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June 8 2015

  

16th International Congress on Circumpolar Health: Focus on Future Health and Wellbeing, June 8-12, 2015 (Oulu, Finland). The congress will focus on human health and well-being in the Arctic and northern areas. It is open for everyone interested in Arctic issues, especially scientists, researchers, health care professionals, policy analysts, government agency representatives and community leaders. The congress is organized by the Thule Institute, University of Oulu in collaboration with the International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH), the Nordic Society for Circumpolar Health, the Society of Arctic Health and Biology, and the Rokua Health & Spa. The InternationaI Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH) series are arranged every three years in Arctic countries or countries related to Arctic issues. First congress of the series was arranged in 1967, and it was previously hosted by Oulu in 1971.

 

 

Today's Congressional Action:   

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The Senate is expected to consider the Department of Defense Authorization Act.  The House is not in session.

 

 

 

 

 

Media  

 

greenland Mystery of Greenland's Vanishing Lakes Finally Solved. One of nature's greatest vanishing acts has finally been explained, as scientists have figured out what causes the sudden drainage of some big lakes atop Greenland's ice sheet. In 2006, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Washington noticed that some of the glacial lakes drained away completely -- sometimes in a matter of hours. Two years later, the same researchers discovered how the icy bottoms of the lakes could crack open, triggering the drainage. Huffington Post

 

A Call for Sea Ice Outlook Contributions. The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces a call for Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) contributions to the June report (based on May data). Past contributors and new participants are encouraged to submit pan-Arctic and regional outlooks, spatial forecasts, and maps. For submission guidelines, see: http://www.arcus.org/sipn/sea-ice-outlook/2015/june/call. The submission deadline is 6:00 p.m. (AKDT) on Friday, 12 June 2015. All submissions should be sent to: sio2015@arcus.org. For questions, contact Betsy (betsy@arcus.org).   

 

Hellacious Eel-Like Fish Are Dropping From the Sky in Alaska. It can be hard to go outside in Alaska, but some days it just takes more courage to leave the house. Take last week, for example, when residents of Fairbanks reported seeing several terrifying foot-long eel-like fish scattered around town. Huffington Post

 

Healy, Coast Guard Over 50 Arctic Researchers on Coast Guard Cutter Healy Preparing North Pole Voyage. One of the nation's few ice breakers will take a team of researchers this summer through the Bering Strait and to the North Pole-as part of an international effort to study the chemistry of Arctic waters. The Geotraces project has completed expeditions in seas and oceans across the globe-from the Atlantic to the Antarctic-and this summer they'll be sending four separate voyages to the Arctic. KNOM

 

This Week: Defense and Spending Bills Top Agenda. The Senate will consider the annual defense policy authorization this week, while the House will plow through work on 2016 spending bills and potentially take up President Obama's trade agenda. Senators have filed hundreds of changes to the annual defense bill, with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) warning that the chamber is expected to finish its work by the end of the week. The Hill

 

New Vessels for Russia's Coast Guard. The Russian Coast Guard is renewing its fleet with new ice-going vessels and has been reorganized to meet the enhanced focus on the Arctic. "We didn't have such a massive construction of coast guard vessels and boats even during Soviet times," Commander of Russia's Cost Guard Admiral Yury Alekseyev said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Alaska Dispatch News 

 

nuunavut Feasibility Study for Arctic University in Nunavut. The government of Nunavut has announced it will take the next step towards creating an Arctic university by funding a feasibility study, reports The Canadian Press. "The purpose is to enable access to higher education at home that represents our diverse land," Nunavut Commissioner Nellie Kusugak said in a speech opening the new session of the territorial legislature. "It remains evident there is a direct correlation among relationships between employment, higher earnings and higher education." University World News

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.

 

Future Events  

 

  

52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, June 10-14, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Animal Behavior Society was founded in 1964 to promote the study of animal behavior in the broadest sense, including studies using descriptive and experimental methods under natural and controlled conditions. Current members' research activities span the invertebrates and vertebrates, both in the field and in the laboratory, and include experimental psychology, behavioral ecology, neuroscience, zoology, biology, applied ethology, and human ethology as well as many other specialized areas.

 

US Arctic Policy, June 12, 2015 (Montreal, Canada). On April 24, 2015 the United States began its chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a period of two years. The US agenda has three focus areas: economic and living conditions for Arctic communities; Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the impacts of climate change. To discuss these issues and other Arctic geopolitics themes with scholars, students and various stakeholders from the general public, US Special Representative for the Arctic, Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., USCG (Ret.). will be a keynote speaker. This event is hosted by CIRRICQ.

