May 8, 2014

capital Today's Congressional Action:

The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation. The House is expected to begin consideration of H.R. 4438, the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 under a closed rule.

Media

Arctic May Not Be That Busy, Report Says. As the ice goes out in the Arctic, many people predict more ships will be drawn through the Bering Straits to take advantage of a shortcut between Asia and Europe. But, a recent government report suggests less ice may not mean more ships. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has made it her mission to remind Washington the Arctic is opening up. In speeches and at hearings with top officials, she aims to instill a sense of urgency about preparing for an increase in ship traffic and new economic opportunities. Alaska Public Radio

Request for Community Input. Each year in the spring the Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) of the U.S. Ice Drilling Program works with its Science Advisory Board and with the research community to update the IDPO Long Range Science Plan. This Plan identifies the science in the coming decade that will require the use of ice drilling technology and expertise, and it drives the formation of the associated Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) Long Range Drilling Technology Plan. Together, the two plans provide the basis for multi-annual planning for the actions and drill development projects of IDPO-IDDO, and the plans give the funding agencies advance notice of upcoming community science needs. The report is available here.

Canada's Northwest Territories to Stay the Course on Fracking, Despite Report. The government in Canada's Northwest Territories isn't changing its approach to hydraulic fracturing, despite a panel of experts saying not enough is known about the environmental effects of the controversial practice. A study commissioned by Environment Canada and released last week concluded research around hydraulic fracturing is neither detailed enough nor conclusive. Alaska Dispatch

Baltiysky Shipyard to Build Three New Icebreakers by 2020. The yard, which is part of United Shipbuilding Corporation, was the only company whose application was accepted to an open tender process for construction of the first and second serial multipurpose nuclear-powered icebreakers of Project 22220, the corporation says in a press release. The contract, which will be signed in the nearest future, has an 85 billion rubles price tag, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. Barents Observer

First Graduation for New Coast Guard, NOAA Program. A joint training program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Coast Guard will play an important role in the response of the agencies to emergencies, NOAA's administrator says. Kathryn Sullivan attended the first joint graduation ceremony Wednesday of Coast Guard and NOAA officers who trained together in a 17-week program at the Coast Guard Academy in New London. She said the joint training will help quickly establish the high level of trust that plays an important role in responding effectively and rapidly to severe events. The Virginia Pilot

Coast Guard Says Its Increased Arctic Presence Will Have 'No Significant' Environmental Impact. The U.S. Coast Guard has operated in the Arctic for more than a century, but as the maritime agency plans for an increased presence in the region, its taking stock of what its environmental impact will be in the Arctic in the years to come. Mike Dombkowski is on the team drafting the Coast Guard's new environmental assessment for Alaska's District 17, which was released Tuesday. The document looks at what increased training and patrols in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas will mean for arctic ecosystems. Alaska Public Radio

Legislative Action

No Arctic legislation as formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

Responding to Oil Spills in the US Arctic Marine Environment, May 12, 2014 (Webinar).

This webinar will provide a briefing on the new National Research Coucil report Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment. Martha Grabowski, chair of the study committee, will discuss the report's main points regarding key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. There will be an opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the briefing. See agenda here.

Arctic Oil Spill Briefing, May 16, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The chair and committee members of the National Research Council (NRC) will brief the NRC report on Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment and engage in a discussion with briefing participants. Register here.

Cumulative Impacts and Landscape Initiatives: A sustainability Check During Climate Change, May 18-22, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). US-IALE fosters landscape ecology in the United States, providing a link among practitioners in landscape ecology in the U.S. and the international community, and promoting interdisciplinary research and communication among scientists, planners, and other professionals concerned with landscape ecology. Program highlights will include plenary sessions with featured speakers, symposia and contributed papers, in-depth workshops on key topics, field trips, and networking events.

International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries. ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.

Arctic in the Athropocene. June 23-July 2, 2014 (Potsdam, Germany). Under the overarching theme "Arctic in the Anthropocene", this two-week interdisciplinary and interactive event will be the first in a series of Potsdam Summer Schools to be held annually. The goal is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from research departments, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as the private sector from all around the world. Participants will deal with global challenges and address urgent questions on how to shape sustainable futures in the Arctic and beyond from a scientific and socioeconomic point of view.

Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, 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.

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.

Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, 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.

Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 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.

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.

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