Agency Considers Pinto Abalone for Endangered List. A 6-inch Pacific Ocean marine snail prized for its delicate flavor and colorful shell will be considered for endangered or threatened species status. The National Marine Fisheries Service announced last week that it will conduct a status review for pinto abalone, which are found from Alaska to Baja California. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 

Kachemak Bay's Foamy Brown Bloom of Phytoplankton Proves to be Strange Visitor. Scientists have now solved one mystery about a strange root-beer-like substance that covered much of Kachemak Bay this fall, but other questions remain. The growth that that turned much of the bay brown and foamy for weeks starting in late September turns out to be a massive bloom of the phytoplankton species Karenia mikimotoi, a substance that has caused major fish die-offs elsewhere. It was the first large bloom of this species documented in Alaska, said officials with the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, a joint federal-state science center. Alaska Dispatch

Scientists Find 650 Years Change in Sea Ice Using Underwater Algae. Scientists from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) states that growing layers of algae in underwater sea reveals changes in sea-ice cover in past 650 years. Jochen Halfar, an associate professor in UTM's department of chemical and physical sciences, said this research has been taken place for the first time in marine history. Researchers said that coralline algae have been used for the first time to find out the changes in Arctic sea ice. Jochen said that new algal record depicts decrease in ice cover over past 150 years. Jochen along with his colleagues from the Smithsonian Institution, Germany and Newfoundland had collected and analyzed the images of underwater algae. French Tribune

At Climate Talks, Suggesting Measures to Slow Change in the World's Cold Regions. In Warsaw last week, the ICCI was presenting a report entitled "On Thin Ice: How Cutting Pollution can Slow Warming and Save Lives", co-released with the World Bank earlier this month. It looks in particular at how reducing air pollution, for instance from cooking stoves in developing nations and diesel exhaust fumes, could slow down the changes to the cryosphere and at the same time bring huge health benefits to those who currently suffer from air pollution. The study calls for tough limits on pollution from methane and soot, which can settle on snow and ice and speed up thawing by making the surface darker. Alaska Dispatch

Numerous Contaminants, Including Flame Retardants, Found in Arctic Gulls. A recent study has discovered a range of contaminants in the glaucous gull population in Canada's eastern Arctic. The study was conducted near the predominantly Inuit community of Cape Dorset in Canada's Nunavut territory. New contaminants such as flame retardants were found in the birds, along with older contaminants such as mercury and chlorine. Alaska Dispatch

Greenland Climate Research Center "A Resounding Success." More than 60 scientists from 15 countries gathered in Nuuk, Greenland recently to discuss the results of projects initiated by the Greenland Climate Research Center. "The government is very proud that an internationally recognized climate research center has been established in Greenland in just a few short years," said Nick Nielsen, Greenland's science minister. "You have built a research platform with full-time professors, scientists, students and a vast network of connected scientists and students." Arctic Journal