Arctic Council's Permanent Secretariat Established. The Arctic Council's permanent secretariat was established in Tromsø, Norway, on Monday when Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide and director of the secretariat Magnús Jóhannesson, who is Icelandic, signed a host country agreement between Norway and the Arctic Council. The secretariat will be responsible for communication, general meeting preparations and coordination for the Council and working group relations. The establishment of the permanent secretariat is considered by the Council as a significant step in strengthening its work in global discussions and decision-making. Iceland Review

Draft Third Climate Assessment Report. On 11 January 2013, the National Climate Assessment Development and Advisory Committee (NCADAC), the federal advisory committee for the National Climate Assessment, approved their draft of the Third National Climate Assessment Report for release for public comment.  The draft report is available for download - both as a single document and by chapter - at http://ncadac.globalchange.gov. The public comment period for the report will run 14 January till 12 April 2013. All comments must be submitted via the online comment tool that will be available from http://ncadac.globalchange.gov.  The final report is due out towards the end of calendar year 2013

Bipartisan Coalition of Senators Introduces Mental Health First Aid Bill. A bipartisan coalition of Senators led by Sens. Mark Begich (D-AK), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today introduced legislation to expand mental health first aid training and increase the effectiveness of mental health care across America. The bill is an expanded version of the bill introduced last year by U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK). Sens. Begich, Ayotte, Blumenthal, Jack Reed (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) are original co-sponsors of the Mental Health First Aid Act of 2013, which provides funding for training programs to help the public identify, understand, and address crisis situations safely. The bill also calls for protocols for initiating timely referrals to mental health services available in communities. Senator Mark Begich

Murkowski: It's "Way Past Time" for Mental Health Conversation: Senator inquires about 'inroad' on youth intervention, fight against suicide in committee hearing. Senator Lisa Murkowski took part in the first Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee hearing to focus on America's mental health care since 2007 - saying it was "way past time" for the committee to take up the issue - focusing her attention on Alaska's critical fight against youth suicide and the latest efforts to identify mental and behavioral issues early in childhood to improve outcomes across the country, especially in rural America. In her opening remarks (clip one below), Senator Murkowski outlined her recent legislation to prevent suicides in young Americans, adding "I find it troubling that in everything we do that we cannot seem to make inroads" on this long-time priority and national need. Senator Lisa Murkowski

Global Mercury Treaty Will Take Decades to Work. This crackdown certainly has a few cracks in it. Activists have criticised loopholes in a new treaty, signed by 140 countries, that will control mercury pollution. But at least the Minamata Convention on Mercury does commit countries to reducing their mercury emissions. The convention, named for a Japanese city that suffered severe mercury pollution, aims to control global mercury levels. Products like batteries and thermometers that contain mercury will be phased out by 2020, while major sources like coal-fired power stations will have to obey new and stricter rules. The New Scientist 

In an Era of Climate Change, Where Will the Fish, and the Money, Go? Like the American pika and some other land-based creatures, fish are on the move as they try to adapt to a changing climate. One place this is happening is the seas surrounding the Arctic Ocean. But precisely how fast, in what direction, and to what effect the fish will migrate from their home turf is a big unknown. Marine biologists and climate-modeling scientists are following their trail seeking answers. That trail emits a scent of money to fisheries operators. Although no commercial fisheries exist yet in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent continental shelf seas, operators know that could change. (Commercial fishing is currently concentrated on the sub-Arctic seas surrounding the Arctic Ocean.) Naturally, they want the potential bounty. So do nations inhabiting or otherwise potentially fishing in the Arctic. In fact, it's one reason (along with its interest in fossil fuel and mineral extraction) why China is trying to secure observer status on the Arctic Council, a committee of eight Arctic states that together shape policy for the region. Popular Science

Chukchi Trawl Survey Sheds Light on Unexplored Waters. Fishing is off-limits in the Arctic, but last summer, a pair of commercial trawlers traveled north to the Chukchi Sea. They were on a scientific mission, to conduct the first-ever comprehensive study of the Chukchi's ecosystem. Franz Mueter is the lead scientist on the study, and he's attending the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage this week to present some of the results. He says his team came back with heaps of samples. Alaska Public Radio

Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 4-8, 2013, Anchorage. 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.

Alaska Native Language Archive, February 22, 2013, Fairbanks. Please join ANLA and the Rasmuson Library for a Grand Opening Celebration to dedicate the new ANLA public service point on the second floor of the Rasmuson Library. The event will begin with an open house featuring collections in the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections, the Oral History Collection, and of course ANLA. This will be followed by a special panel session entitled Honoring Alaska's Native Languages: Past, Present, Future, reflecting on 50 years of Native language archiving at UAF.

Arctic Observing Summit 2013, April 30- May 2, 2013, Vancouver, BC, CA. 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.