Arctic Update Header
April 29, 2014

 

The Arctic in the Anthropocene: Emerging Research Questions, April 29, 2014. (Webinar)This webinar will provide a briefing on the new National Research Council report "The Arctic in the Anthropocene: Emerging Research Questions". The co-chairs of the authoring committee will present emerging research questions that span traditional disciplinary boundaries as well as tools for meeting the challenges of understanding a rapidly changing Arctic. There will be an opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the briefing. 

 

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House and Senate are in session and expected to consider non-Arctic legislation today.

 

 

 

 

Media 

     

NRC Releases Report: The Arctic in the Anthropocene: Emerging Research Questions. Today, the National Research Council released a new report designed to provide guidance on future research questions in the Arctic over the next 10-20 years, identifying the key scientific questions that are emerging in different realms of Arctic science and exploring both disciplinary realms (e.g., marine, terrestrial, atmosphere, cryosphere, social sciences, and health[1]) and cross cutting realms (e.g., integrated systems science and sustainability science). Based on the emerging research questions, the study will also help identify research infrastructure needs (e.g., observation networks, computing and data management, ship requirements, shore facilities, etc.) and collaboration opportunities. The report is available here.

 

In Nunavut, A Less Fatalistic Word for Cancer. Thanks to improved treatment and better survival rates, cancer, for Canada's Inuit, is no longer 'annia aaqqijuajunnangituq' (an incurable ailment). Instead, a new term coined by the region's language experts describes it as 'kagguti' (knocked down out of natural order). The linguistic evolution that began last year with the inaugural Inuit Cancer Literacy Forum in Inuvik, culminated almost a year later, when, on April 23, Terry Audla, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Canada's national Inuit organisation, became the first person to tweet the new word. Arctic Journal

 

Are There Confrontations Ahead in the Battle Over Arctic Oil? The first oil from the controversial Prirazlomnaya offshore Arctic oil platform is on its way to Rotterdam. This was the oil rig where the Greenpeace "Arctic 30" were arrested by Russian forces last September during a protest. The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior III is on its way to meet the tanker, the Mikhail Ulyanov, and protest against Arctic oil drilling. (The Greenpeace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise remains in the custody of the Russian Investigative committee, over six months after the action and four months since an official amnesty was adopted.) Alaska Dispatch

 

Canadian Web Documentary Highlights Arctic Science. Ever wondered how noise affects marine mammals in the Arctic? Or what glacial ice really looks like? "Profiles from the Arctic" is a new web documentary that answers these and other questions by giving site visitors a front row seat to the science and scientists working in Canada's Far North. The project was put together by Katriina O'Kane and inspired by her experience at the 2012 International Polar Year conference in Montreal. Alaska Dispatch

 

Whale Earwax Offers Opportunity for Unique Insight. A biologist from Baylor University in Texas has discovered a unique way to determine changes in hormone and contaminant levels in baleen whales - through their ear wax. Stephen Trumble is a whale biologist who studied at UAF. He says museums have collected these earwax plugs for a century and the Smithsonian alone has more than 500. They are commonly used to determine a whales' age - like tree rings. But three years ago an environmental chemist suggested to Trumble the wax plugs were also like sediment cores. It was a moment of insight. Alaska Public Radio

 

Nunavik's Beluga Hunt Season Opens. Nunavik's waters are now open to harvesters for the 2014 beluga hunt, the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans said April 26. The April 26 launch of the season coincides with the beluga's spring migration through Hudson Bay. But Nunavimmiut hunters will have to wait a little longer to get new quotas for each community, while DFO establishes a total allowable take for the 2014 season. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Climate Change is Bad for Inuit Health, Research Group Says. Inuit are vulnerable to climate change, and it's time for new policy to adapt, a group of researchers says in a new report. That's the message from the Climate Change Adaptation Research Group, led by James Ford of McGill University, who released a paper April 24 about the need for better adaption strategies, especially in health, for Inuit. Adaptation to climate change is "the biggest challenge for global public health this century," the researchers cite, but few studies are done about how the Arctic should adapt. Nunatsiaq Online

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.

Future Events

 

AAAS Forum on S & T Policy, May 1, 2014 (Washington, DC). The American Association for the Advancement of Science will host a forum on science and technology policy. On May 1, AAAS will host a breakout session on US Leadership in the Arctic Council: International Science Cooperation. Presenters include executive director of the US Arctic Research Commission John Farrell.

 

Alaska Policy Commission. May 6-7, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. The draft agenda is available here

 

International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries. ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.

 

Arctic in the Athropocene. June 23-July 2, 2014 (Potsdam, Germany). Under the overarching theme "Arctic in the Anthropocene", this two-week interdisciplinary and interactive event will be the first in a series of Potsdam Summer Schools to be held annually. The goal is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from research departments, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as the private sector from all around the world. Participants will deal with global challenges and address urgent questions on how to shape sustainable futures in the Arctic and beyond from a scientific and socioeconomic point of view. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, Iceland).

The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

The Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014. (Trondheim, Norway). The Arctic Biodiversity Congress will present and discuss the main scientific findings of the ABA; facilitate inter-disciplinary discussion, action and status updates on the policy recommendations in the ABA; provide scientific, policy, management, NGO, academia, Indigenous peoples and industry audiences the opportunity to collaborate around the themes of the ABA; advise CAFF on national and international implementation of the ABA recommendations and on the development of an ABA Implementation Plan for the Arctic Council; highlight the work of CAFF and the Arctic Council on circumpolar biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; and, contribute to mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring that the recommendations of the ABA are implemented by not just governments, but many organizations and people across disciplines.

USARC header

Find us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter 

4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 510
Arlington, VA 22203, USA 
(703) 525-0111 (phone)
www.arctic.gov
info@arctic.gov
 
External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site (www.arctic.gov) do not constitute endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC Web site.