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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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Media
 New Permafrost Map Shows Areas in Alaska Vulnerable to Thaw-Induced Collapses.
A new map of northern hemisphere permafrost identifies the areas that are most vulnerable to thawing and slumping. The map shows which regions in the circumpolar north are susceptible to the permafrost formations known as "thermokarsts," where the land surface collapses when ice within the soil thaws and drains away. Thermokarst features can be sinkholes, gullies, new wetlands or expanded lakes, each with varying effects on emissions of greenhouse-gas-containing carbon that had previously been trapped in hard-frozen ground. Alaska Dispatch News
Wildlife Body Sounds Alarm About Declining Arctic Caribou.
Devastated caribou herds across northern Canada have sparked a new awareness campaign by World Wildlife Fund-Canada which claims that recent statistics paint a "dire picture" for the future of barren-ground caribou. In a news release dated Oct. 12, the wildlife organization calls for a moratorium on mineral exploration permits in all regions identified as caribou calving grounds and says it will work with communities to advocate for the protection of those areas.
Nunatsiaq Online
Environmental Project to Address Challenges Facing Seven Northern European Upland Areas to be Held in Donegal.
ASCENT, a new innovative project to collectively address the environmental challenges facing seven northern European upland areas, will be officially launched by the Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Terence Slowey on Thursday. This event will take place in the Dunlewey Community Centre, in the shadows of the iconic Errigal mountain, which is one of the pilot sites chosen for this project. Donegal Now
Five "Boaty McBoatface" Facts.
The vessel is already well known because of an online public vote to name it. The public chose the name Boaty McBoatface, but in the end, it wasn't quite that simple... Here are five things you didn't know about the ship: (1)
The ship won't be called Boaty McBoatface. (2) It's massive. (3) Money, money, money, monayyy! It's really expensive... BBC News
 Coast Guard Cutter Healy Return to Homeport, After 127-Day Deployment in Arctic Ocean.
The Coast Guard Cutter Healy and its crew returned to its homeport in Seattle at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, after a 127-day summer deployment in the Arctic Ocean. The Healy's crew conducted three groundbreaking scientific studies in the Arctic, discovering new jellyfish species, collecting data on climate change and observing the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea. KBKW
Russian Geographical Society Announces a Competition to Participate in the Arctic Student Forum in Norway.
The Russian Geographical Society and the Norwegian research company Akvaplan Niva have announced a competition to participate in the second Arctic Student Forum, according to the Russian Geographical Society website. The forum will take place in Tromso (Norway) on January 20-25, 2017, as part of the Arctic Frontiers international conference. "Student delegates at the Arctic Student Forum will take part in topical workshops, round tables, scientific sessions and cultural events organized as part of the Arctic Frontiers week, the website reads. The Arctic
Polar Bears, Growing Desperate for Food, Threaten Native Alaskans.
While Carla SimsKayotuk was getting ready for work last year in one of the U.S. Arctic's northernmost villages, she noticed her door wasn't shut all the way. She scrunched her head down as she opened it slowly and peeked outside. "And what do I see? Two huge eyes staring at me. It was a baby polar bear cub," SimsKayotuk recalled. "My eyes got huge and his eyes got huge. I slammed my door shut." PBS News
Polar Bears Can't Just Switch to Terrestrial Food.
With a shorter season of sea ice, polar bears have less access to marine mammals. But switching to a terrestrial diet deprives them of the fatty seal meals they need to thrive. When the Arctic Ocean freezes over in the autumn, polar bears set off in search of their favorite meals:
fatty ringed seals and bearded seals
. By the summer, the sea ice begins to melt and break apart. Deprived of access to the tasty seals, polar bears spend the summer fasting. At least, that's what's supposed to happen. As the planet warms, the warmer ice-free season is getting longer and longer. So what's a hungry bear to do?
Scientific American
 Bat Biologists in Yukon and BC Brace for Arrival of Deadly White-nose Syndrome.
Biologists on Canada's western coast are bracing for the arrival of a deadly disease called white-nose syndrome in British Columbia and Yukon's bats, but a number of mysteries mean the disease's impact is still unclear. The disease, which causes white patches to grow on bats' noses and wings, has killed more than six million bats in 28 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces since it was first discovered in eastern New York in the winter of 2006-2007. CBC News
Recent Forest Fires 'Destroyed' 2 Million Hectares- 'An Unprecedented Catastrophe in Siberia.'
Oilmen forced to stop work after being trapped in 'horseshoe' of burning taiga, as pall of smoke smothers Irkutsk region where state of emergency imposed. A peak of two million hectares were on fire around 22 September in eastern Siberia, with 'around 900,000 hectares are still on fire today', said Greenpeace, amid concern for children breathing fumes for weeks on end. Students have been sent home from 18 schools in Irkutsk region.
Siberian Times
The Saami University That Creates Indigenous Scientists.
Traditional knowledge is increasingly becoming a part of scientific research, but Indigenous societies want this work to be relevant to their communities. Education can lead to the creation of Indigenous scientists who can then undertake research to advance their communities, says Gunn-Britt Retter, the head of the Arctic and Environment Unit at the Saami Council. In the global effort to improve the quantity - and quality - of Arctic science and the understanding of changes in the region, research institutions can cultivate meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples to empower their societies - and answer relevant questions about climate change and adaptation, says Retter. News Deeply
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
** New this week**
Promoting Urban Sustainability in the Arctic: Public Event, October 21, 2016, Washington, DC.
