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October 6, 2014
 

2014 Week of the Arctic, October 6-11, 2014 (Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow, Alaska, USA). The Institute of the North will host the 2014 Week of the Arctic. The 2014 Week of the Arctic is a platform for community leaders, subject matter experts and interested stakeholders to learn about the Arctic while contributing to a growing list of priorities and perspectives. Presentations, roundtable discussions and workshops will be held in Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow. Throughout the week, presentations and interviews will be captured on video for distribution through social media and web-based sharing.


capital Today's Congressional Action:  

The House and Senate are not in session.

Media  

 

wildfire Soot From Canadian Wildfires May Have Increased Greenland Ice Melt. Researchers studying Greenland's massive ice-sheet are making some worrisome findings. Danish-born glaciologist Jason Box who has studied glaciers for two-decades is in the second year of a study called the Dark Snow Project. He is with the Geological Survey of Greenland and Denmark. They found that soot is covering immense areas of the ice-sheet, darkening and increasing its heat absorption, causing melting to increase. The soot may be from a variety of sources including burning of coal, diesel, dung and wood. Alaska Dispatch News 

 

United Nations The Arctic on the UN Agenda. To those of us who deal with the Arctic on a regular basis, the significance of the melting ice for the United Nations climate negotiations and vice versa is abundantly clear. But not everybody understands all the connections. A major media event like this week's New York climate summit hosted by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in person was a fine chance to focus attention on the need to protect the Arctic. Greenpeace made good use of it, handing over a petition with six million signatures just ahead of the big event, and with hundreds of thousands gathered in New York for the Climate March. Alaska Dispatch News 

 

Contaminants Researcher Says Caribou Meat Safe for Now. If you enjoy eating caribou meat, a visiting researcher has some good news for you: testing shows caribou meat contains low amounts of harmful contaminants. Mary Gamberg, a scientist in Whitehorse, Yukon, gave a public lecture before about 20 people at the Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit Oct. 2 entitled, "Contaminants in Caribou." "The good news is that contaminants in Arctic caribou are super low," said Gamberg, who works for the federal government's Northern Contaminants Program. Nunatsiaq Online 

 

Science Research Team Up for Increased Arctic Cooperation. Salve Dahle with Akvaplan-Niva in Norway hopes the verbal conflict and trade boycotts between East and West will have little consequence for a High North research cooperation agreement signed with the Russian Geographical Society. "In the High North, we have a situation where cooperation and trust has developed for more than 25 years. It is in nobody's interest that this cooperation is closed down," Dahle, Akvaplan-Niva's director, told BarentsObserver. He said it is important to keep the relations and the friendship across the border and to develop cooperation where it is possible. Alaska Dispatch News 

 

Climate Change Could Alter Male-Female Ratio, Study Says. Scientists continue to warn us about the dangerous ways that climate change is affecting our planet, from extreme weather to Arctic sea ice melt to rising global temperatures.  But new research suggests that global warming may be having a profound impact on human beings as well - by changing the ratio of men to women. The Weather Channel 

 

The Walrus and the Politicians [Opinion]. Let's consider the walrus crisis. They're piling up in Alaska. About 35,000 walruses have formed what looks to be a humongous brown ball along the northern coast. A mass of critters, some weighing 4,000 pounds, are pressed shoulder to shoulder - or flipper to flipper. Normally, they'd be sitting on chunks of ice, periodically flopping into the water to hunt for snails and clams. But the ice has melted away, and now they're stuck on land. New York Times 

 

Russia to Deploy Weather Satellite Group in Arctic. Russia plans to deploy satellites to monitor the Arctic, a region President Vladimir Putin has set out as a priority because of its strategic location and natural resource riches. The Federal Space Agency, Roskosmos, said on October 6 that "two Arktika-M satellites will be placed in a highly elliptical near-Earth orbit" soon to monitor the weather and environment in the region. Radio Free Europe 

 

Arctic Hunters Feel the Pinch of Declining Herds. The Western Arctic Caribou Herd is on the move in the Northwest Arctic, with eager hunters taking aim, ready to stock up for winter. But the odds are stacked against hunters, and caribou, for several reasons. Last week, area biologist Jim Dau, who has been studying the herd for more than a quarter-century, said the number of caribou at Onion Portage recently was the lowest he'd ever seen. Alaska Dispatch News 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

The House and Senate did not formally consider Arctic legislation Friday.

