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January 7, 2015

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. 

 

capitalToday's Congressional Action:  

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

Media  

 

greenland Why is Greenland Covered in Ice? The ice on Greenland could only form due to processes in the deep Earth interior. Large-scale glaciations in the Arctic only began about 2.7 million years ago; before that, the northern hemisphere was largely free of ice for more than 500 million years. Scientists at the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ, Utrecht University, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the University of Oslo could now explain why the conditions for the glaciation of Greenland only developed so recently on a geological time scale. Science Daily

 

The Politics of Climate Change: Inuit Pride, Language and Human Rights. Words have the power to change and define how we feel about something. Politicians know this. So do media. And so when leaders and communicators use certain words over and over to define concepts or ideas, those words become embedded in our vocabulary - sometimes without us even realizing it's happening. Becky Mearns and Emilie Cameron, a graduate student and an instructor, respectively, at Carleton University's department of geography and environmental studies, have been thinking about this for a while, specifically when it comes to translating climate change concepts into Inuktitut. Nunatsiaq Online

 

arctic shipping Number of Ships Transiting Arctic Waters Falls in 2014. Fewer ships sailed through Arctic waters in 2014. Thirty-one ships used the Northern Sea Route over Russia to sail between Europe and Asia and another 22 used part of the route, Alaska Public Radio Network reported. In 2013, more than 70 vessels used the Northern Sea Route. Predictions of increased ship traffic in the wake of diminished Arctic sea ice may have been premature, said Malte Humpert, executive director of the Arctic Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. CBC News

 

Students Learn Arctic Policy Issues Firsthand. The Arctic Circle might be the last place you'd expect to find a dozen and a half USC undergrads. But a group of 18 students in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences' Problems Without Passports program recently traveled to Finland, Sweden and Russia for an insiders' view of the scientific, political, economic and environmental challenges the region faces. The students prepared for several weeks before making the trip. "The students decide what the most important issues are," said Steven Lamy, USC Dornsife vice dean and professor of international relations. USC News

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.


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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