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May 12, 2014

 

Responding to Oil Spills in the US Arctic Marine Environment, May 12, 2014 (Webinar). This webinar will provide a briefing on the new National Research Council report Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment. Martha Grabowski, chair of the study committee, will discuss the report's main points regarding key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. There will be an opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the briefing. See agenda here

 

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

 

 

Media 

       

Scientists Scramble to Gather Data After Unusual Quakes in Remote Alaska. In recent weeks, two powerful earthquakes have rocked the Northwest Arctic, leading some to ask why, and if these two are a sign of things to come. On April 18, the first quake rang in at a magnitude of 5.6, while on May 3 a second quake shook the region at 5.5. Alaska Dispatch 

 

US-Russia Tensions Create Worries for Arctic Scientists. For a week in June, about 20 Russian emergency-management experts and scientists and their U.S. counterparts were planning to tour Alaska natural disaster landmarks, sharing information about lessons learned and risks avoided. They were to have viewed areas of Seward where tsunamis swept in after the 1964 earthquake, toured part of Anchorage rebuilt after that massive quake, inspected the site where the trans-Alaska pipeline was shaken by the magnitude-7.9 Denali Fault earthquake of 2002 and examined other hazard spots before convening in Fairbanks to compare notes on wildfire and flood management. Alaska Dispatch 

 

Russia Wins Oil Rich Territory as Big as Switzerland Without Any Violence as it is Handed 'Ali Baba's Cave' of Natural Resources in Arctic. While the world thought it was busy invading Ukraine, Russia was quietly hatching plans for another land grab 4,000 miles away - an oil-rich Arctic territory the size of Switzerland.But the former Soviet state needed no tanks, guns or militiamen to conquer this swathe of seabed in the Far Eastern Sea of Okhotsk. Instead, the area - described as an 'Ali Baba's cave' of natural resources - was simply handed to the former Soviet nation by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, a treaty body run by the United Nations, on March 15. Daily Mail 

 

The Arctic Council's Ukraine Challenge. The Ottawa Declaration that established the Arctic Council in 1996 clearly defined the scope of its mission. Military security, for example, was left out. So it would be reasonable to assume that the council will continue to focus on issues of pollution, sustainable development, climate change and the future local Arctic communities, as it has in its first 15 years. The main question facing the Arctic Council is how much international tensions over Ukraine will affect its work. The Syrian crisis has shown that US and Russian foreign ministers use their Arctic Council meetings as an opportunity to discuss contentious issues. However, there have been no changes in the council's upcoming plans. Barents Observer 

 

Melting Arctic Brings Urgent Needs and Opportunities.  Most people don't think about the Arctic in their daily lives until the polar vortex descends upon them. But, displaced polar vortexes may become the "new normal" due to climate change, according to researchers, and the same processes that contribute to their occurrence have also been causing Arctic ice to disappear at an unprecedented rate. The rapid warming in the Arctic is creating novel problems for scientists and policy-makers, said three experts who spoke at the AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy held 1-2 May in Washington, D.C. These problems include a newly-opened, largely-uncharted sea, species facing a rapidly changing environment, challenges in natural resource development, and health and safety impacts on the Arctic region's 4 million residents. AAAS

 

Climate Change Impacting on Fish Stocks- Iceland President. The president of Iceland, Mr. Olafur Grimsson, has warned that the Arctic is fast acquiring a global significance that is having a profound effect on fish stocks. He said the aggressive melting of the sea ice was creating a new ocean, adding "for the first time in human history we are witnessing such a monumental transformation on planet Earth." Fish Update 

 

Brain Eyes Contaminants Have Variety of Effects on Arctic Baby IQs. Babies in Arctic Canada are at risk of specific effects on their mental abilities, depending on which contaminants they are exposed to in the womb, according to a new study. While lead, methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls all are linked to neurological effects, each seems to have a different effect on infants. For example, PCBs seemed to impair the babies' ability to recognize things they have seen. Babies in Arctic Canada are at risk of specific effects on their mental abilities, depending on which contaminants they are exposed to in the womb, according to a new study. Environmental Health News 

 

[Opinion] Alaskans Should Sound Off to Guide Arctic Policy. Alaska is the reason the United States is an Arctic nation, yet as a state we lack the cohesive message needed to influence federal Arctic policy. The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission was created to ensure Alaskans have a seat at the table -- and we need to hear your voice. Alaska's future is in the Arctic. With all of the challenges and opportunities on the horizon, it is imperative that Alaskans take charge to shape our own Arctic future. We envision that Arctic future as one that benefits all Alaskans, a safe and secure Arctic, an expansive landscape full of opportunity, with a healthy environment and vibrant communities. Alaska Dispatch 

 

NOAA Gets First Chief Scientist in More than a Decade. President Barack Obama today announced that he intends to appoint oceanographer Richard "Rick" Spinrad to become the next chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Spinrad would be the agency's first chief scientist since former astronaut and earth scientist Kathryn Sullivan-now NOAA's Administrator-held the job in the mid-1990s. The move marks the administration's second effort to fill the post, which it reestablished in 2009 as a presidential appointment requiring confirmation by the U.S. Senate. (Previous administrations downgraded, eliminated, or refused to fill the position.) But the White House's initial nominee, geochemist Scott Doney, ultimately withdrew his name in 2012 after a 2-year battle with Republicans in the U.S. Senate. In particular, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) blocked a vote on the nomination to protest the Obama administration's response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Science Mag 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation as formally considered Friday.

Future Events

 

NOAA Science Challenge Workshop: Predicting Arctic Weather and Climate and Related Impacts, May 13-15, 2014. (Bolder, CO, USA/ Web) The overarching purpose of the workshop is to inform NOAA on actions required to address present and anticipated future mission requirements for predictions of Arctic weather and climate and related impacts. The workshop will also define       actions needed to determine relationships between Arctic and lower latitude weather and climate variability and their predictive implications, with emphasis on predictions over the sector encompassing North America and adjacent ocean regions. The workshop's primary emphasis will be on steps needed to improve predictions and related services from days to seasons in advance; however, needs and opportunities for developing longer-­-term prediction products will also be considered.

 

Arctic Oil Spill Briefing, May 16, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska).  The chair and committee members of the National Research Council (NRC) will brief the NRC report on Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment and engage in a discussion with briefing participants. Register here. 

 

Cumulative Impacts and Landscape Initiatives: A sustainability Check During Climate Change, May 18-22, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). US-IALE fosters landscape ecology in the United States, providing a link among practitioners in landscape ecology in the U.S. and the international community, and promoting interdisciplinary research and communication among scientists, planners, and other professionals concerned with landscape ecology. Program highlights will include plenary sessions with featured speakers, symposia and contributed papers, in-depth workshops on key topics, field trips, and networking events.

 

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. 

 

2014 FAMOS School and Workshop #3, October 21-24, 2014. (Woods Hole, MA) The Forum for Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) is an international effort to focus on enhancing collaboration and coordination among Arctic marine and sea ice modelers, theoreticians and observationalists synthesize major results from the field studies and coordinated numerical experiments. The major themes of workshop include but not limited by studies focused on: predictions; Arctic observational and modeling initiatives; fate of sea ice in models and observations; atmospheric, sea ice and ocean dynamics; process studies and parameterizations; model validation and calibration; numerical improvements and algorithms; ecosystems, biological issues, and geochemistry.

 

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.

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