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** New this week **
Alaska Voices: Nothing About Us Without Us, 8:00- 9:00 am AKDT July 15, 2020 (Virtual). This event is hosted by the Arctic Policy Study Group. Representatives from Alaska's Arctic regions and the State of Alaska will speak to policy priorities for their region and the state. Topics include: What needs to be done in the Arctic policy structure in DC and in the Arctic Council structure to increase Alaska's voice? What are your organization's policy priorities for the Arctic? What opportunities exist to advance these priorities? How can the State of Alaska and the U.S. Government help advance these policies? What partnerships and collaboration will help in the effort to advance these policies?
Webinar: Understanding Arctic Disaster Risk and Response, 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT, 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.
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Human Interaction and Disturbance of Denning Polar Bears on Alaska's North Slope.
Across the central coast of Alaska's North Slope, human-polar bear interactions concern both industry and wildlife managers alike. In response to sea ice reductions due to climate change, parturient polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation are increasingly accessing coastal topography for suitable denning habitat. Land-denning bears are more susceptible to anthropogenic stressors, chiefly in areas with high levels of energy exploration, extraction, and production. For over 30 years, denning polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation have been monitored directly or through opportunistic observations.
Science, July 10, 2020
Changes in Phytoplankton Concentration Now Drive Increased Arctic Ocean Primary Production. Historically, sea ice loss in the Arctic Ocean has promoted increased phytoplankton primary production because of the greater open water area and a longer growing season. However, debate remains about whether primary production will continue to rise should sea ice decline further. Using an ocean color algorithm parameterized for the Arctic Ocean, we show that primary production increased by 57% between 1998 and 2018. Surprisingly, whereas increases were due to widespread sea ice loss during the first decade, the subsequent rise in primary production was driven primarily by increased phytoplankton biomass, which was likely sustained by an influx of new nutrients. This suggests a future Arctic Ocean that can support higher trophic-level production and additional carbon export.
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 Methane Emissions Continue to Rise. The amount of methane in Earth's atmosphere continues to rise. That is the conclusion of two new studies from the Global Carbon Project. Researchers synthesized all known data about methane from emissions inventories, atmospheric measurements, and models to assemble a global "methane budget" that details which processes add the gas to the atmosphere and which remove it. They found that global emissions of the potent greenhouse gas totaled 576 million metric tons per year for the 2008 to 2017 decade-a 9 percent increase compared to the previous decade.
NASA
Periods of Ice-Free Arctic Seas Could Bring More Ocean Noise in Changing Marine Habitats. Scientists examining levels of ocean noise in the Bering Sea-an important migratory seascape for whales, walruses, seals, and other acoustically sensitive animals-have confirmed that the presence of sea ice plays a central role in the soundscape of these Arctic waters. A growing concern is that the disappearance of sea ice due to a changing climate could mean a marine realm increasingly filled with shipping and other human-related ocean noise, according to scientists from Southall Environmental Associates, WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), and other groups in a new study.
News Wise
 Microplastics Catch an Atmospheric Ride to the Oceans and the Arctic. Plastic is ubiquitous in human environments-and it doesn't stay put. Tiny plastic particles have been found in some of the most remote parts of the planet, showing up in ice cores drilled in the Arctic, in protected wilderness areas in the Western US, and on high mountains in the European Alps. Researchers have long suspected that these minuscule particles were being transported long distances through the atmosphere before raining down or falling out of the atmosphere as dust. A modeling study published this week bolsters the evidence for this idea, modeling how microplastics from vehicle tires and brake pads hitch an atmospheric ride from urban streets to remote regions and the world's oceans.
Chemical & Engineering News
New Infrastructure and Investments in IT: What New Arctic Regions Expect. A few districts in the North-West may join the Russian Arctic zone, and this change will favor their transport, tourism and investment systems, local authorities told TASS, stressing the incentives for the Arctic residents would be helpful to develop the sectors, which formerly investors would not want to consider. The State Duma has adopted in the second reading addendums to a bill, which expands the Arctic zone by eight districts and cities in the North-West.
TASS
New Churchill Facility Will Give Scientists Great Look at Arctic Environment. The Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO) is nearing completion of its construction which started in 2015. Construction is expected to be done by this fall and the observatory should be operational by November. The $44 million facility is run by the University of Manitoba and will include an Ocean Sea Ice Mesocosm (OSIM), a fully integrated Environmental Observing (EO) system and a logistic base.
Winnipeg Sun
 Reports of Dead Seabirds Raise Concerns of Another Die-Off. The last few weeks have seen another alarming uptick in the number of dead, emaciated seabirds found washed up on the shores in the Bering Strait region. While the exact cause of the deaths is not known, the last few years have seen a number of disturbing marine changes that some scientists warn could indicate a lasting ecological shift, with huge implications for marine life and the people that rely on it. Robb Kaler, a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage who oversees seabird reports, said the first reports of dead seabirds in the region came in early June.
Nome Nugget
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Future Events
** New this week **
Public Information Session: 2022-2026 Arctic Research Plan Development, 2-3 PM EDT July 20, 2020 (webinar). If you are interested in being part of the conversation on Arctic research planning or are curious about what the Arctic Research Plan is and how it is being developed, please join us for an IARPC Webinar. The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) will share information on the development of the next five-year Arctic Research Plan, how you can get involved, and what kinds of input we are seeking. There will also be time for questions and discussion. All are welcome. Register for the webinar
here.
** New this week **
Arctic Science Coalition Building Webinar with Brett Veerhusen, 2-3 PM EDT July 29, 2020 (Virtual)
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The most impactful Arctic research is driven by a strong, diverse coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations united by a common mission. In this virtual workshop Brett Veerhusen, Ocean Strategies founder, will share how he has built coalitions in fisheries research, management, and policy action in Alaska, and teach you how to move from an idea to an action plan by building a coalition that gets you to your Arctic research or policy goal.
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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