Arctic Update Header
April 9, 2018

No Arctic-science events are announced for today.

Media
 
Beluga Whales Value Culture and Ancestral Roots, Much Like Humans. Scientific research is increasingly revealing that whales form highly complex societies that are comparable, in many ways, to our own. Now, a new study of beluga whales conducted by an international team of researchers has demonstrated that the animals value culture, ancestral roots and family ties just as much as humans do. Newsweek

The National Weather Service is Replacing Alaska Jobs with Automated Stations. The Trump administration is replacing human operators with million-dollar Finland-made machines at weather stations around Alaska. The National Weather Service said it will eventually save money and argues that no employees will be lost. Employee advocates say the technology misses out on key human observations that are important to national weather forecasting and Alaskan flight planning, and that the administration is being disingenuous about the jobs they are taking away from Alaskans. Anchorage Daily News

Panel: China Making Aggressive Moves in the Arctic.   As China expands its influence, Beijing believes it can claim access to any region on earth - including the Arctic, three experts on maritime security said Friday. Beijing is spreading economic and political influence through One Belt/One Road plane across Asia, into Africa and now the Caribbean. The includes the establishment of China's first overseas military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and eventually, the Arctic, Katie Burkhart, from the Coast Guard commandant's advisory group said, speaking at a special forum sponsored by the Army-Navy Club and the Center for International Maritime Security. USNI News  
 
Russia Will Develop Unmanned Vessels in the Arctic. Convoys of autonomous vessels led by nuclear icebreakers would improve the efficiency of maritime traffic on the North Sea route, according to a study by Russian nuclear researchers. The State Nuclear Corporation of the Russian Federation, Rosatom, and the Federal Institute of Experimental Physics Research (VNIIEF) are working on the development of a digital model of an unmanned vessel that will help improve the efficiency of maritime transport in the Arctic.  Maritime Herald
 
Arctic Coast Guard Forum Members to Hold Arctic Exercises in Spring 2019. At their fourth meeting in Finland, members of the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) agreed to conduct exercises on rescuing people from a cruise ship sinking in ice, the press service of the Russian Federal Security Service reported. "The terms of the second joint multilateral exercise (operation) for rescuing people from a cruise ship sinking in ice, Polaris 2019, were approved at the ACGF meeting. The Arctic
 
russian flag Arctic Shelf Subsoil Plots to be Auctioned Off. The Russian Government has approved a draft law prepared by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, which stipulates auctions for companies wanting to secure the right to use subsoil plots on the Arctic continental shelf, the ministry reports on its website. The document will soon be submitted to the State Duma for its first reading. "The draft law would make it possible to hold auctions where authorized companies could compete for the right to use subsoil plots of federal significance on Russia's continental shelf," the report says, citing Natural Resources Minister Dmitry Donskoi. At present, two companies have permission to develop such plots. These are Gazprom and Rosneft. The Arctic

Future Events


5th Annual Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES), April 19-20, 2018 (Seattle, WA, USA) The Arctic Encounter, the largest annual Arctic policy conference in the U.S., will convene policymakers, industry leaders, scientists, Arctic artists and musical performers, and other stakeholders to debate and discuss emerging Arctic challenges and opportunities including policy, innovation, security, and development. The mission of AES is to raise awareness, engage challenges, and develop solutions for the future of the Arctic region and the people who live there. The 5th annual AES will take place in downtown Seattle at the  Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Pier 66.  

2018 North by North Festival, April 23-29, 2018 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). The North by North Festival captures the spirit of Alaska and the Arctic - to address our challenges and opportunities with Northern innovation and resilience, to build on a rich history and to ensure a future full of promise. The Festival is for the North, and organized by Northerners, with goals of sustainability, livability and growth. The Festival brings innovators from across Alaska, the nation and other Arctic regions to collaborate and address local and circumpolar challenges. Through knowledge, governance, business, design, film, music, food, literature and art, we celebrate the North.

International Tundra Experiment 19th Open Science Meeting, April 25-27, 2018 (Stirling, Scotland United Kingdom). Organizers invite registration for the International Tundra Experiment's (ITEX) 19th Open Science Meeting. The main scientific themes of the meeting will include: rates of change and whole-ecosystem processes; plant functional traits/ "functional diversity change;" tundra data synthesis (e.g. including up-scaling); microbial ecology (including plant-soil interactions); ITEX protocol development; and, submitted abstracts.

** New this week ** 2018 Anchorage Arctic Research Day, April 26, 2018 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). This event is held in conjunction with the 2018 North by North Festival. It is organized by the Arctic Research Consortium of the US, the University of Alaska Anchorage, the Anchorage Museum, and the Institute of the North. This gathering will include participants from government, corporate, academic, not-for-profit, and Indigenous groups, and will feature oral panel discussions by leading researchers across the natural and social sciences, health, engineering, humanities, the arts, and governance. The day will also feature both formal and informal activities to encourage networking and robust roundtable discussions to encourage collaborations across the boundaries of discipline, organization, and sector.
 
