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Media
 Dog Breeding in the Neolithic Age. There are two broad stories about dogs and humans. One is of a deep and meaningful partnership between two species that ensures the survival of both. The other is of scavengers and camp followers that live off our garbage and feed on our corpses in the shadow of war. Both are undeniably true, in different places and different times, but vast mysteries remain about the early roots of dogs and humans, and when the first glimpses of the working partnership appeared.
The New York Times
2020: Arctic Sea Ice...the June Report. For the Arctic, the median June Outlook for September 2020 sea-ice extent is 4.33 million square kilometers (Mkm2), with quartiles of 4.06 and 4.59
Mkm2. To place this year's Outlook in context, the historical record September low was set in 2012 at 3.57
Mkm2, and the second lowest record was 4.27
Mkm2 set in 2007. This year's projection is close to the 2019 June Outlook, which was 4.40
Mkm2, and close to the observed September sea-ice extent of 4.32
Mkm2. For September 2020, only two of the outlooks project sea-ice extent below the historical low record. Thus,
there is a consensus judgement against a new record low September sea-ice extent.
Sea Ice Prediction Network
Russian Metallurgical Giant Admits Waste 'Violations' at Arctic Plant. A Russian metallurgical giant has admitted one of its plants pumped wastewater into the fragile Arctic environment and that it has suspended the responsible employees. Citing a "flagrant violation of operating rules," Norilsk Nickel said on June 28 that the employees were responsible for dumping wastewater from a dangerously full reservoir into the tundra.
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
 Foggo: Changing Conditions Require New Arctic Strategy, International Code of Conduct. The head of U.S. naval forces in Europe would like to see more coordination and more dialogue in the Arctic, where military and commercial traffic are increasing, and so is the risk of miscalculations. Adm. James Foggo said this week that, "as for the seas in the High North, you can expect to see us operating there, ensuring freedom of the seas and adherence to international norms and customs again and again." But he also said that additional presence wasn't enough.
USNI News
Spider Baby Boom in a Warmer Arctic. Climate change leads to longer growing seasons in the Arctic. A new study shows that predators like wolf spiders respond to the changing conditions and have been able to produce two clutches of offspring during the short Arctic summer. The greater number of spiders may influence the food chains in Greenland.
Science Daily
Passion for Research Draws Nunavut Scholarship Recipient to Former Whaling Site. For Krista Ulujuk Zawadski of Rankin Inlet, this summer couldn't come quickly enough, because she is eager to return to Qatiktalik or Cape Fullerton to continue her research there. Qatiktalik was a wintering station for American and Scottish whaling ships and a trading point between Inuit and southern whalers during the 1900s.Located about 100 kilometres northeast of Chesterfield Inlet, where Zawadski grew up, today it is part of Ukkusiksalik National Park.
Nunatsiaq Online
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Future Events
Webinar: Understanding Arctic Disaster Risk and Response, July 15, 2020 (Virtual). Arctic environmental change is creating new hazards, and is shifting how we understand and plan for challenges, from disasters to military strategies. Traditional methods to assess risks may underestimate impacts, particularly when geophysical and ecological changes undermine resilience and adaptability, and when external shocks, like COVID-19, stress systems. Dr. Chad Briggs, a Professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will explore tools to develop Arctic risk scenarios, and will discuss security simulations of disaster response in Alaska during the current pandemic. The event is hosted by Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN), an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.
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.
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.
update on schedule...
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan).
The Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. 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. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
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