The Arctic is Showing Stunning Winter Warmth, and These Scientists Think They Know Why.  Last month, temperatures in the high Arctic spiked dramatically, some 36 degrees Fahrenheit above normal - a move that corresponded with record low levels of Arctic sea ice during a time of year when this ice is supposed to be expanding during the freezing polar night.  And now this week, as you can see above, we're seeing another huge burst of Arctic warmth. A buoy close to the North Pole just reported temperatures close to the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 Celsius), which is 10s of degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. Although it isn't clear yet, we could now be in for another period when sea ice either pauses its spread across the Arctic ocean, or reverses course entirely . The Washington Post

 

Alaskans' Cost of Staying Warm: A Thick Coast of Dirty Air. Miners huddled around them to stay warm through the long, cold nights in the Klondike gold rush of the 1800s. Artists have enshrined them in paintings and tourist curios. For many people in America's far north, the old-fashioned wood stove - crackling and radiant, and usually cast-iron black - is as Alaskan as it gets. But many Alaskans also see their home state as a natural wonderland, where the expectation of bracingly pristine air is just as deeply ingrained. Winter has arrived here in a town where St. Nicholas Drive intersects North Santa Claus Lane, and the streetlight poles are painted to look like candy canes. That means wood-fired stoves, interludes of cough-inducing smoke and vehement arguments about who is to blame. It is the season of light, and also the season of soot. New York Times

 

Arctic Research Agency Plan Includes Goals to Improve Alaskans' Quality of Life, 'Resiliency.' The U.S. Arctic Research Commission's plan for the next couple of years will focus mainly on studies and projects to help the people who live in the region and their communities cope with the pressures of rapid change. "A major focus on resilience has emerged as more and more countries ... recognize that the rate of change is speeding up," said Commission chair Fran Ulmer," and that to protect people, and investments and buildings and infrastructure and communities, it's necessary to do a better job of planning." KUAC

 

Cold Tolerance Among Inuit May Come From Extinct Human Relatives. Inuit who live in Greenland experience average temperatures below freezing for at least half of the year. For those who live in the north, subzero temperatures are normal during the coldest months.  Given these frigid conditions, anthropologists have wondered for decades whether the Inuit in Greenland and other parts of the Arctic have unique biological adaptations that help them tolerate the extreme cold. New York Times

 

Russia Expands Its Presence in the Arctic. In December 2014, the Russian military made the decision to reassert its presence in the Arctic. Since that time, six new military bases have been opened, spanning Russia's Arctic zone. They include bases on islands in the Kara and Laptev Seas in the Western Arctic, as well as on Chukotka in the Russian Far East. "The military installations are being set up in order to strengthen Russia's anti-missile and anti-air defenses in that region," said Dmitry Litovkin, military observer at newspaper Izvestia. A number of Russian defense contractors are developing weaponry for the Arctic, Litovkin said. According to him, a cruise missile launched from the Arctic region could reach Moscow in under 15 minutes. UPI

 

[Commentary] China's Arctic Diplomacy: Applied Science. A major pillar of China's deepening Arctic interests over the past few years has been scientific diplomacy, which has been described as the selective use of scientific collaboration between countries to tackle common problems and build partnerships based on mutual science and natural world interests, and has been viewed as making a comeback of sorts in international relations in recent years. In the case of China, the development of joint projects with Arctic states has been a way to increase its own knowledge of the region and to also dispel concerns that the country is seeking to unilaterally challenge the political status quo in the circumpolar north. Arctic Journal

 

New Polar Code for Arctic Ships to Come into Effect in January. A new International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, better known as the Polar Code, will officially come into effect on January 1st. The Code - an international regime that was agreed upon in 2014 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an agency of the United Nations - lays out detailed requirements relating to ship design, operations, prevention of environmental pollution, crew training and safety for vessels travelling through the Arctic and Antarctic. CBC News

 

White House Issues Ambitious Arctic Research Plan.  A new Arctic research plan issued by the Obama administration 1 month before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office provides an updated road map for U.S. federal interagency research on the rapidly changing region for 2017-2021. However, the direction Trump will take regarding Arctic research remains to be seen. The plan, released on 15 December, aims to tackle a number of goals, including improving the well-being of Arctic residents, strengthening coastal community resilience, and getting a better grip on other key regional dynamics. For the latter, the plan calls for more research to better understand the region's atmospheric composition; sea ice cover; marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems; and the mass balance of glaciers, ice caps, and the Greenland ice sheet. An overarching goal calls for generating "environmental intelligence"-environmental knowledge such as observations, data, and models that can be used in support of decision-making.  EOS

6th Annual Fletcher Arctic Conference, February 17-18, 2017 (Medford, MA USA). Fletcher Arctic VI, a TEDx-style event, will showcase the ideas, stories, and initiatives of people who live and work in the Arctic. The conference will bring together inspiring leaders, innovative business people, expert scientists, and artists from the pan-Arctic region. Building on The Fletcher School's interdisciplinary approach, Fletcher Arctic VI will be a forum to engage in conversation and spark open and constructive debate between speakers and participants, providing deep insights into this unique and rapidly changing region.

International Conference on Arctic Science: Bringing Knowledge to Action, April 24- 27, 2017 (Reston, VA  USA). This conference builds on a previous conference from 2011 entitled "Arctic Messenger of Change Conference." The 2017 conference will provide updated scientific, decision-making, and policy-relevant information across a broad array of different Arctic issues and related scientific disciplines. The topics that will be addressed are:

Organizers announce a call for abstracts which are due by December 2, 2016.  The event is organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP).

The 2nd Asian Conference on Permafrost, July 2-6, 2017 (Sapporo, Japan). Delegates will participate in state-of-the-art oral and poster presentations in the modern city of Sapporo (host of the 1972 Winter Olympics). Field trips will visit marginal and extrazonal mountain permafrost sites that support unique geo-eco-hydrological features. All aspects of frozen ground research will be covered, from needle ice to deep permafrost, from frozen ground engineering in cities to permafrost on volcanoes, and from links between frozen ground and ancient cultures to present-day outreach. Plan now to enjoy science and engineering, excellent food, and unique field trips in Sapporo.

2017 Arctic Energy Summit, September 18-20, 2017 (Helsinki, Finland). The 2017 Summit will address energy in the Arctic as it relates to:

The AES is a multi-disciplinary event expected to draw several hundred industry officials, scientists, academics, policy makers, energy professionals and community leaders together to collaborate and share leading approaches on Arctic energy issues.