China’s Ministry of Transport has published a policy note presenting their plans to build a new heavy icebreaker which is expected to be used in the Arctic. The policy note also outlines China’s need for a 100,000-ton semi-submersible heavy lift vessel akin to the one that is currently delivering prefabricated modules to Russia’s liquified neutral gas (LNG) plants in the Arctic from the Zhoushan yard in China. Development reports indicate that this vessel will be able to rescue and salvage other vessels in the Arctic. 

A male snowy owl hovers briefly, aloft in the breezy Arctic air, before diving at field researcher Denver Holt. The bright-white bird descends within a meter of the man, making short, loud barks before retreating and swooping again. Holt is undeterred. In a few more strides, he reaches the owl’s nest—a bowl-shaped depression scraped out of the top of a mound—and crouches on his knees to quickly count the eggs and chicks inside. After decades on this landscape, he isn’t rattled by incoming talons.

Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the US Coast Guard, said today he would give his “full-throated” support for the US to back the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but acknowledged that conversation must be driven by policymakers. “I would offer my full-throated support for the ratification. I think that needs to start though, probably out of the White House or out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,” the admiral told an audience at a Navy League event.

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee will host this webinar. The new research plan builds from the 2017-2021 plan and outlines a bold five-year vision for federal agencies to address emerging research questions in the Arctic. This webinar will provide an overview of the new plan and share how the research community and Arctic residents can engage in the new plan’s implementation.

The authors of the Alaska chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment will host a virtual workshop to receive comments on climate change-related issues. The information gathered will help authors decide which topics to cover in their chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a US government report on how climate change affects people and places in the United States.

Arctic Symposium 2022 continues momentum in Arctic defense and security collaboration established in prior ALCOM-hosted events. AAS22 seeks to address the challenges faced by the U.S. military and our allies and partners in understanding and responding to our respective national interests. AAS22 is planned and organized by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in support and in compliance to guidance from Alaskan Command (ALCOM) Staff and Commander. More information available soon.

This event will convene Arctic leaders and voices from around the world. The Arctic Encounter has brought together thousands of Arctic stakeholders since its inception in 2013. Following two years of cancellation due to COVID-19, the Arctic Encounter is eager to welcome participants to Alaska for dialogue and presentations with elected leaders, business leaders, scientists, and more.

The participants in the forum will focus on improving the living standards in the Arctic region, preserving its unique ecological potential, ensuring sustainable socioeconomic development in polar territories, and strengthening international cooperation to this end. The IAF is a unique space for constructive cooperation with international and regional organizations and an opportunity to focus on Russian and international priorities, including climate change, the environment, economic cooperation in the Arctic, sustainable development of transport infrastructure, and human capital development.

Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2022. 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.

The events during the week of August 1st, 2022, will include Enhancing Arctic Science and Engineering Workshop along with Regional Development Tours and forums on the Arctic science to plan for the next 25 years of Arctic research. Participants will include scientists and engineers, Indigenous leaders, Arctic community members, policymakers, government organizations and businesses to celebrate past research success, take stock of current challenges and opportunities and plan for the next generation of collaboration and knowledge co-production that will keep Utqiagvik and Indigenous knowledge at the forefront of Arctic science and contribute to a safe and sustainable future for

the Arctic.