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 PHOTO CONTEST: The U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) is holding a photo contest titled "Observing the Arctic" to identify compelling Arctic images to be included in USARC's publication "Report of the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2015-2016." This report, to the President and Congress, outlines scientific research goals and objectives for the Arctic.
We invite you to submit original photos of Alaska and the greater Arctic region in the following categories:
- Environmental Change
- Human Health
- Natural Resources
- Civil Infrastructure
- Indigenous Cultures and Identities
- Nature
One overall winner and six runners up will be selected. Consistent with U.S. Federal Government Challenge.gov regulations, the winner will receive a prize of $400.00, and the winning photo will be prominently exhibited in USARC's Alaskan and Washington offices, displayed on the USARC website, and published on the cover of USARC's 2015-2016 Goals Report. The six runners up will receive prizes of $150.00 each, and will also have their photos displayed on the USARC website and published in the report. For details, click here.
 Today's Congressional Action:
The House and Senate have adjourned for this Congress.
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Media
New Campaign Hoping to Increase Conservation in Aleutians.
The waters around the Aleutian Islands support a dizzying range of wildlife - and major industries right along with it. Right now, the government's job is to help find a balance. But there's a new campaign to permanently tip the scales toward conservation in the Aleutian Chain. Alaska Public Radio
 Arctic Shipping Chills in 2014. The year 2014 has proved to be a slow one for Arctic shipping. Just 31 ships sailed between Europe and Asia across the Northern Sea Route, and 22 did part of the route. That's down from a total of more than 70 in 2013. Malte Humpert, executive director of the Arctic Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, says this year has served as a reality check on some of the over-heated Arctic predictions of recent years. Alaska Public Radio
The Wreck of the Kulluk. In 2005, Royal Dutch Shell, then the fourth-largest company on Earth, bought a drill rig that was both tall, rising almost 250 feet above the waterline, and unusually round. The hull of the Kulluk, as the rig was called, was made of 1.5-inch-thick steel and rounded to better prevent its being crushed. A 12-point anchor system could keep it locked in place above an oil well for a full day in 18-foot seas or in moving sea ice that was four feet thick. Its drill bit, dropped from a 160-foot derrick, could plunge 600 feet into the sea, then bore another 20,000 feet into the seabed, where it could verify the existence of oil deposits that were otherwise a geologist's best guess. It had a sauna. It could go (in theory) where few other rigs could go, helping Shell find oil that (in theory) few other oil companies could find. New York Times
 Nunavut Wildlife Board to Consider Walrus Quota for Foxe Basin. After extensive consultation with hunters and trappers groups, years of working group meetings and some aerial surveys, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is proposing to limit the number of walrus harvested in Foxe Basin. The federal fisheries department is suggesting a total allowable catch, or quota, of 116 walrus be applied to a new rectangular-shaped management area in Foxe Basin that takes in the communities of Hall Beach and Igloolik. Nunatsiaq Online
Next Stop: New Arctic. The similarities between early Arctic expeditions and where man currently stands with space exploration are eerily similar. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the Arctic was the ultimate unknown. The slow progression from exploration to settlement has filled in most of the gaps on the terrestrial map. Now, some say, history may be getting ready to repeat itself on the celestial level. "There are many parallels with the way modern industrial societies look at space exploration and the way that cultures 130 years ago were looking at the Arctic," says Michael Robinson, an expert in Arctic exploration and history at the University of Hartford. Arctic Journal
 Russia to See a Rise in Aurora Borealis in 2015. In 2014, parts of Russia located beyond the Arctic Circle witnessed aurora borealis more frequently than usual. Astronomers say this trend will continue in 2015 due to a rise in solar activity that occurs every 11 years. However, this beautiful natural phenomenon is not as innocuous as it may seem and can affect human physical wellbeing and disrupt radio communication. In late December the aurora borealis could be observed up to five times a week in Murmansk Region, the northernmost part of western Russia. Photographers decamped to the countryside with their equipment with the hope of capturing stunning pictures. Astronomers, both professional and amateur, spent hours glued to their telescopes watching the stars exhibit their unusual behavior. Russia Beyond the Headlines
2 From Oil Industry File Lawsuit Over Arctic Ringed Seals' ESA Listing. Two oil associations have filed a lawsuit against a federal agency challenging the listing of the Arctic ringed seal as a "threatened species." A subspecies of the mammal is listed under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as threatened, under the Endangered Species Act. The decision was made in December 2012 by the National Marine Fisheries Service, because the seals were "likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future as a result of the projected effects of climate change on its Arctic habitat," according to court documents. KTVA
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday
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Future Events
"Arctic Modeling: Improving Models and Predictions in the Arctic" January 13, 2015. (Remote access, see here). The Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) program will host this webinar. Additional information will be released soon.
AGU Fall Meeting, December 15-19, 2014 (San Francisco, CA, USA). With nearly 24,000 attendees, the AGU Fall Meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. The AGU Fall Meeting brings together the entire Earth and space sciences community for discussions of emerging trends and the latest research. The technical program includes presentations on new and cutting-edge science, much of which has not yet been published.
Arctic Frontiers: Climate and Energy, January 18-23, 2015. The earth is in the midst of major climate changes. The Arctic is experiencing the impact of these changes more and faster than other parts of the globe. Processes starting in the Arctic may have deep and profound impacts on other parts of the globe. At the same time the Earth's population is rising and with it the global energy demand. New and greener energy sources are gaining market shares, but still the energy mix of the foreseeable future will have a substantial fossil component. The Arctic is expected to hold major oil and gas resources, while the regions green energy potentials are less explored. The Arctic Frontiers conference is a central arena for discussions of Arctic issues. The conference brings together representatives from science, politics, and civil society to share perspectives on how upcoming challenges in the Arctic may be addressed to ensure sustainable development. Arctic Frontiers is composed of a policy section and a scientific section.
Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 19-23, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The symposium will feature a session on the Communicating Ocean Sciences, keynote addresses, poster sessions, and workshops. As in past years, the main content of the symposium is organized by large marine ecosystem. The 2015 schedule will be: Tuesday, January 20 - Gulf of Alaska; Wednesday, January 21 - Bering Sea; and Thursday, January 22 - Arctic Ocean. The details of the 2015 Alaska Marine Science Symposium program will be available in mid-November.
Symposium on Law and Governance in the Arctic, UCI LAW, January 30-31, 2015 (Irvine, California, USA). The symposium will explore the effectiveness of existing governance in the Arctic region, strategies for improving effective implementation, and possible alternative governance regimes. A segment of the presented papers will be published in the UCI Law Review as a symposium. Presenters include: Betsy Baker, Michael Byers, Joseph DiMento, Tore Henriksen, Brian Israel, Timo Koivurova, Tullio Scovazzi, and Oran Young.
Arctic Encounter Symposium 2015: Charting a Path to US Leadership in the Far North, January 30-31, 2015 (Seattle, Washington, USA). The second annual Arctic Encounter Symposium will focus on the role of the U.S. as an Arctic nation and the challenges it will confront in its upcoming chairmanship of the Arctic Council, including: climate change, natural resources, investment opportunities, and international relations. The goal of the 2015 Arctic Encounter is to facilitate a creative environment for the development of a proactive agenda, short and long-term domestic and international priorities, and a strategic execution plan.The two-day program will take place at the University of Washington with a dinner reception on January 30, 2015 at the Museum of History and Industry.
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.
US Arctic Research Commission's 103rd Meeting, March 4-5, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). More information 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.
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.
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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.
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