The House is expected to vote on passage of the FY 2013 Department of Defense authorization bill. The Senate is not in session.

Ancient History of Circumarctic Peoples Illuminated. Two studies led by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and National Geographic's Genographic Project reveal new information about the migration patterns of the first humans to settle the Americas. The studies identify the historical relationships among various groups of Native American and First Nations peoples and present the first clear evidence of the genetic impact of the groups' cultural practices. Science Daily

John Ivison: Stephen Harper's Arctic Sovereignty Legacy Starting to Cool Off. Arctic sovereignty is often seen as Stephen Harper's signature legacy project. Every summer, the Prime Minister heads north to indulge in an expensively choreographed photo opportunity, flanked by CF-18 fighters and half the Royal Canadian Navy. Two years ago, he boasted about the millions Canada was spending to defend its interests, including $495-million for new Radarsat satellites. "The eyes on these satellites will pick up a breaching whale through the fog in the utter blackness of the Arctic winter," he said. "From Afghanistan to the Arctic, from the coast of Somalia to the shores of Nootka Sound [on Vancouver Island], we will be able to see what the bad guys are up to." National Post 

Groups Sue Again Over Oil Drilling Off Alaska. A coalition of environmental and tribal groups filed a challenge Wednesday to a federal air-emissions permit for a Royal Dutch Shell PLC drilling ship, the latest legal maneuver aimed at stopping the oil giant's exploration plan off Alaska's Arctic coast. The Obama administration gave Shell the go-ahead last year to move forward with plans to drill for oil in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. The coalition's court challenge targets a ship that Shell plans to deploy for drilling in the Beaufort Sea starting as early as mid-July when the sea-ice clears. Wall Street Journal 

US-Japan Scientific Cooperation Strengthened With Launch of New Environmental Monitoring Satellite. NOAA scientists will use data from a new Japanese polar-orbiting satellite launched earlier today from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, to help forecast severe storms, monitor the decline of Arctic sea ice, and predict the onset of El Niño, La Niña and other global climate phenomena. Once deemed operational, data from this new spacecraft and the new U.S. Suomi NPP satellite, which was launched last year and is operated by NOAA, will strengthen the environmental monitoring capabilities of both nations. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last year between NOAA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NOAA will use data from an instrument onboard JAXA's Global Change Observation Mission 1 - Water (GCOM-W1) satellite. NOAA  

Seeking Signs of Life at the Glacier's Edge. Scientists are investigating the receding edge of ice sheets on Earth to study the release of methane there. Methane is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas. On Earth, some methane is produced abiotically - not by life - through reactions between water and rock, as well as through the breakdown of hydrocarbons by geological processes. On the other hand, some methane comes directly or indirectly from methanogenic microbes, as a byproduct of fermentation of acetate, a derivative of vinegar, into methane and carbon dioxide. PhyOrg

The Institute of the North hosts Arctic-related events. For details, go here. Three upcoming events, all in Anchorage, AK are: (a) Commercial Applications of Northern Airships, July 31-Aug 2, Federal Research: Priorities and Processes, August 13, and Northern Energy Technology and Science Fair, August 15.

15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health, August 5-10, 2012. This event is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Society for Circumpolar Health, and the International Union for Circumpolar Health.  The forum will consider community participatory research and indigenous research; women's health, family health, and well-being; food security and nutrition; social determinants of health; environmental and occupational health; infectious and chronic diseases; climate change health impacts; health service delivery and infrastructure; and behavioral health. Click here.

98th meeting of the US Arctic Research Commission. Aug. 9-10. Fairbanks, AK. More info coming soon. 

Arctic/Inuit/Connections: Learning from the Top of the World , October 24-28, 2012.  The 18th Inuit Studies Conference, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, will be held in Washington, DC. The conference will consider heritage museums and the North; globalization: an Arctic story; power, governance and politics in the North; the '"new" Arctic: social, cultural and climate change; and Inuit education, health, language, and literature.