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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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Media
High Stakes for the Arctic Await Trump or Clinton. The fate of the Arctic quietly hangs in the balance as Americans go to the polls to decide on the next president. In an election where the moderators of three presidential debates failed to ask even a single question about climate change, the Arctic is all but forgotten. However, the region is experiencing such a profound and relatively quick transformation due to global warming that it could become a more pressing concern for the next president, experts say. The importance of the Arctic goes beyond the warning signals that its warming sends to humanity and beyond of the dangers its shrinking sea ice poses to the rest of the planet as sea levels rise. As it becomes more accessible for oil and gas drilling, fishing, transportation, mining and tourism, the Arctic also poses geopolitical challenges over the next four to eight years.
E&E News
 US to Keep Focus on Arctic Research With Second Fulbright Group. Do policymakers pay attention to science? Given the noise in Washington in recent weeks surrounding two major Arctic-research initiatives, the answer appears, increasingly, to be yes. "I think that the energy being exuded right now shows the high level of attention the Arctic has in Washington," says Ross Virginia, a professor of environmental science at Dartmouth College and one of two co-ordinators for the
Fulbright Arctic Initiative, a US-funded international scholarship program.
The Arctic Journal
 Watch as Old Sea Ice Vanishes. From year to year, the ice around the Arctic ebbs and flows, reaching a minimum and maximum as the temperature shifts through the seasons. Scientists recently released time-lapse animation comparing Arctic sea ice since 1984 with now, and it is a little startling. The old sea ice -- the Arctic sea ice that lasts year after year -- is smaller than it has been in three decades.
CNN
100 Feet Below the Surface Bioluminescent Organisms are the Dominate Light Source, Study Shows. A new study published today in Scientific Reports by University of Delaware researchers and colleagues reveals that 100 feet below the surface of the ocean is a critical depth for ecological activity in the Arctic polar night-a period of near continuous winter darkness. It is at this depth, the researchers said, that atmospheric light diminishes in the water column and
bioluminescence from marine organisms becomes the dominant light source. It also is the site of significant changes in the composition of luminescent organisms present in the water column.
Phys.org
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
1st International Muskox Health Ecology Symposium, November 7-10, 2016 (Calgary, AB Canada).
The goal of this symposium is to share knowledge on muskox health ecology and sustainability across a variety of international stakeholders including community members/users, industry, wildlife management, and academia. We will discuss: the values, ecological, economic, social and cultural, of muskoxen; population status and trends; threats, vulnerabilities and resilience or sustainability; knowledge gaps; disease ecology; and existing and new tools for muskox health monitoring and research. For more information, please contact Susan Kutz.
ArcticNet annual Scientific Meeting 2016, December 5-9, 2016 (Winnipeg, MP Canada).
ArcticNet
will host its 12th Annual Scientific Meeting.
The ASM2016 will welcome researchers, students, Inuit, Northerners, policy makers and stakeholders to address the numerous environmental, social, economical and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the Arctic. As the largest annual Arctic research gathering held in Canada, ArcticNet's ASM is the ideal venue to showcase results from all fields of Arctic research, stimulate discussion and foster collaborations among those with a vested interest in the Arctic and its peoples.
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 12-16, 2016 (San Francisco, CA USA). Anticipating about 25,000 attendees, AGU's Fall Meeting will again be the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. 2016 marks the meeting's 49th year and there will be approximately 20,000 oral and poster presentations in over 1,700 sessions, many of which will focus specifically on Arctic science. Among the highlights, the "2016 Arctic Report" will again be released, IARPC will hold a "Town Hall Meeting" on Thursday, Dec. 15th, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in Moscone West Room 2003, and NASA will have a Town Hall on Operation IceBridge on Dec. 14th, in Moscone Room 202 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 23-27, 2017 (Anchorage, AK USA). The annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) is Alaska's premier marine research conference. It brings together roughly 800 scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public to discuss marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. Research will be presented by geographic theme, including the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands, and the Arctic. Topic areas will include ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local traditional knowledge and more. Keynote presentations will be held Monday, January 23rd; Gulf of Alaska presentations will be on Tuesday, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands on Wednesday, followed by the Arctic on Thursday.
Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 6-10, 2017 (Anchorage, AK USA). This statewide gathering of environmental professionals, community leaders, Alaskan youth, conservationists, biologists and community elders will be holding its 19th meeting to continue providing a strong educational foundation for all Alaskans and a unique opportunity to interact with others on environmental issues and challenges. As many as 1,800 people are expected to attend AFE this years meeting.
6th Annual Fletcher Arctic Conference, February 17-18, 2017 (Medford, MA USA). Fletcher Arctic VI, a TEDx-style event, will showcase the ideas, stories, and initiatives of people who live and work in the Arctic. The conference will bring together inspiring leaders, innovative business people, expert scientists, and artists from the pan-Arctic region. Building on The Fletcher School's interdisciplinary approach, Fletcher Arctic VI will be a forum to engage in conversation and spark open and constructive debate between speakers and participants, providing deep insights into this unique and rapidly changing region.
IV International Forum, March 2017 (Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation)
Arkhangelsk will host the Forum. The Forum will be titled Human in the Arctic and will be aimed at putting together joint efforts of the international community to promote effective development of the Arctic region as a territory for comfort life, work and leisure. The Forum will be attended by government officials, representatives of international organizations and prominent business communities, centers for political studies, Polar researchers and members of the international Arctic expeditions, foreign political scientists and economists, Russian and foreign journalists from leading international media organizations. The Forum will be attended by the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin. Additional information will be announced
here
.
Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences: People and Places (ICASS IX), June 8-12, 2017 (Umeå, Sweden).
ICASS IX's theme is People & Place. Research on social sciences and humanities have a great responsibility to address the challenges for sustainable development in the Arctic, with a specific focus on the many different parts of the Arctic and the people that live there. The multiple Arctics have lately been addressed by many policy makers and researchers. The purpose is often to counteract the stereotypic understanding of the Arctic too often represented by icebergs and polar bears. A focus on people and place highlights the many variances across the region in terms of climate, political systems, demography, infrastructure, history, languages, legal systems, land and water resources etc.
POLAR 2018, June 15-27, 2018 (Davos, Switzerland).
POLAR2018 is a joint event from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). The SCAR meetings, the ASSW and the Open Science Conference will be hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL under the patronage of the Swiss Committee on Polar and High Altitude Research. The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF is organizing POLAR2018.
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