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Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:
If you find yourself looking for a good read, consider boosting your Arctic knowledge with these reports.
(Congressional Research Service) Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress, May 22, 2020. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The seven other Arctic states are Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), and Russia. The Arctic Research and Policy Act (ARPA) of 1984 (Title I of P.L. 98-373 of July 31, 1984) "provide[s] for a comprehensive national policy dealing with national research needs and objectives in the Arctic."
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 Christophe de Margerie Makes History With Earliest Passage of NSR. For the first time, a large-capacity vessel of this type has crossed the NSR eastbound in May, when ice conditions in the eastern sector of the NSR remain challenging. Traditionally, the navigation in this sector commences only in July. The passage from the Port of Sabetta to Cape Dezhnev took the vessel 12 days to complete, during which it covered 2,563 nautical miles at a speed deemed safe given the navigational conditions.
ShipInsight
State of Emergency in Norilsk After 20,000 Tons of Diesel Leaks into Arctic River System. A state of emergency was introduced in Norilsk, Russia's nickel capital, after almost 20,000 tons of diesel burst out of a reserve fuel tank at the TPP-3 industrial site. The fuel was stored there to ensure continuous supply to the power plant in case of an interruption in gas supplies. The leak was on 29 May in the Kayerkan district of Norilsk, and the pictures show its dramatic impact. The exact reason of the leak is yet to be established, but a statement from Norilsk Nickel company, which operates the site suggests it could have been caused - worryingly - by collapsing permafrost.
Siberian Times
 Scrapped 2020 Cruise Season Will Cost Communities in Nunavut, Canada Almost $1 Million. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has issued a series of restrictions on shipping and cruises in the North, most recently on Friday, that will cost communities in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut almost $1 million. "The 2020 season was anticipated to be comparable to 2019, in which 4,219 cruise passengers visited Nunavut across 13 expedition cruise vessels," said Sebastian Charge, manager of tourism development for Nunavut, in emailed comment to Eye on the Arctic on Monday.
Radio Canada International
Ice Melt Linked to Accelerated Regional Freshwater Depletion. Seven of the regions that dominate global ice mass losses are melting at an accelerated rate, a new study shows, and the quickened melt rate is depleting freshwater resources that millions of people depend on. The impact of melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica on the world's oceans is well documented. But the largest contributors to sea level rise in the 20th century were melting ice caps and glaciers located in seven other regions: Alaska, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Southern Andes, High Mountain Asia, the Russian Arctic, Iceland and the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard. The five Arctic regions accounted for the greatest share of ice loss.
YubaNet
 Russian Researchers Carry Out Census of Arctic's Freshwater Mollusks. What are small, hardy and can be found all over the circumpolar world? That's not a riddle, but rather the answer lies in the subject of new serious study by Russian researchers-freshwater mollusks. Researchers at the St. Petersburg University Laboratory of Macroecology and Biogeography of Invertebrates have come up with a new list of freshwater mollusks that live in rivers and lakes around the circumpolar region.
Nunatsiaq Online
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Future Events
** New this week **
Ground Truth Briefing: A Stronger International Regime for the Arctic Ocean? June 4, 2020 (Virtual). As the Arctic Ocean becomes more accessible due to climate change, governments and Arctic stakeholders are scrambling to keep up with increasing human activities in that region. Nations concerned have taken several steps to manage these activities, but current international arrangements will likely prove to be insufficient as the Arctic Ocean continues to change in profound ways.The Wilson Center's Polar Institute and the Russian International Affairs Council, with the support of WWF, will host this discussion with Ambassador Balton and Dr. Zagorski to consider these matters.
ICESAT-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek, June 15-19, 2020 (Virtual). ICESat-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek is a 5-day hackweek to be held at the University of Washington. Participants will learn about technologies used to access and process ICESat-2 data with a focus on the cryosphere. Mornings will consist of interactive lectures, and afternoon sessions will involve facilitated exploration of datasets and hands-on software development.
** New this week **
Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop, June 16-17, 2020 (Virtual)
.
The first virtual Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop co-hosted by the
Alaska Center for Energy and Power
and the
U.S. Arctic Research Commission is to be held
June 16-17, 2020 (9 am to 1 pm AKDT)
.
The goal of the workshop is to connect stakeholders and help develop a clearer vision of electric vehicle research and policy priorities for Alaska and the Arctic.
Local, national, and international speakers will engage with each other, as well as audience members, on topics including vehicle charging behavior, cold weather performance, electrical grid impacts and policy opportunities.
Registration and workshop details can be found at
here
.
Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (Reykjavik, Iceland). 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.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, November 21-22, 2020 (Toyko, Japan). Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. While the reasons for these changes in climate largely stem from activities outside of the Arctic, the Arctic is warming at a rate of nearly double the global average. Considering the need for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and repair measures, the relevance of an international Arctic Science Ministerial has never been greater. It is necessary to strengthen scientific cooperation and collaboration among both Arctic and non-Arctic States in order to develop our understanding of the rapid changes impacting the Arctic. The First Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM1) was hosted by the United States in 2016, and two years later, the Second Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM2) was co-hosted by Germany, Finland, and the European Commission. The Third Arctic Science Ministerial will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
Arctic Science Summit Week, March 20-26, 2021 (Lisbon, Portugal). The Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Local Organizing Committee will host the Arctic Science Summit Week 2021. The Conference is organized by FCT, Ciência Viva, AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community and by IASC and partners. Framed by the overarching theme for the Science Conference "The Arctic: Regional Changes, Global Impacts," Lisbon invites International experts on the Arctic and Indigenous Peoples to discuss the "New Arctic" and also its impacts and interactions to and with the lower latitudes.
Save the Date: 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses, May 3-6, 2021 (Hanko, Finland). Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2021. 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.
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