Council on Earth Cryology, May 15-16, 2018 (Moscow, Russian Federation).  Scientific council on Earth cryology of Russian Academy of Sciences  together with Department of Geocryology of Faculty of Geology of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute of the Earth Cryosphere, the Tyumen Scientific Senter, Melnikov Permafrost Institute (Yakutsk) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science holds on May 15 - 16, 2018 an enlarged meeting with participation of the Russian and foreign scientists, engineers and experts:  "Current problems of geocryology." The meeting of Scientific council on Earth Cryology of RAS has the status of the International meeting. The publication of materials in the collection of reports is planned. Submissions ( Submission Form ), offers on cooperation, support of a conference and papers ( Sample of Paper ) to e-mail:  [email protected]

Alaska National Lab Day, May 30-31, 2018 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA). Research scientists and lab directors from the 17 US Department of Energy national laboratories will co-lead conversations about cutting-edge research important to Alaska and the world. Discussions will focus on the following themes:
-       Addressing the energy field of the future;
-       Defense energy systems in the North;
-       Natural hazards and aerospace/defense;
-       Empowering Alaska's entrepreneurs;
-       Navigating the changing Arctic; and,
-       Developing local and global energy solutions.
 
The Effects of Climate Change on the World's Oceans, June 4-8, 2018 (Washington, DC USA).   The 4th International Symposium will bring together experts from around the world to better understand climate impacts on ocean ecosystems - and how to respond. The event is hosted by a variety of groups including International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), N. Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC), and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
  
International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) VIII, June 11-14, 2018 (Stockholm, Sweden).
The international Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) is a forum for earth scientists who study the Arctic. It was founded to help understand the little known Arctic geology and to foster cooperation and collaboration among Arctic researchers. There have been 7 meetings since its  inception in 1991. See here  for more information.
 
POLAR 2018, June 15-27, 2018 (Davos, Switzerland).  POLAR2018 is a joint event from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). The SCAR meetings, the ASSW and the Open Science Conference will be hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL under the patronage of the Swiss Committee on Polar and High Altitude Research. The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF is organizing POLAR2018.

5th European Conference on Permafrost, June 23-July 1, 2018 (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France). In the continuation of the International and Regional conferences convened by the International Permafrost Association, the 5th European Conference on Permafrost (EUCOP 2018) will be held in Chamonix-Mont Blanc, France, 23rd June - 1st July 2018. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level. Conference website: here.

Arctic Observing Summit 2018, June 24-26, 2018 (Davos, Switzerland). The Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) is a high-level biennial summit that provides a platform to address urgent and broadly recognized needs of Arctic observing across all components of the Arctic system. AOS 2018 will be held in Davos, Switzerland ( June 24-26) and will focus on pressing issues in the implementation and support of sustained observations that can be addressed through a business-case lens. To that end, short submissions are requested that address any and all aspects of the overarching theme and sub-themes. Additional information can be found here.
 
17th International Congress of Circumpolar Health (ICCH17), August 12-15, 2018 (Copenhagen, Denmark). The ICCH congresses are held every third year in different locations in the circumpolar area and represent the largest scientific meetings worldwide on circumpolar health. The ICCH congresses serve as the primary source of information exchange and scholarly communication in issues relating to circumpolar health. More than 750 participants generally register and participate in each Congress, and more than 400 scientific papers or posters are usually presented.

UArctic Congress 2018, September 3-7, 2018 (Oulu and Helsinki, Finland).
The UArctic Congress 2018 will bring together key UArctic meetings and a science conference into one single gathering, including business meetings of the Council of UArctic, Rectors' Forum, Student Forum, and Thematic Networks & UArctic Institutes Leadership Team. The Congress is an integral part of the Finland's Arctic Council chairmanship program, and open to the public. The event will highlight the themes and priorities of the Finnish chairmanship, including the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

15th International Circumpolar Remote Sensing Symposium, September 10-14, 2018 (Potsdam, Germany). This symposium focuses specifically on remote sensing applications in polar environments, both Arctic and Antarctic. The theme of this year's symposium is, "Polar Regions in Transformation - Climatic Change and Anthropogenic Pressures." 

The second Arctic Biodiversity Congress is hosted by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council, and the Ministry of the Environment, Finland. The second Arctic Biodiversity Congress will build on the success of the first Congress, held in 2014 in Trondheim, Norway, and will bring together scientists, policymakers government officials, Indigenous representatives, Traditional Knowledge holders, industry, non-governmental organizations, and others to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Arctic biodiversity. 

2018 Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) Project Annual School and Meeting, October 23-26, 2018 (Bergen, Norway) Major goals of this meeting are to coordinate FAMOS activities, report accomplishments, exchange ideas and hypotheses, enhance international arctic studies collaboration and discuss plans for continuing FAMOS work beyond 2019. Meeting registration form is available at project websites: here and here. For questions and details contact A. Proshutinsky, Mike Steele, and Amelie Bouchat.

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