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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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Media
[Opinion] My Beautiful, Deadly City.
Not many people have heard of Norilsk, an industrial city in an isolated part of Arctic Russia. No roads or trains lead there; internet is severely limited; and it is it closed to foreigners. Getting there, I would find out, is very difficult. Yet despite its obscurity, Norilsk has one of the largest mining and metallurgical complexes in the world and produces most of the earth's palladium, an essential mineral in electronics and automobiles. Most of us probably have a bit of Norilsk in our pockets, bags or homes.
Having this connection to such an alien place intrigued me; Norilsk was the most important city I'd never heard of. Then, after seeing my co-producer-to-be
Elena Chernyshova's photo reportage
of the city, which reveals a mysterious place stuck between a Soviet past and a dystopian future, I decided that I had to go.
New York Times
 As Peat Bogs Burn, a Climate Threat Rises.
Kristyn Housman grabbed the end of a sampling auger, a steel tube that two colleagues had just drilled into a moss-covered hummock in a peat bog, and poked through a damp, fibrous plug of partly decomposed peat.
Peat
has been building up for centuries in this bog, where the spongy moss is interspersed with black spruces and, on a late spring morning, the air is teeming with mosquitoes. The sample, taken from three feet down, is at least several hundred years old, said Ms. Housman, a graduate researcher at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
New York Times
Satellite Test Launch Planned for Kodiak Space Facility.
A new launch vehicle development company has announced plans to launch from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak as soon as this fall.
The Kodiak Daily Mirror
reports
that Vector Space Systems CEO Jim Cantrell says the company is working on securing waivers and approvals for the test launch, which is part of a larger agreement with Finland-based Iceye to conduct 21 launches
.
KTVA
Arctic's Climate on a Cliff-Edge.
The stunning speed of the coastal erosion on Wiese Island in the northern Kara Sea - shown here - is a graphic example of the impact of warming temperatures in the Siberian Arctic. Ironically, the collapsing building is a disused Soviet meteorological station that now stands on the brink due to changes in the weather. Our main pictures shows it about to collapse into the frozen sea last winter. It may already have done so this summer. Siberian Times
Minister Says New Research Backing Moscow's Arctic Claim Possible.
Russia may carry on more research works in the Arctic if additional grounds are required for its bid to expand presence in the Arctic Ocean considered by the United Nations, Minister Sergei Donskoi said following the meeting of the UN subcommittee responsible for the Russian bid. According to Donskoi, "nine Arctic expeditions have been carried out in the period from 2001 to 2014 gathering a raft of information." TASS
25 Years of German Research in the Arctic.
In 1991, Germany set up a research base on Spitsbergen - it's one of the northernmost settlements in the world. With climate change affecting the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the planet, interest has boomed. Deutsche Welle
 COSL Completes China's First Survey in Arctic Circle.
China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) saw its most advanced 12-streamer seismic vessel HYSY 720 complete a survey of two blocks in the Barents Sea on August 9. The operation lasted for 100 days. The accomplishment filled the vacuum of China's oilfield services sector in 3D seismic data acquisition in the North Pole, says COSL, and set a new monthly seismic data acquisition record of 1,820.58 square kilometers (703 square miles), a record for China. MaritimeExecutive
Crucial Fish Species Highly Vulnerable to oil, Study Finds.
Exposure to even microscopic amounts of oil may put one of the most important species of fish in the Arctic Ocean at risk of birth defects and reduced growth, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Pollution. The study, conducted by scientists at UiT, in Tromsø, sought to identify the effect of exposure to realistic amounts of oil on polar cod. The amounts of oil used in the expermients were so small as to be unmeasurable in the lab, but the effect on eggs and larvae was significant, according to the research. The Arctic Journal
It is Critical for the US to Invest in the Arctic.
As ice gives way to navigable ocean, the U.S. Coast Guard has estimated that there has been a 300-percent increase in human activity in the Arctic, requiring a new era of public-private partnership. These changing conditions raise the strategic stakes and offer unprecedented new opportunities and challenges for U.S. interests. On the one hand, melting sea ice will create cheaper, faster shipping lanes between the world's major markets and unlock Arctic energy development, creating a race for 22 percent of the world's undiscovered resources - many of which lie within U.S. waters. CNBC News
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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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 (
[email protected]) 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.
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