Combating Food Insecurity in the Arctic Despite COVID-19. In 2018, we had two greenhouse projects. Today, we have about 25 ongoing projects. We have also hired a team of 17 full-time people since then. The mobile greenhouse can grow up to 140 different varieties of produce in Arctic, desert and urban climates using hydroponic technology and precision climate controls. Hydroponics is a method for growing crops without soil, instead using water rich in mineral nutrients. In Arctic areas without fertile soil, this technology can provide much needed food security. High North News

 

Several New Bird Species Found in Russian Arctic National Park. The discoveries were made by biologists during scientific work in the southern cluster of Russian Arctic National Park on Novaya Zemlya. The scientists found several bird species that are not typical for this region. "During the summer expedition to the north of Novaya Zemlya, the scientists monitored the biological diversity of birds on the archipelago. The most unexpected encounter was the sighting of a barn swallow (Hirundorustica) and a European chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita). Both species are typical for more southern regions, and they have not been seen before in the protected area," said Alexander Kirilov, director of Russian Arctic National Park. The Arctic

 

Fall Whaling Returns to Normalcy. Fall whaling season on the North Slope is "back to normalcy" in the words of Arnold Brower Jr., Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission executive director. Since an early-season start on Aug. 25, crews across the slope have landed 19 bowheads, compared to last fall season's single catch. An unusual whale migration last fall - likely caused by unprecedented high temperatures and record low offshore ice - led to the lowest harvest among all Alaskan subsistence communities since 1991 with only 30 whales, according to last year's subsistence report. Utqiaġvik whalers landed one whale mid-November, the latest on record since the 70's. The Arctic Sounder

 

Rising Water Temperatures Pose Risk to Arctic Char: New Research. Arctic char, the most northerly freshwater fish on the planet, may struggle to survive as the polar climate warms, five years of research in western Nunavut suggests. Even shorter-term exposure to higher water temperatures could prove deadly to Arctic char, said Matt Gilbert in his PhD thesis, called "Thermal limits to the cardiorespiratory performance of Arctic char (salvelinus alpinus) in a rapidly warming North." Nunatsiaq Online

 

NSF Grant Funding UVA Researchers' Efforts in Arctic Community. In recent years, University of Virginia researchers have combined forces across disciplines to address the challenges facing one of the most rapidly changing and important regions of the world, far north of Charlottesville, Virginia. The northernmost settlement in the U.S. Arctic, the city of Utqiaġvik, Alaska, is home to more than 4,000 people who are coping with the atmospheric and human impacts of climate change in a community built upon thawing permafrost along the coast of the Arctic Ocean... Earlier this month, the National Science Foundation, through its "Navigating the New Arctic" initiative, awarded the Arctic Research Center a five-year, $3 million grant to design and monitor a network of integrated meteorological, aquatic and geotechnical sensors throughout Utqiaġvik. Mirage News

 

Newly Appointed US Coordinator for the Arctic Region Tours the Nordics. From September 22 through October 12, U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region James P. DeHart will travel to Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, as well as Nuuk, Sisimiut, and Ilulissat on Greenland, according to a press release from US Department of State. "Coordinator DeHart will engage in consultations with Arctic partners to further develop our balanced approach in the region and advance U.S. interests in the areas of security, economic growth, environmental stewardship, energy, and support for indigenous communities." High North News