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52nd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, June 10-14, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The Animal Behavior Society was founded in 1964 to promote the study of animal behavior in the broadest sense, including studies using descriptive and experimental methods under natural and controlled conditions. Current members' research activities span the invertebrates and vertebrates, both in the field and in the laboratory, and include experimental psychology, behavioral ecology, neuroscience, zoology, biology, applied ethology, and human ethology as well as many other specialized areas.
16th International Congress on Circumpolar Health: Focus on Future Health and Wellbeing, June 8-12, 2015 (Oulu, Finland). The congress will focus on human health and well-being in the Arctic and northern areas. It is open for everyone interested in Arctic issues, especially scientists, researchers, health care professionals, policy analysts, government agency representatives and community leaders. The congress is organized by the Thule Institute, University of Oulu in collaboration with the International Union of Circumpolar Health (IUCH), the Nordic Society for Circumpolar Health, the Society of Arctic Health and Biology, and the Rokua Health & Spa. The InternationaI Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH) series are arranged every three years in Arctic countries or countries related to Arctic issues. First congress of the series was arranged in 1967, and it was previously hosted by Oulu in 1971.
Today's Congressional Action:
The Senate is expected to consider the Department of Defense Authorization Act. The House will consider a number of legislative provisions including the Department of Defense appropriations bill.
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 Alaska Researchers May Use Drones to Study Otters. Scientists wanting to know what sea otters eat while floating far from shore have turned to the sky. During an April mission in Kachemak Bay, researchers tested unmanned drones to see if they could be used for future sea otter surveys. The project also used drones to study the prevalence of sea grass in intertidal flats. Using drones for the intertidal flats mission was mostly to streamline the process, allowing a larger area to be surveyed in a shorter amount of time. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
[Opinion] The New Cold War's Arctic Front. G-7 leaders gathering in Bavaria on Monday vowed to extend sanctions if Russia doesn't dial back its aggression against Ukraine. Previous sanctions haven't deterred Kremlin land-grabs, and the question now isn't if Russian President Vladimir Putin will strike again but whom he'll target next. Mr. Putin considers Europe's eastern periphery, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, part of Russia's imperial inheritance. Yet in recent years the Russian leader has also turned his attention northward, to the Arctic, militarizing one of the world's coldest, most remote regions. Here in Finland, one of eight Arctic states, the Russian menace next door looms large. Wall Street Journal
 Greenland 'Devastating' Atlantic Salmon Says Conservation Group. A recent meeting of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) was unable to convince Greenland to restrict its harvest of wild Atlantic salmon. The Arctic country has declared its fishermen will take 45 tonnes of the fish that migrate there, despite the advice of scientists. "A compromise would have been a subsistence fishery of no more than 20 tons, but more than twice this amount is unacceptable," said Bill Taylor, president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, an international conservation group. CBC News
NOAA Survey Ships Depart for Arctic. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially launched its Arctic survey season in Alaska yesterday. Two research ships, Ranierand Fairweather, will set out from Kodiak to chart the underwater and shoreline topography of the Arctic Ocean. NOAA communications specialist Dawn Forsythe says the mission is part of an ongoing effort to improve navigation in an area already experiencing increases in marine traffic. Alaska Public Radio
[Opinion] Why Social Sciences are Just as Important as STEP Disciplines. In a shortsighted effort to save money, Congress is moving ahead with a plan to cut investment in the social sciences. The America Competes Act under consideration on Capitol Hill would reauthorize funding for the National Science Foundation and other agencies that supply the financial lifeblood to engineering and the physical sciences. However, as passed by the House, the bill would cut the foundation's funding for the social sciences by about half in order to direct more money to science, technology, engineering and mathematics - the STEM disciplines. As an engineer and an educator, I deeply appreciate our national policymakers' recognition that funding STEM research can improve our national security, create jobs and enhance our economic competitiveness. But I disagree with the notion that the social sciences are not just as important for the same reasons. Washington Post
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
US Arctic Policy, June 12, 2015 (Montreal, Canada). On April 24, 2015 the United States began its chairmanship of the Arctic Council for a period of two years. The US agenda has three focus areas: economic and living conditions for Arctic communities; Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the impacts of climate change. To discuss these issues and other Arctic geopolitics themes with scholars, students and various stakeholders from the general public, US Special Representative for the Arctic, Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., USCG (Ret.). will be a keynote speaker. This event is hosted by CIRRICQ.
