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Today's C
ongressional Action:
The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to be in session this evening for a period of morning business.
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Media
Canadian Army Investigates Mystious Arctic Noise. A strange beeping noise in the Arctic has Canadians puzzled. Is it marine mammals doing something weird? A foreign submarine? Collective hallucination?A military patrol and acoustic specialists are being dispatched to investigate, the army said Thursday. Speculation has abounded since Inuit hunters in the village of Igloolik heard the beep several times off the Fury and Hecla Straight late last year.
Phys.org
 Perry Says He'll 'Protect' Climate Research. Energy Secretary nominee
Rick Perry on Thursday repudiated a transition team questionnaire that sought the names of Energy Department employees involved in climate research, and vowed to "protect" those workers. "That went out before I was ever selected to be the nominee," he said at his confirmation hearing.
The Hill
Ottawa, Nunavut Ignored Inuit Knowledge in Polar Bear Quota: Makivik Corp. Makivik Corp. says it's "profoundly disappointed" in decisions made by the governments of both Nunavut and Canada, which restrict polar bear hunting in Nunavik's southern Hudson Bay region-a move that's led the birthright organization for Nunavik Inuit to challenge the decision in court. Makivik said the decision of federal environment minister Catherine McKenna and that of Nunavut's environment minister Joe Savikataaq
to set the total allowable harvest in the region at 25 was "discriminatory and unfounded" in a notice filed last November at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.
Nunatsiaq Online
 Arctic Researcher Shares 50 Years of Watching Climate Change Happen.
John England has been accumulating Arctic knowledge for five decades. And
the University of Alberta professor emeritus in earth and atmospheric sciences wishes more Canadians would do some Arctic exploration of their own. "The exquisite beauty of the North is something we underappreciate," he tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.
CBC News
Siberian Researchers to Peer Billion Years into Arctic's Geological Past. Professors and students at Novosibirsk State University (NSU) will try to find out how the geological formation of Siberia and the adjacent Arctic areas proceeded a billion years ago and earlier, TASS reported. While adding to knowledge of the Earth, the study will also help, in the future, to substantiate Russia's Arctic shelf expansion bid, Dmitry Metyolkin, head of the General and Regional Geology Department at NSU and a researcher at the Institute of Oil and Gas Geology and Geophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch, told TASS.
The Arctic
 Sea Levels Could Rise by Six to Nine Meters Over Time, New Study Warms. Sea surface temperatures today are strikingly similar to those during the last interglacial period, when sea levels were six to nine metres above their present height, according to research. The findings provide compelling evidence that Greenland and
Antarctica's continental ice sheets are highly sensitive to slight increases in ocean temperatures, and raise the prospect of sea levels continuing to rise for many centuries.
The Guardian
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 23-27, 2017 (Anchorage, AK USA). The annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) is Alaska's premier marine research conference. It brings together roughly 800 scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public to discuss marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. Research will be presented by geographic theme, including the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands, and the Arctic. Topic areas will include ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local traditional knowledge and more. Keynote presentations will be held Monday, January 23rd; Gulf of Alaska presentations will be on Tuesday, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands on Wednesday, followed by the Arctic on Thursday.
** New this week **
In Defense of the Arctic: Assessing US Security Concerns, January 24, 2017 (Washington, DC USA). The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) hosts this event. In 2013, the Department of Defense released its strategy for the Arctic region, which discussed efforts to safeguard US national interests and protect the homeland. The FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) required the Secretary of Defense to develop a new military strategy to respond to Russia's growing military presence in the Arctic. This strategy would focus on how to protect American citizens and the homeland while ensuring freedom of navigation and support US economic and trade interests. The strategy was required to identify the infrastructure, force posture, and capabilities the US needs to ensure the region remains stable to conflict free. Senator Sullivan will discuss the Defense Department's new Arctic strategy and future of the US policy toward the Arctic. His keynote remarks will be followed by a discussion with former senior US defense officials who closely follow military developments in the Arctic and Northern Europe.