  

AGU and AAAS Film Screening, Panel Discussion, and Congressional Briefing, June 15-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). In celebration of National Oceans Month, the American Geophysical Union and The American Association for the Advancement of Science invite you to view the award-winning film, Antarctica: On the Edge.  The screening and panel discussion will take place on June 15 at 5:30 PM, at the AAAS Auditorium in Washington, DC. On June 16 at 2:00 PM, our panelists will meet again with Members of Congress and special gusts at a Congressional briefing. RSVP by noon on Monday, June 15 at http://events.signup4.com/extremes. If you have any questions, please email Zoe Williams, AGU (zwilliams@agu.org) or Sara Spizzir (sspizzir@aaas.org).  

 

2015 ESSAS Annual Science Meeting, June 15-17, 2015 (Seattle, WA, USA). This symposium, to be held at the University of Washington, is intended for interdisciplinary scholars who will be prepared to discuss their research in the sub-arctic North Atlantic, sub-arctic North Pacific, and the Arctic Ocean that bears on the issue of how changes in sea ice are likely to affect these marine ecosystems. The symposium will also consider the people who depend upon these ecosystems and how they may be able to cope with the changes in the ecosystem goods and services that are coming. These goods and services include the availability of transportation corridors, the availability of subsistence foods, and the opportunity for commercial fishing. To put the present day in a longer perspective, the symposium will include a session on the paleo-ecology of people in sub-arctic and arctic regions that were forced to adjust to changing sea-ice conditions in the past.

 

6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). This biennial symposium, co-hosted by the US National Ice Center and the US Arctic Research Commission, brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic observations, climate change, and maritime operations. Past symposia expanded the discussion to include the impact of an ice-diminishing arctic on other nations and their maritime operations including commercial transportation, oil and gas exploration and exploitation, fisheries, and oceanographic research. The continuing reduction in Arctic sea ice extent remains a central focus. 


104th Meeting of the USARC, August 25-26, 2015 (Nome, AK, USA).

Attention researchers in the Nome region: USARC (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome . There will be limited opportunities for formal presentations to the Commission, as well as a community comment period. If you would like to share your research (or ideas on research) with the Commission and will be in the area during our visit, please contact USARC's Deputy Director, Cheryl Rosa, at  crosa@arctic.gov by June 30th. The Agenda will be forthcoming. 

 

Polar Law Symposium (8th) will be held in Alaska ( Sept. 23-24, UAF; Sept. 25-26, UAA). It's sponsored by UAF, UAA (and ISER), UAA Justice Center, UW Law School. Abstracts due 3/15/15. This year's conference theme is, "The Science, Scholarship, and Practice of Polar Law: Strengthening Arctic Peoples and Places."

2015 Arctic Energy Summit, September 28-30, 2015 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Institute of the North's 2015 Arctic Energy Summit builds on our legacy efforts to address energy as a fundamental element of the sustainable development of the Arctic as a lasting frontier.Central to this concept is a focus on providing pathways for affordable energy development in the Arctic and for Arctic communities.

 

2015 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 16-18, 2015 (Reykjavik, Iceland). 

The Arctic Circle is the largest global gathering on the Arctic. It is attended by heads of state and governments, ministers, members of parliament, 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. The Arctic Circle highlights issues and concerns, programs, policies and projects; it provides platforms for dynamic dialogue and constructive cooperation. While the plenary sessions are the responsibility of the Arctic Circle, the breakout sessions are organized by various participating partners in their own name and with full authority over the agenda and the choice of speakers.
 
The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change, November 3-6, 2015  (La Jolla, California USA).  The American Polar Society will host this Symposium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  A flyer with a partial list of presenters is available on the Society's website ( americanpolar.org ) and from the Society's Membership Chairman by email.

Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis Meeting, November 3-6, 2015 (Cape Cod, MA, USA). On November 3rd, the 2015 School for young scientists will consider "Regional Oceanography of the Arctic marginal seas" with lectures covering major features of atmospheric, sea ice and oceanographic regimes of the: Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, East-Siberian, Laptev Sea, Kara, Barents and Nordic seas.  On November 4-6, the meeting portion will summarize project accomplishments for the last 3 years of activities and will focus on the formulation of scientific questions and directions for FAMOS future research (2016-2019) to: (a) improve Arctic modeling, employing very high resolution models; (b) develop and test new arctic monitoring/observing systems and (c) improve predictions of Arctic environmental parameters with reduced uncertainties.


Due North: Next Generation Arctic Research & Leadership, November 5-8, 2015 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).  The Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) will convene an interdisciplinary conference of early career scientists working on Arctic issues. The organizers have issued a call for abstracts, due 5/31/15, on the following topics, full descriptions of where are available  here , Arctic Communities, Arctic Sustainable Development, Arctic Wildlife, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Arctic Food Security, Arctic Landscapes, Climate Change and Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, Policy, Politics and Leadership, Arctic Environment (Data and Techniques), Arctic Resources, and Future of Arctic.

  

11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016), June 20-24, 2016 (Potsdam, Germany). The Alfred Wegener Institute has teamed up with UP Transfer GmbH and the University of Potsdam to organize a great conference for you, permafrost researchers. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.

  

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