Arctic Update Header
February 2, 2015

 

capitalToday's Congressional Action:  

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

 

Media  

 

Arctic Policy Commission to Submit Report to Alaska Legislature. According to a press release, the report and related legislation are intended to guide the state's work, as well as U.S. policy, on Arctic issues. Companion bills have been introduced in the Alaska House and Senate to define the state's Arctic policy. The bills identify four areas of focus: economic and resource development, infrastructure, health communities and a state-based agenda for science and research. Alaska Dispatch News

 

The Future of Baffin Caribou to be Hashed Out at Iqaluit Meeting. With a hunting moratorium now in place for caribou on Baffin Island as a stop-gap measure to protect the dwindling herds, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board now must consider a long-term plan for the eastern Arctic's iconic species and long-time provider of country food. The NWMB will host public hearings at the Parish Hall in Iqaluit March 11 and March 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day and possibly in the evening as well, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., if necessary. Individuals or organizations who want to offer written submissions have until day's end Feb. 13 to do so. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Draft Federal Government Report Say Bitumen Spill Effects Unknown. An unpublished federal report on environmental threats from oil and bitumen pipelines says little is known about the potential toxic effects of oilsands products in oceans, lakes or rivers. "In particular, research on the toxicology of bitumen is lacking," says the draft report, commissioned in response to concerns raised at the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings. The document comes as Canada debates pipeline proposals for moving large amounts of diluted bitumen from Alberta's oilsands to refineries and ports on both coasts and into the United States. It was obtained by Greenpeace under freedom-of-information legislation. Vancouver Sun

 

budget Obama Proposes $3.99 Trillion Budget, Sets Up Battle with Republicans. President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a $3.99 trillion budget for fiscal year 2016 that sets up a battle with Republicans over programs to boost the middle class that are funded by higher taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans. The budget foresees a $474 billion deficit, which is 2.5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. It projects deficits stabilizing at that rate over a 10-year period, senior administration officials said. Obama's budget fleshes out proposals from his State of the Union address last month and helps highlight Democratic priorities for the last two years of his presidency and the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign. Reuters

 

Comment Period Extended for Arctic Ringed Seal Habitat. The National Marine Fisheries Service said Friday that it was extending the comment deadline from March 9 to March 31. The proposed designation would identify sea ice in the northern Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas as critical for ringed seal pupping, nursing and other activities. Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies would be required to consider whether actions they authorize, fund or carry out would adversely affect the ice, and ringed seals, if the designation is made. According to a release from the agency, such a designation would not impact subsistence activities. KTUU

 

Congressional Research Report.  The Library of Congress recently released a Congressional Research Service report entitled "Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress." A link to the report is available here.

 

Code, Herring Could Pass Through Northeast Passage in Future. In future, an ice-free Northeast Passage will allow, among other things, cod, herring and blue whiting from the Atlantic to migrate into the Pacific-while other species can move in the opposite direction, according to a study by DTU Aqua researchers. The study shows that many of the investigated 515 fish species have the potential to move north as temperatures rise. When the sea ice recedes, and there is food to be found in the previously inhospitable Northeast and Northwest Passages, the fish will be able to move here and, with time, spread into new waters. FIS

 

Bowhead Bowhead Whales Inspire Art, Science, Culture. Bowhead whales are one of Alaska's iconic animals. Giants of the Arctic, they live their entire lives in the coldest waters of the Northern Hemisphere; they don't migrate to warmer southern oceans like their cousins the Gray whale or Humpbacks. They are also at the center of the culture of the Inupiaq people of the north, who have hunted Bowheads for thousands of years. Generations of these whalers have watched the whales pass by their shores. This traditional knowledge has aided scientists as they strive to understand the role of Bowhead whales in the changing Arctic ecosystem. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday. 

 

Future Events

 

Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 9-13, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Forum on the Environment (AFE) is Alaska's largest statewide gathering of environmental professionals from government agencies, non-profit and for-profit businesses, community leaders, Alaskan youth, conservationists, biologists and community elders. The diversity of attendees and comprehensive agenda sets this conference apart from any other. Each year there are over 80 technical breakout sessions and sensational Keynote Events. There will be a full week of sessions on climate change, energy, environmental regulations, cleanup and remediation, fish & wildlife, solid waste, and of course much more. The event will continue to present expanded content on Marine Debris, Coastal Issues and Tsunami's in order to address the pressing concerns from Alaska rural coastal communities.

