Exceptional warmth has seeped well into the Arctic Circle in the northernmost parts of Norway and Finland this week -- areas that are typically locked in ice and snow for a large portion of the year. Banak, Norway, reached a high of 94 F (34.3 C) on Monday which was a record for the site, according to the Norwegian Meterological Institute. This was flanked by highs of 93 F (33.7 C) on Sunday and 89 F (31.7 C) on Tuesday.

A new analysis recently revealed that sled dogs in the 17th century turned to cannibalism to fuel themselves on their journeys through the Arctic. According to a Mail Online report, sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for approximately 2,000 years, tasked with pulling heavy loads during long journeys through the tundra.

It's no secret that the rapid rate of ice melting in the Arctic due to anthropogenic activity and growth rate of global temperatures has opened the Northwest Passage to increased ship traffic that is directly proportional to an increase in oil spill risks in the Canadian Arctic that according to a study could increase environmental damage and devastate vulnerable indigenous communities.

It was one of the Soviet Union’s biggest research bases in the Arctic. The Krenkel meteorological station had an advanced observatory and launch pad for research rockets. More than 1,500 rockets of the type MR-12 and M-100 are believed to have been launched from the remote island. A research team of up to 140 people lived on site through the whole year.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law on streamlining the mechanism of environmental assessments during Arctic capital construction projects. The law, due to enter into force on August 17, 2021, lifts the environmental assessment requirement for drill holes. Under current legislation, project documentation for all permanent structures in the Russian Arctic is subject to federal-level state environmental assessments, which often make it impossible to quickly build important social facilities.

The Arctic is warming at approximately twice the global rate. A new study finds that cold-adapted Arctic species, like the thick-billed murre, are especially vulnerable to heat stress caused by climate change.

The Government of Nunavut is hosting a leadership forum in August to build capacity among Nunavummiut women. The GN’s department of Family Services is hosting the four-day event with funding provided through the federal government’s Women and Gender Equality Canada department. The forum aims to empower Nunavut’s women and girls using traditional knowledge, skills, and their roles as natural leaders.

The annual Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic, attended by more than 2000 participants from 60 countries. It is attended by heads of states and governments, ministers, members of parliaments, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic. 

For the first time, a Regional Conference on Permafrost will be combined with the bi-annual 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering. This conference is hosted by the US Permafrost Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Permafrost Association, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network, and the University of Colorado Boulder. A complete list of planned sessions is available here.

The Maritime Risk Symposium is an annual three-day conference in which government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, researchers, and solution providers convene to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. Government agencies, commercial entities, institutions of research, and higher education come together to discuss various threats, challenges, and risks to international and domestic maritime sectors.

The National Academies’ Polar Research Board is convening the following session at the Fall AGU meeting (Dec. 2021), and we welcome proposals for presentations in this session.  Abstract submission deadline is August 4, 2021.  Submissions to this session can be made at: AGU Fall Meeting 2021 (confex.com), and general submission instructions at: Abstracts | AGU Fall Meeting 2021.

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.