US, Canada Complete Step in Arctic Ocean Continental Shelf Identification. A fourth joint project to map the Arctic Ocean continental shelf by the United States and Canada is now complete. The 2011 mission covered 5,600 mi (9,012 km) total and went 1,230 mi (1,980 mi) north of the Alaskan coast. Purpose of the survey is to determine the extent of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (230 mi, or 370 km). Offshore Magazine 

Norway 'Wants to Block China from Arctic Council.' Norway wants to block China's bid for observer status on the Arctic Council after a diplomatic row over the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Norwegian daily Aftenposten said on Wednesday. "As long as the Chinese authorities refuse to speak to their Norwegian counterparts, it will be difficult for Norway to say yes to a (Chinese) candidacy to become a permanent observer on the Arctic Council," an unidentified "highly-placed diplomatic source" told the paper. The Norwegian foreign ministry refused to comment on the report. The Telegraph  

Solar Storm Sparks Dazzling Northern Lights. A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northernmost skies of Earth into an ever-changing and awe-provoking art show of northern lights on Tuesday. Even experienced stargazers were stunned by the intensity of the aurora borealis that swept across the night sky in northern Scandinavia after the biggest solar flare in six years. "It has been absolutely incredible," British astronomer John Mason cried from the deck of the MS Midnatsol, a cruise ship plying the fjord-fringed coast of northern Norway. CBC News

Climate Change in the Arctic Bring Potential Conflict Between the U.S. Russia. A major effort to transfer 1.3m gallons of fuel from a Russian tanker to Nome, Alaska, was finally completed on Thursday. The ice-bound city, located just south of the Arctic Circle, faced a major fuel shortage after missing its last pre-winter fuel delivery due to an unseasonably early fall blizzard. The Russian tanker, the Renda, persevered through significant adversity to come to Nome's rescue; along with the threat posed by intense winter ice, the tanker needed a waiver from the Secretary of Homeland Security to allow merchandise to be transported between points in the U.S. in a vessel other than one built and owned by the U.S. This was a requirement of the Jones Act. Policy Mic 

Record Floods in Manitoba Could Soon Give Way to Drought. Despite a relatively balmy winter so far, Environment Canada calls for colder, below normal weather for the next two months. That's due to what's called the Arctic oscillation. A stronger Arctic oscillation this winter has kept colder temperatures circulating in the polar region longer, allowing for warmer temperatures to creep northward. That pattern is anticipated to weaken in February and March, but it's not expected to bring that much more snow. If conditions persist there could be little snow to replenish fields that are still dry from last autumn. The Vancouver Sun

Avian Cholera Could Spread into Arctic, Scientists Warn. Avian cholera could spread into areas of the Arctic, including parts of Canada and Greenland, where the disease has not been present before, scientists say. The potent bacterial disease is naturally occurring and highly contagious in birds, but not to humans. Avian cholera has usually been found in more southern parts of North America, but it has killed thousands of common eider ducks and other birds in Canada's eastern Arctic since 2004. Alaska Dispatch

Canada, U.S. Set Ground Rules for Responding to Armed Attack. A new Canada-U.S. military agreement that will set down each country's roles and responsibilities should North America be attacked is in the final stages of negotiation, Defense Minister Peter MacKay revealed Tuesday night. The Combined Defense Plan has been under discussion for several years and would further integrate cross-border military co-operation at a time when the Harper government is trying to reassure Washington it has a reliable partner in Canada when it comes to security. "This agreement provides a framework for the combined defense of Canada and the U.S. during peace, contingencies, and war," MacKay told the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, comprising senior military officers, government officials and diplomats from both nations. The Ottawa Citizen

Fiber Optic Cable Headed for Canadian Arctic? "Without it, the economic divide (between north and south) will only grow wider." An Ontario-based telecommunications firm has come up with a big plan to improve bandwidth in the Canadian Arctic. And the plan requires replacing Telesat's satellite beams - which currently feed most of Nunavut's cell phone and Internet services - with a 15,000-kilometre fiber-optic cable line that would run through the Northwest Passage, connecting Asia to Europe. Doug Cunningham, president of Arctic Fibre Inc., says the fiber optic line fills a tremendous need in Canada's North. "That is to satisfy a social goal: to provide the necessary bandwidth to people in remote Arctic communities," Cunningham said. Nunatsiaq Online