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Today's Congressional Action:
The Senate is expected to consider the Department of Defense Authorization Act. The House is expected to consider a number of non-Arctic legislative provisions.
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 [Opinion] Treadwell: Controlling US Spending Doesn't Mean Giving Up Arctic Icebreakers. We are told the devil's tool is temptation. Last week, some members of the the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee used devilish tactics to tempt Alaska's senior senator, Lisa Murkowski with a brand new icebreaker for the Coast Guard to operate in the Arctic. Murkowski, a Republican, stuck with the nation's spending caps, and voted against it. Hers was an act of courage. Murkowski's no vote has brought her some heat at home, and with an election little more than a year away, I'm sure she would have loved to bring back an icebreaker. Alaska Dispatch News
 Polar Bears, From Resource to Nuisance. For half the year, polar bears are a valuable resource for the people of Ittoqqortoormiit, a town of 450 on Greenland's eastern coast. For the other half, they are mostly a nuisance. That is because an influx of bears, most likely caused by thinning sea ice, means that the town's hunters exhaust their quota, this year 35 bears, by late spring. Once quotas have been used up, bears may only be shot in self-defense, but the animal's remains are then confiscated by national authorities. Arctic Journal
Beaufort Sea's Fish Population at Risk Due to Acidification: Study. A new study estimates that within two decades, the Beaufort Sea could reach levels so corrosive that many shelled organisms, and even fish and whales - depended on by aboriginal people in the region - could be at risk. "They are reaching a point where they are crossing a threshold to a point that we are really worried about," says Jeremy Mathis, an oceanographer at America's National Oceanic Atmospheric Association and lead author of the study, released this week. CBC News
New Greenland Ice Core Drilled Through the Renland Ice Cap. An international research team led by the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have drilled an ice core through the ice cap on the Renland peninsula in the Scoresbysund fjord in Eastern Greenland in record time. The climate on Renland is strongly influenced by the sea ice along the east coast of Greenland and the ice core can probably tell us about past climate fluctuations in the Arctic Ocean more than 100,000 years back in time. The Arctic sea ice is undergoing rapid change. The prevalence of permanent sea ice in the Arctic has been 30-50 percent less over the past 35 years. So the question is whether the Arctic sea ice will disappear in a future with global warming as it did in the North Atlantic several times during the last ice age. This could be crucial for the climate of most of the northern hemisphere. The new international RECAP ice core drilling (REnland ice CAP project) on Renland could contribute to a better understanding of future climate by revealing past climate fluctuations. University of Copenhagen
Northern Premiers Talk Mental Health Funding at Kugluktuk Meeting. The North's three premiers wrapped up a two-day meeting in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, on Tuesday. Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod and Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski were hosted by Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna in his home riding of Kugluktuk. The purpose of the summit was to prepare for a meeting of the Council of the Federation - all of Canada's premiers - in St. John's, N.L., next month. CBC News
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
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. Topics will include: 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.
Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting, November 17-19, 2015 (Seattle, Washington). The Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting will be 2.5 days and held at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, Washington. The conference will bring together individuals and teams involved in the collection, processing, analysis, and use of observations in the Arctic - from academia, agencies, industry, and other organizations. The meeting will be convened as a combination of plenary talks, parallel science sessions, and a poster session. The agenda and registration information will be forthcoming.
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