Arctic Update Header
April 25, 2016
  
Today's C ongressional Action:   
The House is not in session.  The Senate is expected to consider the Energy and Water appropriations bill.

Media 

Children of the Arctic.  This PBS documentary is part of the America Reframed series. At the Arctic edge of America, Native Alaskan teenagers strive to be both modern American kids, and the inheritors of an ancient whaling culture, language and tradition. "Children of the Arctic" is a year-in-the-life portrait of Native youth coming of age in Barrow, Alaska, and the decisions they have to make about their futures. PBS
 
Tourists US Canadian Coast Guards Hold Exercise to Ready for Big Cruise Ships Plying Arctic Waters. Local, state and federal emergency-responders in Alaska and Canada got their first chance last week to train for this summer's voyage of the first big cruise ship to sail through the  Northwest Passage. Peter Garapick headed up the  Canadian Coast Guard's participation in the training exercise which he says helped agencies coordinate capabilities, plans and responses, if something goes wrong when the 900-passenger Crystal Serenity  transits the legendary sea route in August.  KUAC
 
Siberian Erosion, River Runoff Speeds Up Arctic Ocean Acidification. As Siberian permafrost thaws, crumbling Russian coastlines and big rivers flowing north along eroding banks are dumping vast loads of organic carbon into marine waters there, causing much quicker acidification than had been anticipated and signaling future danger for the entire Arctic Ocean. So says a newly published study by a team of scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Russian Academy of Sciences and other institutions in Russia and Sweden. The scientists have been working together for years to study the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, a marine area that accounts for about a quarter of the Arctic Ocean's open waters. Alaska Dispatch News
 
China, Japan and South Korea to Hold First Round of Arctic Talks on April 28 in Seoul. China, Japan and South Korea plan to hold the first round of talks on Arctic cooperation on April 28 in Seoul, RIA Novosti reports, citing the South Korean Foreign Ministry. The talks will be attended by Deputy Director-General of the Department of Treaty and Law at the Chinese Foreign Ministry Ma Xinmin, Japanese Ambassador in Charge of Arctic Affairs Kazuko Shiraishi and the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Ambassador for Arctic Affairs Kim Chan-woo, as well as employees of other concerned agencies and research centers in the three countries. The Arctic
 
The Arctic is Melting-And Scientists Just Lost a Key Tool to Observe It. Earlier this month, a U.S. satellite known as F17 - which was primarily used for meteorological measurements - experienced operational failures that compromised the integrity of its data. And while there are similar satellites in orbit that can take over the data collection for now, they're old enough that scientists are unsure how much longer they'll last.  Now, with no government plans to launch a replacement any time soon, scientists who rely on these satellites for valuable climate data are beginning to worry about the future of their research. The problem comes at a vital time, too - one when the Arctic, and other remote regions, are seeing rapid changes and scientists badly need these instruments to track them. The Washington Post

Legislative Action futureevents   

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.

Future Events
 
Update on the US Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, April 26, 2016 (Teleconference, EDT). The State Department will host a teleconference to discuss the halfway point of the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The session will also include a Q&A portion. The conference ID is 392140.

Alaska Rural Energy Conference, April 26-28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Rural Energy Conference is a three day event offering a large variety of technical sessions covering new and ongoing energy projects in Alaska, as well as new technologies and needs for Alaska's remote communities. Building on the growing success, the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power have joined forces again to organize and sponsor the 10th annual Alaska Rural Energy Conference.   

Regional and Global Implications of Changing Permafrost, April 28, 2016 (Washington, DC USA).  There is growing realization of the strong interactions between degradation of near-surface permafrost on the dynamics of ecosystems, and that these interactions together influence local and global environmental, economic, and social systems. This presentation will discuss the use of synthesis science by both the SEARCH Permafrost Action Team and Permafrost Carbon Network to identify and understand the widespread implications of changing permafrost at both regional and local scales.  This presentation is part of the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States Arctic Research Seminar Series.

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.

Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Rhode Island, 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.

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.

** New this week **  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.
 

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