Today's Events 

The Senate will resume consideration of the small business research bill, tax reporting in the health care overhaul bill, and legislation to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.The House will consider legislation to end the Neighborhood Stabilization Program-a program to provide grants to purchase and redevelop foreclosed homes.

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Interior and Environment, March 16, 17, 30, 31; April 6, 7, 12. The Interior and Environment and Related Agencies of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction.

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Homeland Security, March 16, 30, 31; April 6, 7. The Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee will hold hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction.

Aspen Dialogue and Commission on Arctic Climate Change, March 16.  The Aspen Institute will host an event to highlight its recent report "The Shared Future: A Report of the Aspen Institute Commission on Climate Change."

NOAA's Arctic Vision and Strategy, March 16.  In conjunction with the Aspen Institute's report release event, NOAA will highlight its Arctic Vision and Strategy.  More information is available here.  

Media Review  

Avataq Seeks Protection for Nunavik's Rock Carvings: Fragil site is deteriorating, archeologists says. Twelve years and counting. That's how long Nunavik's Avataq Cultural Institute has been waiting for the federal government to recognize the rock carvings on the island of Qajartalik near Kangiqsujuaq as a site of national and historic significance. Due to the isolated, wind-swept location of Qajartalik and the fragility of the carvings, Qajartalik needs protection, and soon, said Avataq's head archaeologist Daniel Gendron. Nunatsiaq Online 

Members Tiring of Short-Term Spending Bills: Republican lawmakers say it's time to pass a long-term measure. Steam is running out for short-term, stopgap spending measures. "Everybody is going to get tired with these short-term [continuing resolutions]," Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.) said Tuesday following House passage of a three-week continuing resolution that funds the government through April 8. Likewise, freshman Rep. Allen West, who voted against Tuesday's CR, said it was time to finish a longer-term spending plan and move away from short-term fixes. Roll Call

4 Musk Oxen in Endangered Herd Illegally Killed. Four musk oxen in a dwindling North Slope herd were killed illegally over the weekend, say Alaska wildlife troopers. The Arctic Sounder and KBRW in Barrow report that the animals were killed on the Alpine oil field, where subsistence users have complained that musk oxen might be interfering with caribou hunting. Anchorage Daily News

Shutdown Looms Again as Both Sides Harden Budget Positions. House Republicans have been winning the dollar debate but are dissatisfied with piecemeal victories. Senate Democrats have been retreating in billion-dollar increments and now want to battle over the big picture. The collision and a spring federal government shutdown - possibly lasting weeks - appear more likely than ever. Government Executive 

NASA: Ice Caps Overtake Glaciers as Biggest Contributors to Rising Seas. The news just seems to be getting worse and worse coming out of the Arctic and Antarctic. The melting of ice is not appearing to let up, and is in fact, getting faster. A new NASA-funded satellite study shows that the two biggest ice sheets on Earth - Greenland and Antarctica - are losing mass at an accelerating rate. This is the longest study ever conducted to analyze changing ice conditions at the poles, spanning nearly 20 years. Researchers concluded that the melting of ice caps has overtaken the melting of mountain glaciers to be the most dominant source of global sea level rise, much sooner than previous forecast models predicted. Reuters 

Alaska House Panel Urges Congress to Ratify Law of the Sea. A second legislative panel in as many weeks has nudged Congress to ratify the Law of the Sea treaty. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has 160 nations as parties. A special state House committee on economic development last week urged Congress to ratify. The House Resource Committee also advanced the measure Monday, putting it in line next for the House floor. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Arctic Holds Over 113 Bboe, says report. Infield Systems has published a new report on prospects for the offshore Arctic oil and gas sector through 2017. It analyzes market drivers and constraints, technological, vessel, and drilling rig requirements for the region, and forecasts capital expenditure per sector. The report encompasses current and future offshore oil and gas developments within the Arctic Circle, and developments in the 'sub-arctic' regions of Sakhalin Island, the Jeanne D'Arc basin offshore Eastern Canada, and the Cook Inlet in Alaska. Offshore Mag

Panel Addresses Suicide During Tanana Chiefs Conference. Villages need to be honest about the suicides plaguing their communities and get ahead of the problem, panelists at Tuesday's Tanana Chiefs Conference convention said. TCC Health Director Victor Joseph, the panel's leader, said communities often confront suicide too late. "We are a reacting system," Joseph said. "We need to change that flow." Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Legislative Action  

S. 589, to provide for an expedited response to emergencies related to oil or gas production or storage. (Casey- introduced and referred to committee)

Future Events    

International Conference on Arctic Marine Science, International Law and Climate Protection, March 17-18. The German Federal Foreign Office is hosting an event that will take place on the Berlin premises of the Federal Office. The event is co-hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, with additional support from prominent research institutes. The Conference will discuss the legal framework for marine scientific research in the Arctic Ocean at present and in the future. Scholars, scientists and diplomats with an interest in the Arctic Ocean are invited to attend. For more information, please contact 504-s@diplo.de.

Arctic Dialogue & Study Tour, March 22-24, 2011. For the past four years Norway's Bodø University Graduate School of Business, the High North Centre for Business and Governance (affiliated with the University), the International Institute of Energy Politics and Diplomacy (MIEP) at MGIMO University in Moscow, Russia, and HBW Resources have hosted an annual Arctic Dialogue and Study Tour.  The tour brings together stakeholders from all Arctic nations (government, industries, academic, native and local peoples) to discuss issues involving resource development in the Arctic, and share common experiences, best practices and solutions. For more information contact Andrew Browning.

