Obama Taps Locke for China Ambassador. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he is nominating Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be the U.S. ambassador to China. During brief remarks at the White House, Obama said the United States could not have better representation in the "critical relationship" with China than Locke. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stood alongside the president during the announcement. Roll Call

House Sell Begins on Next CR. House GOP leaders say they are confident they can muster enough support to pass a second stopgap spending bill before a government shutdown next week, despite pressure from their right flank. Conservatives have chafed at the idea of moving any short-term continuing resolutions that do not include policy riders defunding the Democratic-written health care law and Planned Parenthood. Roll Call

Melting Ice Sheets Now Largest Contributor to Sea Level Rise. The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass at an accelerating pace, according to a new NASA-funded satellite study. The findings of the study -- the longest to date of changes in polar ice sheet mass -- suggest these ice sheets are overtaking ice loss from Earth's mountain glaciers and ice caps to become the dominant contributor to global sea level rise, much sooner than model forecasts have predicted. Science Daily  

GOP Goal: Resurrect Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling. It's back! As if dreamed by George A. Romero, Republicans are resurrecting the idea to allow oil drilling in a limited portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The fight is about more than the 11 billion barrels of oil estimated to rest under the coastal plain in northern Alaska. It's a symbolic thumb in the eye to Democrats and environmentalists for whom, on this issue, there can be no compromise. Politico

Nutrition North Food Subsidies Extended. Northerners should be able to afford groceries at affordable prices with the extension of a federal subsidy program. Indian and Northern Affairs Minister John Duncan announced the subsidy extension on Wednesday in Iqaluit. The move means all foods and most foods and non-food grocery items that were previously taken off the list of items eligible for subsidy will continue to be eligible for subsidy until October 2012, Duncan said. CBC News

Environment: Earth's Acid Test: As the oceans rapidly grow more acidic, scientists are scrambling to discover how marine life is likely to react. The Friday night beers made Sam Dupont forget all about his sea urchins. Earlier that day, in April 2010, the young Belgian eco-physiologist had put a batch of urchin larvae into a bath of highly acidic water to see how their skeletons would fare. When nothing obvious happened after a few hours, Dupont decided to join some friends at the pub and check on the experiment later in the evening. But he didn't remember until Sunday, at which point he was sure that the precious larvae would be dead. Nature 

New Wintering Ground for Humpback Whales Discovered Using Sound. Researchers have made a remarkable new discovery regarding humpback whale wintering grounds. Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110308172840.htm

NOAA: U.S. 'Turning a Corner' in Ending Overfishing. At a hearing today in front of the Senate Commerce Committee on the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Assistant NOAA Administrator for Fisheries Eric Schwaab said that the U.S. is  making good progress toward meeting the mandate to end domestic overfishing.  "We know that nearly $31 billion in sales and as many as 500,000 jobs are lost because our fisheries are not performing as well as they would if all stocks were rebuilt," Schwaab said. "While we are turning a corner toward a brighter future for fishermen and fishing communities, many fishermen are struggling in part as a result of years of decline in fishing opportunity." NOAA  

H.R.1 : Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

(Rep Rogers - motion to proceed to measure withdrawn in Senate)

SENATE: Fiscal 2012 Appropriations: Commerce, Justice and Science, and Related Agencies, March 10. The Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2012 appropriations for departments, agencies, and programs under its jurisdiction.

SENATE: Transportation, Science, Marine Mammal, and NOAA Nominations, March 10. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a confirmation on pending nominations, including: Philip Coyle to be associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Frances Gulland to be a member of the Marine Mammal Commission, and Kathryn Sullivan to be the assistant secretary of Commerce for observation and prediction- NOAA.

HOUSE: Fiscal 2012 Budget: NSF and NIST, March 11. The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on fiscal 2012 budget request for the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

SENATE: Fiscal 2012 Budget: Tribal Programs, March 15.The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed fiscal 2012 budget for American Indian tribal programs.

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.