Arctic Daily Update: May 19, 2016

May 19, 2016

Conference on Water Innovations for Healthy Arctic Homes: September 18-21, 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. This circumpolar conference will bring together engineers, health experts, researchers, community members, policymakers, and innovators to discuss health benefits, challenges and innovations associated with making running water and sewer in remote northern communities safe, affordable and sustainable. Information and an expression of interest in attending can be found here. (The full link is: http://wihah2016.com/)

Today's C ongressional Action:

The House is expected to consider H.R. 4974, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations. The Senate is expected to consider H.R. 2577, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations/ Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill.

Media

Radar Ice Mapping. After years of research and development, Fugro's airborne radar mapping system is ready for prime time. Sea ice is among the top risk factors for offshore Arctic operations. Many Arctic offshore structures are engineered to withstand sea ice impacts up to the specific ice thickness. Rick mitigation strategies are designed around this specific ice thickness, meaning that any sea ice floe that enters predetermined threat zone must be moved away from the structure. Fugro's Ice Management System is one important element to mitigating this risk. Since 2012, the company has developed this capability, which uses airborne radar mapping techniques, with input from university and industry partners, and is now well on its way to full commercial operations. Frontier Energy

Nunavut Historical Society to Produce CHARS Research Guide. A stream of researchers from many disciplines will start to head to Cambridge Bay after the opening of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station there in July 2017. That's why the Kitikmeot Heritage Society aims to develop a new research guide for scientists and researchers who plan to work in this western Nunavut community of about 1,800 people. Nunatsiaq Online

Arctic Broadband Brings Concerns About Changing Culture. The biggest local internet-service provider in northern Alaska expects high demand for the broadband connections. It'll be offering the service early next year.

"Everybody is enthusiastic about this project that is a heavy user of broadband - the schools, libraries, clinics," said Jens Laipeneks who directs operations for Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative. "All of those are anchor institutions." KTOO

Canadian Wildfire Soot May Accelerate Greenland Ice Melt.

Plumes of thick smoke from the Fort McMurray and other Canadian wildfires billowed several thousand feet into the atmosphere in the past few weeks. Images and weather data show thick pyrocumulus and pyrocululonimbus clouds pushing over 20,000 feet into the atmosphere .
Minnesota Public Radio

Climate Change Doubters Really Aren't Going to Like This Study.

Researchers have designed an inventive test suggesting that the arguments commonly used by climate change contrarians don't add up, not only according to climate scientists (we know what they think already) but also in the view of unbiased experts from other fields. The Washington Post

Alaska Congressional Delegation Presses Interior on OCS Development.

Alaska's congressional delegation-Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young-has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell

urging the Department to keep all three lease sales proposed for Alaska's OCS in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) final Five-Year Program for the years 2017 to 2022.

"The areas under consideration for leasing in Alaska's OCS contain vast resources that our nation will need to maintain its economy and security. Those resources can be produced safely if a stable, predictable regulatory regime is put in place. Bringing them to market is favored by most Alaskans and will help maintain affordable energy prices for the American people. With longer lead times and considerable investment required for production in the Alaska OCS, it is critical that the process begin now with new, area-wide lease sales," the members wrote. World Oil

Legislative Action

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

ARCUS DC Arctic Research Seminar Series, May 19, 2016 (Washington, DC, USA). Mark Brzezinski, executive director of the Arctic Executive Steering Committee, will provide an update on the activities of the U.S. Arctic Executive Steering Committee and the upcoming White House Arctic Science Ministerial being planned for this fall. This event is part of the ARCUS Arctic Research Seminar Series which brings some of the leading Arctic researchers to Washington, D.C. to share in person and via webinar the latest findings and what they mean for decision-making. The seminars are open, and will be of interest to Federal agency officials, Congressional staff, NGOs, associations, researchers, and the public.

High North Dialogue 2016: The Blue Future of the Arctic, May 25-26, 2016. HND is an annual conference hosted by the High North Center at Nord University, engaging a wide audience of researchers and future leaders of the region. It will address the necessary questions to effectively promote dialogue between interested stakeholders on how to sustainably develop the different realities of the many Arctics. PhD and Masters students can also participate in a week long credit awarding graduate course.

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, May 31-June 2, 2016 (Providence, Rhode Island, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The workshop will bring together researchers working on multidisciplinary natural/social science projects addressing issues of contemporary change in the North with social scientists focused on policy development at a global scale. This focus draws on the expertise of Brown University's Watson Center for International Studies (http://watson.brown.edu), the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES, http://www.brown.edu/academics/institute-environment-society/about), and the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology's (http://www.brown.edu/haffenreffer) six-decade engagement with northern people and northern heritage.

14th IATS Seminar, June 19-25, 2016 (Bergen, Norway). The University of Bergen (UiB) is honored to host the 14th IATS Seminar in Bergen, Norway, from Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 June 2016 in co-operation with the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, an academic network with the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.

11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016), June 20-24, 2016 (Potsdam, Germany). The Alfred Wegener Institute has teamed up with UP Transfer GmbH and the University of Potsdam to organize a great conference for you, permafrost researchers. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.

Arctic Ambitions V, June 23-24, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). Arctic Ambitions V conference focuses on commercial opportunities in the Arctic, such as engineering, construction, architecture, natural resource development, environmental services, maritime shipping and logistics, and international trade. This event is sponsored by World Trade Center Alaska.

13th International Conference on Gas in Marine Sediments: September 19-22, 2016 (Tromso, Norway). GIMS 13 promotes the study of natural gas and release systems on a global scale and facilitates interdisciplinary and international cooperation. The conference intends to bring together geologists, biologists, microbiologist, geophysicists, oceanographers, geochemists and scientists from modeling disciplines. The forum will provide a platform for current knowledge and future programs in gas inventories, fluxes and their role within the carbon cycle and biodiversity. Conference is organized by CAGE - Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Abstract submission deadline is May 30th and registration deadline is June 20th. For more information: http://gims13.uit.no

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Virginia, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.

Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia). The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.

20th Biennial Inuit Studies Conference: Inuit Traditions. October 7-10, 2016 (St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador).

Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.

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.

The 5th Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) project School and Meeting, November 1-4, 2016 (Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA).The major goals of the meeting are to discuss results of ongoing FAMOS activities, and to plan 2016-2017 coordinated modeling and observing projects, with a special focus on high and very high spatiotemporal resolution processes. You can register here.

4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 510

Arlington, VA 22203, USA

(703) 525-0111 (phone)
www.arctic.gov
[email protected]

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.