Arctic Update Header
August 18, 2016
 
Today's C ongressional Action:   
The House and Senate are not in session.

Media   

polar bear matt Ottawa Wants Nunavut to Improve Polar Bear Pelt Tracking. Ahead of the CITES summit in South Africa this September - where the United States has failed three times in past meetings to up-list polar bears to a higher protected status - Environment and Climate Change Canada says it's important to demonstrate that Canada can control its wildlife trade to prevent any future up-listing attempts. That's according to Sheldon Jordan, the director general of the department's wildlife enforcement branch, who met with Government of Nunavut officials in Iqaluit Aug. 16. Nunatsiaq Online

Most Residents of Eroding Alaska Village Vote to Relocate. Unofficial ballot returns show a majority of voters in one of Alaska's most eroded communities want to move to safer ground from their tiny island home. The Inupiat Eskimo village of Shishmaref held a special election Tuesday asking residents if they should develop a new community at a nearby mainland location or stay put with added environmental protections. The city clerk says the unofficial count is 89 in favor of moving and 78 voting to stay. She says that count does not include absentee or special needs ballots. PBS News
 
Staying up in the Air: Upgrading Nunavut's Airport Lifelines. N unavut depends on gravel runways to connect it to the outside world, and road links between Nunavut's communities do not exist, making them heavily dependent on military-built airports handed down from the federal to the territorial government. A 2014   report tabled at the legislative assembly this spring outlines about half a billion dollars' worth of work that needs to be done to bring the territory's airports up to current safety standards and meet future needs of residents of the territory.
Northern Public Affairs
 
Odd Coloring in Nunavut's Arctic Char Leaves Fishermen Stumped. Arctic char is a staple of many Nunavut fishermen's catch, but something's different this year, with a strange colouration prompting plenty of theories, but few answers. Anglers are saying that a growing number of char this year are not their traditional deep red, instead being a much lighter pink colour - which is also causing a difference in taste. "A lot of the fish are not red in flesh, they're more pink," says Adla Itorcheak, an avid fisherman in Iqaluit. CBC News
 
[Opinion] Time to Listen to the Ice Scientists About the Arctic Death Spiral. I ce scientists are mostly cheerful and pragmatic. Like many other researchers coolly observing the rapid warming of the world, they share a gallows humour and are cautious about entering the political fray. Not Peter Wadhams. The former director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and professor of ocean physics at Cambridge has spent his scientific life researching the ice world, or the cryosphere, and in just 30 years has seen unimaginable change. The Guardian
 
Tundra fire As Wildfires Blaze, Southeast Glaciers Could be Feeling the Melt. It begins with Shad O'Neel, a glaciologist with the United States Geological Survey, who twists a metal tube into the snow and ice to take a core sample.  So you spin it down, it drills its way in, you turn it backwards, catch the snow, you pull it out and hope there's something inside," he said. Scientists are wondering whether the carbon released from interior fires is traveling all the way to Juneau - potentially speeding up glacial melt. Alaska Public Radio
 
New Report on Arctic Species That Will Help Guide Future Research and Management Decisions. Little did Charles Dickens know when he penned "Barnaby Rudge" in 1840 that the name of his character Dolly Varden would spawn the moniker for a red-spotted trout. Following the book's publication, a "Dolly Varden"came to describe a dress of sheer muslin worn over a bright petticoat. Years later, when the distinctive spots of Salvelinus malma, a distant relative of salmon, brought to scientists' minds that familiar fabric pattern, a new name for the fish was born. Phys.Org

Legislative Action futureevents   

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

Hosted by Saint Petersburg State University, the UArctic Congress 2016 will feature Science and Meeting sections, including:
  • Acclaimed keynote speakers and scientific experts presenting research.
  • Parallel sessions on Arctic science, policy, and education topics.
  • Meetings for reps of the Council of UArctic and UArctic Rectors' Forum.
  • Pre-Meetings to foster contacts and enhance networking.
  • Opportunities to promote and market your organization and activities.
  • A UArctic Student Forum with workshops.
  • A Cultural and Social program.
The 2016 UArctic Rectors' Forum and the 19th annual meeting of the Council of UArctic form an integral part of the congress. 

Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members, policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found here. (The full link is:  http://wihah2016.com/)
 
13th International Conference on Gas in Marine Sediments: September 19-22, 2016 (Tromso, Norway).   GIMS 13  promotes the study of natural gas and release systems on a global scale and  facilitates interdisciplinary and international cooperation. The conference  intends to bring together geologists, biologists, microbiologist, geophysicists, oceanographers, geochemists and scientists from modeling disciplines. The forum will provide a platform for current knowledge and future programs in gas inventories, fluxes and their role within the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Conference is organized by CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The  Arctic University of Norway. Abstract submission deadline is May 30th and registration deadline is June 20th. For more information:  http://gims13.uit.no
 
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Virginia, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons.  The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.
 
Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia).  The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.

Arctic Ambitions V: International Business Conference & Trade Show, October 4-5, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This once-a-year event uniquely focuses on business and investment opportunities flowing from developments in the Arctic. With interest in commercial development in the Arctic growing rapidly, WTC Anchorage initiated the Arctic Ambitions conference five years ago to address issues such as innovation, investment, infrastructure development, transportation, natural resources, and trade. At the event, corporate executives and senior government officials from across the Arctic, and around the world, make presentations and participate in panel discussions. This year's conference also includes a Trade Show and B2B Matchmaking Session. For more information, please contact Greg Wolf ( greg@wtcak.org) or call 907-278-7233.

Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.

Arctic Technology Conference, October 24-26, 2016 (St. John's, Canada).  Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world's most comprehensive Arctic event.

Converging Interests: Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference (MASS16), October 27-28, 2016 (Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada). MASS16 will once again focus on the challenges associated with both northern and maritime environments. The aim of the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador supported international conference is to promote stakeholder collaboration, technological innovation, harsh environment research & development, and world-class education efforts that are contributing to various components of northern development. 
 
The 5th Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) project School and Meeting, November 1-4, 2016 (Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA).The major goals of the meeting are to discuss results of ongoing FAMOS activities, and to plan 2016-2017 coordinated modeling and observing projects, with a special focus on high and very high spatiotemporal resolution processes. You can register here.

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