 

International Symposium on Northern Development, February 25-27, 2015 (Quebec, Canada). The Québec government, in collaboration with Université Laval, will co-chair with the Nordic Council of Ministers the International Symposium on Northern Development. The event will allow for the pooling of knowledge, experience and perspectives in the realm of northern development. It will assemble representatives of the northern countries, the universities and local populations, including the Aboriginal nations, and businesspeople and enterprises. The key themes will be the North as a living environment; the North as a physical territory; the North as a hub of economic development; and, the North as a hub of knowledge training and research.

 

2015 Public Policy Forum: Predicting and Preparing for a Changing Arctic. March 4, 2015 (Washington, D.C.). The Consortium for Ocean Leadership will host a forum on a changing Arctic.  One panel will discuss the state of knowledge in predicting major changes occurring in the Arctic as well as identifying research and observational gaps.  The second panel will consider the science needs of commercial and community stakeholders living and working in the Arctic. 

 

 US Arctic Research Commission's 103rd Meeting, March 4-5, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). More information to come.

 

PNWER...Pacific NorthWest Economic Region's Arctic Caucus meeting, March 5, 2015, (Washington, DC, USA). More info to come. 

 

Arctic Summit 2015, March 12, 2014 (Oslo, Norway) The Economist is hosting the Arctic Summit 2015 where discussions will focus on whether commercial interest in the Arctic is a bubble about to burst. There are discounted registration fees are available for NGOs, government, academics, charities and students. There are also discounts for groups of 3 or more people.

 

Polar Shelves and Shelf Break Exchange in Times of Rapid Climate Warming, March 15-20, 2015 (Lucca, Italy). The GRCs provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies. The guiding principle of a GRC is to encourage communication and discussion of ideas and new unpublished results at the very frontier of a particular field of research, by bringing together outstanding scientists from academia, industry, and government, ranging from senior experts to Ph.D. students. With the increasing impacts of reduced sea ice and warming seawater conditions in both the Arctic and Antarctic, this conference can act as a forum for potentially transformative discussions for interdisciplinary, international and compare/contrast evaluation of polar sciences. In addition, the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will precede the GRC to provide a forum for graduate students and post-docs to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas with experts in the different polar fields of science.

 

Sweden-U.S. Planning Workshop on Joint Arctic Research Using the I/B Oden, March 30- April 1, 2015 (Stockholm, Sweden). The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Arctic Section is supporting a 'Planning Workshop on joint Arctic Research using the Swedish Class 1A Icebreaker Oden.' This workshop is held in collaboration with the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (SPRS) and the Swedish Research Council (Formas and VR). The US delegation will be led by Drs. Patricia Matrai (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences) and Peter Minnett (RSMAS, U. Miami), as workshop co-organizers with Dr. Caroline Leck (Stockholm U.). This workshop will bring together those with research and operational/ logistical interests in the Arctic and will discuss a baseline for establishing a new, longer-term collaborative relationship among U.S. and Swedish scientists for Oden-based research in the Arctic Ocean. 


 

Arctic Science Summit Week, April 23-30, 2015 (Toyama, Japan). The Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) is the annual gathering of the international organizations engaged in supporting and facilitating Arctic research. The purpose of the summit is to provide opportunities for coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all areas of Arctic science. The summit attracts scientists, students, policy makers and other professionals from all over the world. 


The Polar Geography and Cryosphere, April 21-25, 2015 (Chicago, IL, USA). The Polar Geography and Cryosphere Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers will host its annual meeting in Chicago to consider: current topics in human-environment interactions; current topics in politics, resource geographies, and extractive industries; current topics in Antarctic research; advances in cryosphere research; high latitude environments in a changing climate; an mountain ice and snow.

6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). Program in development...check back soon. To see the programs from prior symposia, click here

The Polar Oceans and Global Climate Change, November 3-6, 2015 (La Jolla, California USA.)  The American Polar Society will host this Symposium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  A flyer with a partial list of presenters is available on the Society's website (americanpolar.org) and from the Society's Membership Chairman by email.

  

11th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP 2016), June 20-24, 2016 (Potsdam, Germany). The Alfred Wegener Institute has teamed up with UP Transfer GmbH and the University of Potsdam to organize a great conference for you, permafrost researchers. The conference aims at covering all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level.

  

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