. Russia's increased military presence raises the specter of a more militarized Arctic, and US energy sanctions on Russian oil and gas projects in response to Russian involvement in the war in Ukraine have raised questions about the Arctic's economic development. But, climate change, environmental dangers, the prospect of increased Arctic Ocean shipping, the development of the rich energy and natural resource base of the Arctic, and the need for improved maritime infrastructure and shipping safety all necessitate continued cooperation. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

 

International Poll Finds Arctic Council Poorly Known Even in Northern Canada. A special international poll done by EKOS Research Associates and released April 22 finds the Arctic Council is poorly known even in northern Canada. Only about one in three northern Canadians are aware of the eight-nation organization, the poll found. In Nunavut, slightly fewer than half of those surveyed - 45 per cent - knew Canada has been the chair of the Arctic Council. Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq has chaired the Arctic Council since 2013, when Canada took the chairmanship of the body from Sweden. Commissioned by the Toronto-based Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program and the Institute of the North in Alaska, the Ekos poll surveyed a sample of 10,000 people chosen at random from the eight Arctic Council member states. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Ocean Currents Impact Methane Consumption. Offshore the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, methane gas is seeping out of the seabed in several hundred meters depth. Luckily, bacteria are consuming a large proportion of the methane before it reaches the surface and is released to the atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas. An interdisciplinary study conducted by researchers at the University of Basel and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel could now show that ocean currents can have a strong impact on methane removal. The renowned journal Nature Geoscience has published the study. Environmental Research Web

 

thinice The Surprising Reason Why Arctic Warming Could Be Worse Than Previously Thought. For the most part, we humans can live our lives entirely untroubled by the doings of phytoplanktonThese tiny, largely single-celled marine organisms are, basically, little photosynthesis machines - they contain chlorophyll and process sunlight to create energy. It might sound relatively dull - but according to new research, this simple lifestyle could have major climate change ramifications. The new study, just out in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that as the Arctic Ocean warms and loses its sea ice cover, populations of phytoplankton will boom. This will, in turn, further amplify warming in a region that's already heating up twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Washington Post 

 

Icelandic Network of Arctic Research and Projects Database Launched. The Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network / IACN launches new Network of Arctic Research and Projects online search engine during their 2015 annual meeting. In the online database is information about experts, researchers and commentators in Iceland and the work that they do in connection with Arctic issues. For the past weeks, the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network (IACN) has been preparing a new site on its webpage, a network, where information about researchers and specialists in Iceland who focus on Arctic matters in their work is made available. Arctic Journal 

 

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

Future Events

 

Arctic Science Summit Week, April 23-30, 2015 (Toyama, Japan). The Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) is the annual gathering of the international organizations engaged in supporting and facilitating Arctic research. The purpose of the summit is to provide opportunities for coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all areas of Arctic science. The summit attracts scientists, students, policy makers and other professionals from all over the world. 


The Polar Geography and Cryosphere, April 21-25, 2015 (Chicago, IL, USA). The Polar Geography and Cryosphere Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers will host its annual meeting in Chicago to consider: current topics in human-environment interactions; current topics in politics, resource geographies, and extractive industries; current topics in Antarctic research; advances in cryosphere research; high latitude environments in a changing climate; an mountain ice and snow.

Neighbors in the North: Canada, the United States, and the Arctic Council, May 14, 2015 (Bellingham, Washington, USA). The Border Policy Research Institute, the Center for Canadian American Studies, the Consulate General of Canada, and Western Washington University host this event to consider what it means for the Arctic and the US when the chairmanship of the Arctic Council passes from Canada to the United States. 


Effects of Oil on Wildlife, May 18-22, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This event is co-sponsored by International Bird Rescue and "Aiuka," which is a Brazilian conservation organization.  The event will focus on polar wildlife issues and integrating wildlife into oil response, etc.  Alaska Clean Seas is also a sponsor.  North Slope Borough will also be a part of this meeting. 

 

The House of Sweden Conference, May 19-20, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). A two day conference focusing on changes, adaptations and opportunities for a changing Arctic. The conference will be divided into separate, but intertwined thematic segments - policy, science, climate change and green technologies. The conference is organized by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and is aimed at Arctic oriented policy-makers, researchers, business representatives and NGO's in the lead-up to the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council. 
 

