The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Halted Most US Arctic Field Research for 2020. The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Halted Most US Arctic Field Research for 2020. Seasonal scientific field work in the Arctic - from the Toolik Field Station on Alaska's North Slope to ice core drilling in Greenland - is being postponed or cancelled this year because of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers hope that by putting off travel to the region, they will avoid spreading the disease in vulnerable rural communities and in field outposts with close living and working quarters. But the disruption will hinder a wide variety of ongoing studies, including research on ice sheets, glaciers, permafrost, plant and animal habitats, and ocean fisheries - research that underpins human understanding of global climate change and other vital scientific questions in the circumpolar North. Arctic Today

 

Siberian Heat Streak and Arctic Temperature Record Virtually 'Impossible' Without Global Warming, Study Says. In a stark new finding, a study shows that six straight months of anomalously mild conditions in large parts of northern Siberia so far this year, along with an Arctic temperature record of 100.4 degrees (38 Celsius) that occurred in June, would have been virtually impossible without human-induced global warming. The study, released Wednesday by the World Weather Attribution project, was produced through a collaboration between climate researchers from multiple institutions in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Washington Post

 

Seeking Co-Leads and Shared Resources for the IARPC Diversity and Inclusion Team. Given the events of the past weeks, the leadership of the IARPC Diversity and Inclusion team has been discussing concrete steps on how we can best support the Arctic research community, and more specifically our Black and Indigenous colleagues, during this time. The leadership of the IARPC Diversity and Inclusion Team consists of no Black or Indigenous members. We want to ensure that all those in Arctic research and policy are the ones doing the work to move forward efforts on inclusivity and equity in Arctic research. That being said, we acknowledge that as much as we read, see, and listen to the experiences of our Black and Indigenous colleagues, those of us without those identities will never fully understand the experience of being Black and/or Indigenous in Arctic research. Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee

 

China's Polar Icebreaker Sets Sail for Arctic. Chinese scientists set off for the 11th Arctic expedition Wednesday aboard Xuelong 2, the country's first domestically built polar icebreaker, departing from Shanghai. It is the first scientific expedition to the Arctic for Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, after it completed its first Antarctica expedition in April. It is expected to return to Shanghai in late September after a trip of 12,000 nautical miles. China.org.cn

 

Pompeo to Talk Arctic at Upcoming Meeting With Danish FM. The Arctic will be high on the agenda when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travels to Copenhagen at the end of the month. While there, Pompeo will meet with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, Greenlandic Foreign Minister Steen Lynge and the Faroe Islands' national board member for foreign affairs Jenis av Rana. "Since we also have to discuss Arctic issues, my colleagues from Greenland and the Faroe Islands must of course also sit at the table," said Kofod in a news release posted Wednesday on the Danish Foreign Ministry's website announcing the July 22 meeting.  Radio Canada International

The Disappearance of Arctic Sea Ice Due to Climate Change Could Lead to Increased Ocean Noise. The Bering Strait is a vital migration route for numerous marine species. Scientists examining levels of ocean noise in the area have confirmed that the presence of sea ice plays a central role in the soundscape of these Arctic waters. Arctic species such as bowhead whales, belugas, walrus, bearded seals and ribbon seals are seasonally present in and travel through the waters around St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait. Oceanographic