AGU and AAAS Film Screening, Panel Discussion, and Congressional Briefing, June 15-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). In celebration of National Oceans Month, the American Geophysical Union and The American Association for the Advancement of Science invite you to view the award-winning film, Antarctica: On the Edge. The screening and panel discussion will take place on June 15 at 5:30 PM, at the AAAS Auditorium in Washington, DC. On June 16 at 2:00 PM, our panelists will meet again with Members of Congress and special gusts at a Congressional briefing. RSVP by noon on Monday, June 15 at http://events.signup4.com/extremes. If you have any questions, please email Zoe Williams, AGU (zwilliams@agu.org) or Sara Spizzir (sspizzir@aaas.org).
2015 ESSAS Annual Science Meeting, June 15-17, 2015 (Seattle, WA, USA). This symposium, to be held at the University of Washington, is intended for interdisciplinary scholars who will be prepared to discuss their research in the sub-arctic North Atlantic, sub-arctic North Pacific, and the Arctic Ocean that bears on the issue of how changes in sea ice are likely to affect these marine ecosystems. The symposium will also consider the people who depend upon these ecosystems and how they may be able to cope with the changes in the ecosystem goods and services that are coming. These goods and services include the availability of transportation corridors, the availability of subsistence foods, and the opportunity for commercial fishing. To put the present day in a longer perspective, the symposium will include a session on the paleo-ecology of people in sub-arctic and arctic regions that were forced to adjust to changing sea-ice conditions in the past.
6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 14-16, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). This biennial symposium, co-hosted by the US National Ice Center and the US Arctic Research Commission, brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic observations, climate change, and maritime operations. Past symposia expanded the discussion to include the impact of an ice-diminishing arctic on other nations and their maritime operations including commercial transportation, oil and gas exploration and exploitation, fisheries, and oceanographic research. The continuing reduction in Arctic sea ice extent remains a central focus.
104th Meeting of the USARC, August 25-26, 2015 (Nome, AK, USA).
Attention researchers in the Nome region: USARC (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome . There will be limited opportunities for formal presentations to the Commission, as well as a community comment period. If you would like to share your research (or ideas on research) with the Commission and will be in the area during our visit, please contact USARC's Deputy Director, Cheryl Rosa, at crosa@arctic.gov by June 30th. The Agenda will be forthcoming.
Polar Law Symposium (8th) will be held in Alaska ( Sept. 23-24, UAF; Sept. 25-26, UAA). It's sponsored by UAF, UAA (and ISER), UAA Justice Center, UW Law School. Abstracts due 3/15/15. This year's conference theme is, "The Science, Scholarship, and Practice of Polar Law: Strengthening Arctic Peoples and Places."
2015 Arctic Energy Summit, September 28-30, 2015 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Institute of the North's 2015 Arctic Energy Summit builds on our legacy efforts to address energy as a fundamental element of the sustainable development of the Arctic as a lasting frontier.Central to this concept is a focus on providing pathways for affordable energy development in the Arctic and for Arctic communities.
2015 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 16-18, 2015 (Reykjavik, Iceland).
The Arctic Circle is the largest global gathering on the Arctic. It is attended by heads of state and governments, ministers, members of parliament, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists, and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic. The Arctic Circle highlights issues and concerns, programs, policies and projects; it provides platforms for dynamic dialogue and constructive cooperation. While the plenary sessions are the responsibility of the Arctic Circle, the breakout sessions are organized by various participating partners in their own name and with full authority over the agenda and the choice of speakers.
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.
Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis Meeting, November 3-6, 2015 (Cape Cod, MA, USA). On November 3rd, the 2015 School for young scientists will consider "Regional Oceanography of the Arctic marginal seas" with lectures covering major features of atmospheric, sea ice and oceanographic regimes of the: Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort, East-Siberian, Laptev Sea, Kara, Barents and Nordic seas. On November 4-6, the meeting portion will summarize project accomplishments for the last 3 years of activities and will focus on the formulation of scientific questions and directions for FAMOS future research (2016-2019) to: (a) improve Arctic modeling, employing very high resolution models; (b) develop and test new arctic monitoring/observing systems and (c) improve predictions of Arctic environmental parameters with reduced uncertainties.
Due North: Next Generation Arctic Research & Leadership, November 5-8, 2015 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada). The Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) will convene an interdisciplinary conference of early career scientists working on Arctic issues. The organizers have issued a call for abstracts, due 5/31/15, on the following topics, full descriptions of where are available here, Arctic Communities, Arctic Sustainable Development, Arctic Wildlife, Ecosystem and Biodiversity, Arctic Food Security, Arctic Landscapes, Climate Change and Adaptation, Disaster Risk Management, Policy, Politics and Leadership, Arctic Environment (Data and Techniques), Arctic Resources, and Future of Arctic.
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