Future Events

  

[UK] Committee to Host Bumper Day of Evidence, October 7, 2014 (London, England). The House of Lords Committee on the Arctic will hold three evidence sessions on key issues for the region including shipping, opportunities for energy resource extraction and the role of Russia in the Arctic.

 

Making Progress on Food Security in the North American North: Building on 15 Years of Research, October 7, 2014 (Webinar) Food security is a world-wide societal challenge, and one area of the world where food insecurity is increasing is the North American Arctic and Subarctic. In this presentation Dr. Loring reviews research on food security in general and as it has been executed in the North over the last 15 years. He reviews a comprehensive set of findings regarding why people are food insecure: challenges like remoteness and climate change play a role, but the primary drivers of food insecurity for northern peoples continue to be governance and policy issues, issues that have been recognized and critiqued for many decades. In light of new challenges to the rights of indigenous peoples in the North such as climate change and development, Loring offers suggestions for future research and policy that focuses on place-based and rights-based approaches to planning and development.

 

2014 Sea Ice Outlook Post-Season Discussion, October 9, 2014 (Webinar) Registration is now available for the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) webinar, which will focus on post-season analysis and discussion of the 2014 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO). This webinar will provide a venue for discussion of the 2014 SIO, including processes that influenced sea ice melt this year and a review of the differing approaches to predicting the sea ice minimum extent. The webinar is open to all interested participants, including sea ice researchers, students, decision-makers, and others. This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, 9 October 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. AKDT. Registration is required. To register, go here.

 

2014 FAMOS School and Workshop #3, October 21-24, 2014 (Woods Hole, MA). The Forum for Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) is an international effort to focus on enhancing collaboration and coordination among Arctic marine and sea ice modelers, theoreticians and observationalists synthesize major results from the field studies and coordinated numerical experiments. The major themes of workshop include but not limited by studies focused on: predictions; Arctic observational and modeling initiatives; fate of sea ice in models and observations; atmospheric, sea ice and ocean dynamics; process studies and parameterizations; model validation and calibration; numerical improvements and algorithms; ecosystems, biological issues, and geochemistry.

 

Transatlantic Science Week 2014, October 27-28, 2014 (Toronto, Canada). The purpose of the annual Transatlantic Science Week (TSW) is to promote enhanced cooperation between Canadian, American and Norwegian stakeholders in research, innovation and higher education. TSW is an arena where different stakeholders can meet with the purpose of developing long-term collaborations or partnerships. The conference also hopes to strengthen the linkages that currently exist between the research and education domains. Finally, TSW also provides an excellent arena for dialogue between the research communities and policymakers. 

  

Oil Spill Response 25 Years After the Exxon-Valdez and in the Wake of Macondo 252: What have we learned and what are we missing? October 28-29, 2014. (University of New Hampshire). The University of New Hampshire Center for Spills in the Environment and the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering will host a forum entitled Oil Spill Response 25 years After the Exxon Valdez and in the Wake of Macondo 252, What Have We Learned and What Are We Missing? Questions to be addressed include: what have we learned from these two spills? How can they inform future spill response? What should we do differently to address the spills of the future? Topics covered will include a) the types of spills that could occur in the future and the challenges they pose for response; b) the improvements needed in communication among responders, scientists, the public and politicians; c) the role of academic science in spill response; and d) the impacts of new scientific methods, such as molecular biology, on impact assessment and restoration. The forum will feature an array of speakers who played key roles during the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon spills.  After an opening overview of oil spills by Gary Shigenaka, NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, Captain Ed Page, Chief of Coast Guard Operations during the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Dr. Robert Spies, Chief Science Advisor to the Governments on the Exxon Valdez spill will kick off the discussion.  Then Thad Allen, former Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and Dr. Marcia McNutt, who was director of the U.S. Geological Survey, will present their perspectives on the Deepwater Horizon spill.  Speakers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, U.S. Arctic Research Commission, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, the American Petroleum Institute, Ocean Conservancy, and many other experts will offer perspectives on oil spills in the United States. 

 

Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reykjavik, Iceland).

The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas. 
 