The European Union and Arctic (2015 EU-Arctic Conference), May 29, 2015 (Dundee, UK). The School of Law, University of Dundee, UK and the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Troms?, Norway are pleased to announce the registration open for "The European Union and the Arctic" (2015 EU-Arctic Conference). This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from relevant disciplines such as international law, international relations, political science and marine biology, NGOs, representatives from EU institutions and international organizations to discuss the EU's potential contribution to enhance Arctic governance. A roadmap for increasing the effectiveness of the EU's action in the Arctic will be drawn at the end of the conference. 

 

7th International Conference on Arctic Margins, June 2-5, 2015 (Trondheim, Norway).  The next meeting, the 7th International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM VII), previously announced to be arranged in St. Petersburg, will be held in Norway.  ICAM VII is hosted by the Geological Survey of Norway. The International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) was founded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, formerly the Minerals Management Service, in 1991 with the underlying two-point theme of 1) Arctic understanding, 2) international cooperation in Arctic research. To these ends, ICAM has provided a successful forum for the exchange of information, collaboration in research, and presentation of results. ICAM is organized, hosted, and conducted by scientists for scientists which makes it a unique forum.

 

16th International Congress on Circumpolar Health: Focus on Future Health and Wellbeing, June 8-12, 2015 (Oulu, Finland). The congress will focus on human health and well-being in the Arctic and northern areas. It is open for everyone interested in Arctic issues, especially scientists, researchers, health care professionals, policy analysts, government agency representatives and community leaders. The congress is organized by the Thule Institute, University of Oulu in collaboration with the International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH), the Nordic Society for Circumpolar Health, the Society of Arctic Health and Biology, and the Rokua Health & Spa. The InternationaI Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH) series are arranged every three years in Arctic countries or countries related to Arctic issues. First congress of the series was arranged in 1967, and it was previously hosted by Oulu in 1971.


 

52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, June 10-14, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Animal Behavior Society was founded in 1964 to promote the study of animal behavior in the broadest sense, including studies using descriptive and experimental methods under natural and controlled conditions. Current members' research activities span the invertebrates and vertebrates, both in the field and in the laboratory, and include experimental psychology, behavioral ecology, neuroscience, zoology, biology, applied ethology, and human ethology as well as many other specialized areas.

 

2015 ESSAS Annual Science Meeting, June 15-17, 2015 (Seattle, WA, USA). This symposium, to be held at the University of Washington, is intended for interdisciplinary scholars who will be prepared to discuss their research in the sub-arctic North Atlantic, sub-arctic North Pacific, and the Arctic Ocean that bears on the issue of how changes in sea ice are likely to affect these marine ecosystems. The symposium will also consider the people who depend upon these ecosystems and how they may be able to cope with the changes in the ecosystem goods and services that are coming. These goods and services include the availability of transportation corridors, the availability of subsistence foods, and the opportunity for commercial fishing. To put the present day in a longer perspective, the symposium will include a session on the paleo-ecology of people in sub-arctic and arctic regions that were forced to adjust to changing sea-ice conditions in the past.

  

6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). Program in development...check back soon. To see the programs from prior symposia, click here.  

 
Polar Law Symposium (8th) will be held in Alaska ( Sept. 23-24, UAF; Sept. 25-26, UAA). It's sponsored by UAF, UAA (and ISER), UAA Justice Center, UW Law School. Abstracts due 3/15/15. This year's conference theme is, "The Science, Scholarship, and Practice of Polar Law: Strengthening Arctic Peoples and Places."

2015 Arctic Energy Summit, September 28-30, 2015 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).The Institute of the North's 2015 Arctic Energy Summit builds on our legacy efforts to address energy as a fundamental element of the sustainable development of the Arctic as a lasting frontier.Central to this concept is a focus on providing pathways for affordable energy development in the Arctic and for Arctic communities.

 
The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change, November 3-6, 2015  (La Jolla, California USA.)  The American Polar Society will host this Symposium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  A flyer with a partial list of presenters is available on the Society's website ( americanpolar.org ) and from the Society's Membership Chairman by email.

Due North: Next Generation Arctic Research & Leadership, November 5-8, 2015 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).  The Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) will convene an interdisciplinary conference of early career scientists working on Arctic issues. The organizers have issued a call for abstracts, due 5/31/15, on the following topics, full descriptions of where are available  here , Arctic Communities, Arctic Sustainable Development, Arctic Wildlife, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Arctic Food Security, Arctic Landscapes, Climate Change and Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, Policy, Politics and Leadership, Arctic Environment (Data and Techniques), Arctic Resources, and Future of Arctic.

  

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.

  

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