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Today's Events
The House will consider several measures under suspension of the rules, including bills on public health security and preparedness programs, infant mortality, child abuse and administrative leave for government employees. The Senate will resume consideration of the emergency supplemental appropriations bill that would help communities hit by Superstorm Sandy. Republican Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona will deliver retirement speeches. |
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Media
 Plumes Across the Pacific Deliver Thousands of Microbial Species to North American West Coast. A surprising number of microorganisms -- 99 percent more kinds than had been reported in findings published just four months ago -- are leaping the biggest gap on the planet. Hitching rides in the upper troposphere, they're making their way from Asia across the Pacific Ocean and landing in North America. Science Daily
Dimensions of Oil and Gas Development in Greenland. The prospect of offshore oil and gas activity in the waters around Greenland constitutes a highly contentious issue in the larger debate on Arctic petroleum development. Given Greenland's special status as a part of the Danish Realm, with a high degree of self-governance and a majority Inuit population, oil and gas drilling there has engaged actors with a wide range of interests. Arctic oil and gas development is often generalised into a two-sided conflict between those who emphasise the protection of the environment and those who seek potential profits, with the interests of local communities variably used in favour of one or the other depending on the area of the region under question. Some of the dimensions that seem to determine much of the actual development are often lost in this dichotomy, to the dismay of those in favour of an informed debate. The Arctic Institute
 How Arctic Hurricanes Help Warm Europe. Santa better have hurricane insurance. Every year, there are thousands of cyclones in the Arctic, some with hurricane-force winds. Before satellites spotted these storms, sailors would return from the North with tales of massive squalls appearing out of nowhere, creating waves up to 36 feet (11 meters) high. Discovery
Rolls-Royce to Supply Propeller for Ice-Breaking Bulker. Rolls-Royce has won a contract to supply a high-strength controllable pitch propeller for a new ice-breaking cargo ship that will transport high value nickel and copper concentrates from Canada, through the Arctic ice, to customers in Europe. Canada's Fednav Limited, ordered the 25,000 dwt ship in October to service a long-term contract which Canadian Royalties that provides for the transportation of nickel and copper concentrates from the Nunavik Nickel Project in northern Quebec to customers in Europe as well as the import from Europe of mine supplies and equipment. Canadian Royalties Inc. is a mining company based in Quebec and owned by Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Co. Ltd. of China through its Canadian subsidiary Jien Canada Mining Ltd. MarineLog
 Wolves Habituate to Humans in Arctic Finland, but Dogs Pay Ultimate Price. The Finnish Wildlife Agency has granted special permits to shoot two wolves in the town of Juuka in east Finland because the animals have repeatedly killed dogs in the area. Meanwhile a gentler approach is being taken against a lone wolf in the town of Pieksämäki, also located in eastern Finland. The Juuka hunting licenses are in effect for two weeks within a limited area. Seven dogs have been killed there since October, including two hunting dogs last weekend. Alaska Dispatch
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday. |
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Future Events
28th Wakefield Symposium: Responses of Arctic Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change, March 26-29, 2013. This symposium seeks to advance our understanding of responses of arctic marine ecosystems to climate change at all trophic levels, by documenting and forecasting changes in environmental processes
and species responses to those changes. Presentations will focus on collaborative approaches to understanding and managing living marine resources in a changing Arctic, and to managing human responses to changing arctic marine ecosystems. Hosted by Alaska Sea Grant and sponsors.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 21-25, 2013. Since 2002, scientists from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond have come to the Symposium to communicate research activities in the marine regions off Alaska. Researchers and students in marine science re-connect with old colleagues and meet new ones. Plenary and poster sessions feature a broad spectrum of ocean science. Hear the latest in the fields of climate, oceanography, lower trophic levels, the benthos, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local and traditional knowledge, and socioeconomic research. The Symposium also features compelling keynote speakers, workshops and special sessions.
Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 4-8, 2013. Hosted by The Alaska Forum, Inc. the 2013 Alaska Forum on the Environment will follow up on previous forums by offering training and information, includes plenary sessions, on: climate change, emergency response, environmental regulations, fish and wildlife populations, rural issues, energy, military issues, business issues, solid waste, contaminants, contaminated site cleanup, mining and others. For 2013, the forum will expand forum content to provide information to help better understand issues surrounding coastal communities. This will include tsunami impacts, marine debris, and coastal erosion.
 28th Wakefield Symposium: Responses of Arctic Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change, March 26-29, 2013. This symposium seeks to advance our understanding of responses of arctic marine ecosystems to climate change at all trophic levels, by documenting and forecasting changes in environmental processes
and species responses to those changes. Presentations will focus on collaborative approaches to understanding and managing living marine resources in a changing Arctic, and to managing human responses to changing arctic marine ecosystems. Hosted by Alaska Sea Grant and sponsors.
Arctic Observing Summit 2013, April 30- May 2, 2013. The Arctic Observing Summit is led by the International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC). It is a Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON) task and part of the broader SAON implementation process, which is led by the Arctic Council jointly with the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). AOS is a high-level, biennial summit that aims to provide community-driven, science-based guidance for the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long term (decades) operation of an international network of arctic observing systems. The AOS will provide a platform to address urgent and broadly recognized needs of arctic observing across all components of the arctic system, including the human component. It will foster international communication and coordination of long-term observations aimed at improving understanding and responding to system-scale arctic change. The AOS will be an international forum for optimizing resource allocation through coordination and exchange among researchers, funding agencies, and others involved or interested in long term observing activities, while minimizing duplication and gaps.
International Conference on Arctic Ocean Acidification, May 6-8, 2013.
The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), the Institute of Marine Research, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, and the University of British Columbia, Canada, host a conference to consider Arctic Ocean acidification. Topics will include response of Arctic Ocean to increasing CO2 and related changes in the global carbon cycle, social and policy challenges, Arctic Ocean acidification and ecological and biogeochemical coupling, implications of changing Arctic Ocean acidification for northern (commercial and subsistence) fisheries, and future developments. |
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