US- Canada Northern Oil and Gas Research Forum, November 4-6, 2014 (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada). Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada and the Canadian Polar Commission in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior, are hosting the fourth Canada - United States Northern Oil and Gas Research Forum. The Northern Oil and Gas Research Forum is a biennial meeting with representation from government, industry, academia, Aboriginal groups and Northerners from both Canada and the United States. The Forum provides an opportunity to discuss current and future priorities for northern oil and gas research. The Forum will showcase the value of northern research in support of sound decision-making for oil and gas management.

 

Alaska Policy Commission. November 17-18, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

Maritime Risk Symposium, November 18-19, 2014 (Los Angeles, CA, USA). The theme for this year's Symposium will be Worldwide Chokepoints and Maritime Risks. "Chokepoint" is a common military strategy term that refers to any enclosed space, corridor, or area where large numbers of personnel and/or resources are forced to pass through, with no reasonable alternate routes. Within the maritime environment, geographical features such as a strait or canal are considered chokepoints. The event is hosted by the Homeland Security Center of the University of Southern California.

 

The Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014 (Trondheim, Norway). The Arctic Biodiversity Congress will present and discuss the main scientific findings of the ABA; facilitate inter-disciplinary discussion, action and status updates on the policy recommendations in the ABA; provide scientific, policy, management, NGO, academia, Indigenous peoples and industry audiences the opportunity to collaborate around the themes of the ABA; advise CAFF on national and international implementation of the ABA recommendations and on the development of an ABA Implementation Plan for the Arctic Council; highlight the work of CAFF and the Arctic Council on circumpolar biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; and, contribute to mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring that the recommendations of the ABA are implemented by not just governments, but many organizations and people across disciplines.

 

Arctic Change 2014, December 8-12, 2014 (Ottawa, Canada). The international Arctic Change 2014 conference aims to stimulate discussion and foster collaborations among people with a vested interest in the Arctic and its peoples. Coinciding with the pinnacle of Canada's chairmanship of the Arctic Council and marking ArcticNet's 10th anniversary, Arctic Change 2014 welcomes researchers, students, Northerners, policy makers, and stakeholders from all fields of Arctic research and all countries to address the numerous environmental, social, economical and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the Arctic. With over 1000 participants expected to attend, Arctic Change 2014 will be one of the largest trans-sectoral international Arctic research conferences ever held in Canada. 

  

AGU Fall Meeting, December 15-19, 2014 (San Francisco, CA, USA). With nearly 24,000 attendees, the AGU Fall Meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. The AGU Fall Meeting brings together the entire Earth and space sciences community for discussions of emerging trends and the latest research. The technical program includes presentations on new and cutting-edge science, much of which has not yet been published.

 

Arctic Frontiers: Climate and Energy, January 18-23, 2015. The earth is in the midst of major climate changes. The Arctic is experiencing the impact of these changes more and faster than other parts of the globe. Processes starting in the Arctic may have deep and profound impacts on other parts of the globe. At the same time the Earth's population is rising and with it the global energy demand. New and greener energy sources are gaining market shares, but still the energy mix of the foreseeable future will have a substantial fossil component. The Arctic is expected to hold major oil and gas resources, while the regions green energy potentials are less explored. The Arctic Frontiers conference is a central arena for discussions of Arctic issues. The conference brings together representatives from science, politics, and civil society to share perspectives on how upcoming challenges in the Arctic may be addressed to ensure sustainable development. Arctic Frontiers is composed of a policy section and a scientific section. 

  

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 19-23, 2015. (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The symposium will feature a session on the Communicating Ocean Sciences, keynote addresses, poster sessions, and workshops. As in past years, the main content of the symposium is organized by large marine ecosystem. The 2015 schedule will be: Tuesday, January 20 - Gulf of Alaska; Wednesday, January 21 - Bering Sea; and Thursday, January 22 - Arctic Ocean. The details of the 2015 Alaska Marine Science Symposium program will be available in mid-November.

  

The Polar Geography and Cryosphere, April 21-25, 2015 (Chicago, IL, USA). The Polar Geography and Cryosphere Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers will host its annual meeting in Chicago to consider: current topics in human-environment interactions; current topics in politics, resource geographies, and extractive industries; current topics in Antarctic research; advances in cryosphere research; high latitude environments in a changing climate; an mountain ice and snow.

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