The George Washington University Dept. of Geography, IERES, and the Sustainability Collaborative present Partnerships for Int'l Research and Education (PIRE) "Promoting Urban Sustainability in the Arctic: Public Event" and reception to follow. A panel discussion, from 4:00 to 5:00 pm on the GW campus, on social sustainability in Arctic conditions, the economic role of cities, Arctic urban planning, and the political framing of sustainability in the Arctic. More info here.
Arctic Technology Conference, October 24-26, 2016 (St. John's, Canada). Founded in 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is the world's foremost event for the development of offshore resources in the fields of drilling, exploration, production and environmental protection. The Arctic Technology Conference (ATC) is built upon OTC's successful multidisciplinary approach, with 14 technical societies and organizations working together to deliver the world's most comprehensive Arctic event.
Fulbright Arctic Week. October 25-27 (Washington, DC)
The 18-month Fulbright Arctic Initiative supports U.S. priorities on Arctic issues and increasing mutual understanding between Americans and those in other countries. As a culmination of the program, 17 scholars will be presenting their work at public events. Other invited speakers will include officials from the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Arctic Executive Steering Committee, and U.S. Arctic Youth Ambassadors, among other. For more information, please visit the
Fulbright Arctic Week website
and/or
register your interest for updates
.
October 25, 2-5:30pm - Smithsonian Natural History Museum
October 26, 2-5pm - Arctic Policy Dialogue at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
October 27, 9am-4:30pm - Fulbright Arctic Symposium at the National Academy of Sciences (Constitution Ave. location)
ARCUS Arctic Research Seminar Series with George Divoky, October 26, 2016 (Washington, DC USA). The Arctic Research Consortium of the US (ARCUS) is pleased to announce the Arctic Research Seminar Series event "Years of Change: a seabird responds to a melting Arctic." The ARCUS Arctic Research Seminar Series brings some of the leading Arctic researchers to Washington, DC to share the latest findings and what they mean for decision-making. These seminars will be interest to Federal agency officials, Congressional staff, NGOs, associations, and the public.
Towing Safety Advisory Committee, October 2016 Meeting, October 26-27, 2016 (Washington, DC USA). The Towing Safety Advisory Committee will meet in Washington, DC, to review and discuss recommendations from its Subcommittees and to receive briefs. This committee is established in accordance with, and operates under the provisions of, the Federal Advisory Committee Act. As stated in 33 U.S.C. 1231a, the Towing Safety Advisory Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security on matters
relating to shallow-draft inland and coastal waterway navigation and
towing safety.
1st International Muskox Health Ecology Symposium, November 7-10, 2016 (Calgary, AB Canada).
The goal of this symposium is to share knowledge on muskox health ecology and sustainability across a variety of international stakeholders including community members/users, industry, wildlife management, and academia. We will discuss: the values, ecological, economic, social and cultural, of muskoxen; population status and trends; threats, vulnerabilities and resilience or sustainability; knowledge gaps; disease ecology; and existing and new tools for muskox health monitoring and research. For more information, please contact Susan Kutz.
Annual Scientific Meeting 2016, December 5-9, 2016 (Winnipeg, MP Canada).
ArcticNet
will host its 12th Annual Scientific Meeting.
The ASM2016 will welcome researchers, students, Inuit, Northerners, policy makers and stakeholders to address the numerous environmental, social, economical and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the Arctic. As the largest annual Arctic research gathering held in Canada, ArcticNet's ASM is the ideal venue to showcase results from all fields of Arctic research, stimulate discussion and foster collaborations among those with a vested interest in the Arctic and its peoples.
** New this week **
IV International Forum, March 2017 (Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation)
Arkhangelsk will host the Forum. The Forum will be titled Human in the Arctic and will be aimed at putting together joint efforts of the international community to promote effective development of the Arctic region as a territory for comfort life, work and leisure. The Forum will be attended by government officials, representatives of international organizations and prominent business communities, centers for political studies, Polar researchers and members of the international Arctic expeditions, foreign political scientists and economists, Russian and foreign journalists from leading international media organizations. The Forum will be attended by the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin. Additional information will be announced
here
.
** New this week**
The Arctic Science Summit Week, March 31- April 7, 2017 (Prague, Czech Republic). This event is sponsored by the University of South Bohemia in Cecke Budejovice, the Faculty of Science, and the Center for Polar Ecology of the Czech Republic. The Science Symposium will address the three sub-themes: changes in the Arctic, global implications of Arctic changes, and images of global change on the Arctic.
** New this week **
Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences: People and Places (ICASS IX), June 8-12, 2017 (Umeå, Sweden).
ICASS IX's theme is People & Place. Research on social sciences and humanities have a great responsibility to address the challenges for sustainable development in the Arctic, with a specific focus on the many different parts of the Arctic and the people that live there. The multiple Arctics have lately been addressed by many policy makers and researchers. The purpose is often to counteract the stereotypic understanding of the Arctic too often represented by icebergs and polar bears. A focus on people and place highlights the many variances across the region in terms of climate, political systems, demography, infrastructure, history, languages, legal systems, land and water resources etc. etc.
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.
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