 ** New this week **
Changing Arctic: How It's Impacting Our Weather, February 2, 2017 (Washington, DC USA). Profound changes in the Arctic have coincided with more frequent extreme weather events across the mid-latitudes, was as Washington, DC. These events include intense heat and rainfall, and severe winter cold spells and snow storms. Scientists are actively addressing if and how Arctic change is connected to these events, which impact economies, geopolitics, security, and society at large. The evening lecture will feature experts discussing scientists' understanding of these events and the impact this has on society. This event is hosted by US CLIVAR (US Climate Variability and Predictability Program)
Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 6-10, 2017 (Anchorage, AK USA). This statewide gathering of environmental professionals, community leaders, Alaskan youth, conservationists, biologists and community elders will be holding its 19th meeting to continue providing a strong educational foundation for all Alaskans and a unique opportunity to interact with others on environmental issues and challenges. As many as 1,800 people are expected to attend AFE this years meeting.
6th Annual Fletcher Arctic Conference, February 17-18, 2017 (Medford, MA USA). Fletcher Arctic VI, a TEDx-style event, will showcase the ideas, stories, and initiatives of people who live and work in the Arctic. The conference will bring together inspiring leaders, innovative business people, expert scientists, and artists from the pan-Arctic region. Building on The Fletcher School's interdisciplinary approach, Fletcher Arctic VI will be a forum to engage in conversation and spark open and constructive debate between speakers and participants, providing deep insights into this unique and rapidly changing region.
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
.
The 4th annual Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES) will convene policymakers, industry leaders, and leading experts to confront the leading issues in Arctic policy, innovation, and development in Seattle, WA at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. As the largest annual Arctic policy event in the United States, the AES mission is to raise awareness, engage challenges, and develop solutions for the future of a region and a people. The two-day program includes two keynote luncheons, expert plenary sessions, break out sessions, a networking cocktail reception and seated three-course dinner.
- The Arctic Cryosphere
- Pollution in the Arctic
- Human Health Aspects of Pollution and Climate Change
- Global and Arctic Systems Feedback Mechanisms
- Resilience within Arctic Ecosystems
- Science and Policy Making
- Socio-Economic Drivers and Impacts of Arctic Change
Organizers announce a call for abstracts which are due by December 2, 2016. The event is organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP).
Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences: People and Places (ICASS IX), June 8-12, 2017 (Umea, 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.
The 2nd Asian Conference on Permafrost, July 2-6, 2017 (Sapporo, Japan). Delegates will participate in state-of-the-art oral and poster presentations in the modern city of Sapporo (host of the 1972 Winter Olympics). Field trips will visit marginal and extrazonal mountain permafrost sites that support unique geo-eco-hydrological features. All aspects of frozen ground research will be covered, from needle ice to deep permafrost, from frozen ground engineering in cities to permafrost on volcanoes, and from links between frozen ground and ancient cultures to present-day outreach. Plan now to enjoy science and engineering, excellent food, and unique field trips in Sapporo.
Co-hosted by U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC). A biennial symposium originating in 2001 that focuses on U. S. naval operations and national strategic issues in an "ice-free Arctic." This symposium brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic observations, climate change, and maritime operations.
- Small and off-grid community energy solutions
- Oil and gas development
- Renewable energy
- Regulation and Financing
- Transportation and transmission
The AES is a multi-disciplinary event expected to draw several hundred industry officials, scientists, academics, policy makers, energy professionals and community leaders together to collaborate and share leading approaches on Arctic energy issues.
Polar Law Symposium 2017 and Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit, November 13-16, 2017 (Rovaniemi, Finland).
The purpose of the Polar Law Symposium is to examine, in detail, the implications of the challenges faced by the Polar Regions for international law and policy and to make recommendations on appropriate actions by states, policy makers and other international actors to respond to these emerging and re-emerging challenges. The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit
Conference is integrated with the Polar Law Symposium, which will be organized by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law at the Arctic Center of the University of Lapland.
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.
As the Symposium is organized jointly by two leading Research Institutes of Russian Academy of Science - Institute of Water Problems and Melnikov Permafrost Institute, particularly the contributions on following research topics are welcome:
- Observational evidences of change in coupled permafrost-hydrology system.
- Present state and future projections of local, regional and pan-Arctic hydrology.
- Modeling studies representing landscape evolution, dynamics of water storages and permafrost degradation.
- Impacts of permafrost hydrology changes on local communities."
VII International Conference on Cryopedology, August 21-25, 2017 (Yaktsk, Russia).
The conference will be hosted by the Institute for Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS). Plenary reports will be organized in the hall of the Academy of Sciences of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic.
The official languages of the conference are English and Russian (with translation).
All technical facilities (projectors, computers, video sets) will be available during the conference for presentation of papers. Additional information will be available soon. See the Facebook page
here.
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External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site (
www.arctic.gov) do not constitute endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC Web site.
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