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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to consider S.764, the National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2015.
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 Offshore Leasing Plan Leaves Door Open to Arctic Drilling-for Now.
The Obama Administration today released its draft plan for offshore oil and gas drilling over the next five years. The proposal keeps the door open to more drilling in the Arctic Ocean - for now. But one option the administration is considering would offer no new leases at all. Alaska Public Radio
Drones Becoming More Popular in the Arctic. U.S. State Department official Julie Gourley told a crowd at the Carlson Center Monday that the use of unmanned aircraft systems has grown widespread in the circumpolar north in recent years because they serve as the perfect platform for surveying the vast expanse of the Arctic for such purposes as research and environmental monitoring. "They allow for the ability to measure environmental conditions that currently pose a challenge for manned aircraft," she said. "...Challenges such as bad weather and lack of airfield facilities. And the high cost of operating aircraft in the Arctic." Alaska Public Radio
 Climate Warming Accelerating Carbon Loss From Thawing Arctic Soils, Study Finds.
Warmer, wetter conditions in the Arctic are accelerating the loss of carbon stored in tundra and permafrost soils, creating a potential positive feedback that further boosts global temperatures, a Dartmouth College study finds. The findings appear in the journal Climate Change Responses. For thousands of years, Arctic grasses, shrubs and other plants have removed carbon from the atmosphere and stored it in the tundra soil, where microbes feed on decomposing organic matter. Phys.Org
US Government Proposes New Drilling Leases in Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its new five-year offshore oil and gas draft program yesterday. In its 2017-2022 program plan, the government announced plans to open up a lease in the Beaufort Sea in 2020, Cook Inlet in 2021 and in the Chukchi Sea in 2022. "These potential sales in the three Alaska program areas are scheduled late in the five-year period to provide additional opportunity to evaluate and obtain information regarding environmental issues, subsistence use needs, infrastructure capabilities, and results from any exploration activity associated with existing leases," the draft proposed program says. CBC News
[Opinion] Arctic Policy Decisions Must be 'Based on Facts.'
Officials at the Arctic Science Summit Week being held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have no trouble listing the far-reaching areas Arctic policy must address or on what to base those policies, but they say determining and implementing specific policies is difficult in a rapidly changing environment. Resource development, environmental protection, subsistence use, monitoring, increased shipping, enhanced mapping and tsunami and earthquake response are all areas identified as needing enhanced Arctic policies. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 23-25, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Fairbanks workshop aims to explore recent advances and innovations in indigenous science and scholarship in the circumpolar north and its neighbors. The workshop will bring together indigenous experts and researchers from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds to explore the role and contributions of indigenous frameworks and knowledge systems in advancing fields of science and informing global solutions.
Using an Environmental intelligence Framework to Evaluate the Impacts of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic, March 31, 2016 (Washington, DC, USA).
The intensity and extent of ocean acidification in the Arctic will increase rapidly as atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise making the region a bellwether for the global ocean during the next few decades. The environmental changes brought on by ocean acidification could pose a significant threat to Arctic ecosystems that are already facing challenges from changes in sea ice distribution, warming and increased freshwater discharge. New ways of collecting and integrating critical environmental intelligence will be discussed in the context of developing resilience and adaptation strategies for dealing with ocean acidification.
This event is sponsored by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 31-April 2, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Juneau Workshop, organized in collaboration with University of Alaska Southeast Department of Social Science, aims to explore the contributions and potentials of Arctic social sciences in the emerging synergies that involve humanities, natural sciences, and engineering. The connections we attempt to foster reach mainly into two directions within the recent history of Arctic research.
15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar, April 1, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA).
The American Society for Circumpolar Health will host the 15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar in Anchorage, Alaska. This event will include the annual meeting of the American Society for Circumpolar Health, the Robert Fortuine Memorial lecture, and the Albrecht Milan Foundation will provide the Albrecht-Milan Emerging Professional Award to one of the Arctic Health Science Seminar presenters. The call for abstracts is open through
Monday February 29, 2016.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, April 14-16, 2016 (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA).
The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. This workshop will gather a diverse group of scholars to discuss the state-of-the art in Arctic social sciences and develop visioning scenarios for the future of social science research in the Arctic. The core topics will parallel discussions held at other regional workshops (Portland, OR and Providence, RI), which include: social sciences research and climate change; interdisciplinary research in the Arctic; social sciences and humanities in the Arctic, and applied social sciences research.
Alaska Rural Energy Conference, April 26-28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Rural Energy Conference is a three day event offering a large variety of technical sessions covering new and ongoing energy projects in Alaska, as well as new technologies and needs for Alaska's remote communities. Building on the growing success, the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power have joined forces again to organize and sponsor the 10th annual Alaska Rural Energy Conference.
High North Dialogue 2016: The Blue Future of the Arctic, May 25-26, 2016.
HND is an annual conference hosted by the High North Center at Nord University, engaging a wide audience of researchers and future leaders of the region. It will address the necessary questions to effectively promote dialogue between interested stakeholders on how to sustainably develop the different realities of the many Arctics. PhD and Masters students can also participate in a week long credit awarding graduate course.
14th IATS Seminar, June 19-25, 2016 (Bergen, Norway).
The University of Bergen (UiB) is honored to host the 14th IATS Seminar in Bergen, Norway, from Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 June 2016 in co-operation with the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, an academic network with the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Rhode Island, 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.
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.
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