Arctic Science Summit Week, Seoul, March 28-April 1, 2011. The purpose of the Arctic Science Summit Week is to provide opportunities for international coordination, collaboration, and cooperation in all fields of Arctic science. The Arctic Science Week 2011 is supported by the Korean government, the Korean Research Council of Fundamental Science & Technology, and the Seoul Tourism Organization, among other groups.  

The Arctic as a Messenger for Global Processes- Climate Change and Pollution, May 4-6, 2011. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), the University of Copenhagen, and Aarhus University. The conference will include talks by invited keynote speakers, oral presentations selected on the basis of submitted abstracts, poster presentations, and short oral presentations of selected posters. A panel discussion will develop messages to be communicated to the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting that will take place in Greenland one week after the conference. 

  
Sixth International Conference on Arctic Margins, May 31-June 2, 2011 at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks. The International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) will examine current geological and geophysical research on the Arctic. Topics include: hydrocarbon potential and gas hydrates; science issues relating to UNCLOS Article 76; geodynamic significance of Arctic magmatism; vertical motions in the Arctic, tectonic, and glacial; geology and palaeogeography of the Arctic continental margins; evolution of the Arctic Ocean basins, including plate reconstructions, magmatism, and sedimentology; modern Arctic environments, including geological, climatic, and oceanographic processes; recent advances in Arctic research technology. More information email.  

American Meteorological Society Summer Policy Colloquium, June 5-14. This policy colloquium brings together a group to consider atmospheric policy.  The colloquium will cover policy creation basics, interactions with congressional staff, and information on the current atmospheric policy issues. 

The Arctic Imperative, June 19-21, 2011. The Alaska Dispatch, Aspen Institute, Commonwealth North, and the Institute of the North will host a forum titled "The Arctic Imperative: Think of the Bering Strait as the Next Panama Canal."  The forum will bring together international policymakers, industry, and investment leaders to consider topics just as security, resources, port development, marine shipping, commerce, and trade.

7th Congress of the International Arctic Social Sciences, June 22-26, 2011.  The 7th Congress, "Circumpolar Perspectives in Global Dialogue: Social Sciences Beyond the IPY," will be held in Akureyri, Iceland. The International Congress of the Arctic Social Sciences is held every three years. 
 
Holocene Glacier Variability from the Tropics to the Poles, July 20-27, 2011. Glaciers respond sensitively to climate change. Recent (Holocene) glacier fluctuations are a valuable proxy for terrestrial interglacial paleoclimate conditions. A main challenge for interpreting paleoclimate from past mountain glacier extents is distinguishing local and regional patterns from global signals. Reconstructing Holocene glacier extents involves many disciplines including terrestrial and marine geology, geochronology and glaciology. Organizers hope to facilitate an inter-hemispheric comparison of glacier records including locations in the Tropics, European Alps, American Cordillera, Southern Alps of New Zealand, Himalaya and Polar Regions and to identify future research questions and directions. For additional information contact: Meredith Kelly.
 
13th Arctic Ungulates Conference (AUC), August 22-26, 2011. The theme of the conference will be "Challenges of Managing Northern Ungulates." The theme addresses the difficulties of managing ungulate populations that are faced with the unpredictable effects of climate change and an ever-increasing human presence on the land. The conference will also focus on the challenges associated with developing recovery actions for declining caribou and reindeer populations that are an integral part of Aboriginal cultures and ways of life. 
 
9th International Symposium on Permafrost Engineering, September 3-7, 2011. The Melnikov Permafrost Institute (Yakutsk, Russia), the Institute of Northern Mining (Yakutsk, Russia), the Cold and Arid Regions Engineering and Environmental Research Institute (Lanzhou, China), and the Heilongjiang Institute of Cold Region  Engineering (Harbin, China) will host the Ninth International Symposium on  Permafrost Engineering to be held in Mirny, Yakutia. The aim of the Symposium is to provide a forum for discussion of permafrost engineering issues, as well as for exchange of practical experience in construction and maintenance of engineering structures on frozen ground. For additional information, please contact Lilia Prokopieva. 

4th International Sea Duck Conference, September 12-16. The conference is held to provide researchers and managers with opportunities to share information, research, and conduct workshops.

Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, September 14-17, 2011. The 27th Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, entitled "Fishing People of the North: Cultures, Economies, and Management Responding to Change," will be held in Anchorage, Alaska. This international symposium will provide a forum for scholars, fishery managers, fishing families, and others to explore the human dimensions of fishery systems and growing need to include social science research in policy processes. The conference is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Sea Grant program.   

Operating in the Arctic: Supporting the US Coast Guard Challenges Through Research, Sept. 21-23, 2010. This workshop, held at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the US Arctic Research Commission, explored and identified ways in which scientific research and development can improve the ability of the U.S. Coast Guard to operate and carry out its statutory missions in the Arctic region. Participation in this event included state, local and international stakeholders, academics and researchers, and USCG and other federal agency officials. A funding opportunity associated with this activity is described here.

The Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, June 2012. The conference will be held in Tyumen, Russia, and is organized and hosted by Russia. The last conference was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2008.  More details to follow.