Scientists Find Genetic Divide Between City Moose and Country Moose. City moose and country moose are different -- at least in their DNA. A new study finds that Anchorage moose have greater genetic diversity than do moose on the Kenai Peninsula, and that the two populations have very different genetic structures. The findings, published in the journal Alces, indicate there is little gene flow between Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula moose, indicating very little interbreeding between the groups. Alaska Dispatch News

Mark Abbott named President and Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Several WHOI scientists work in the Arctic region, see the WHOI Arctic Group here. WHOI

Arctic Indigenous Leaders Urge Cooperation Over Conflict in Far North. "We need to continue to cooperate as one Arctic family, learning from each other and respecting each other," says Aile Javo, president of the Saami Council, which represents the indigenous peoples of northern Scandinavia and northwest Russia. Javo was among several indigenous-peoples representatives at a recent Arctic Council meeting who urged continued cooperation, despite the chill in diplomatic relations between Russia and the West over fighting in Ukraine. KUAC

Canada Creates Polar Medal for Arctic Advancement. The Canadian government on Tuesday announced the creation of a new medal to honor people who've made a difference in Canada's North. Called the Polar Medal, the award will also recognize contributions to Arctic science and exploration. "The creation of the Polar Medal emphasizes the importance that our country places on strengthening our understanding of and connection to the North," Canadian Governor General David Johnston said in a news release. Alaska Dispatch News

A Dark View of Geopolitics in the Arctic. World leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin, have talked of the Arctic as a zone of peace and co-operation. But continued tranquility is just one forecast for the region. A much darker scenario came today from a Canadian policy scholar who is also a professor at the University of Toronto and Russia's Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Irvin Studin says competing claims for Arctic resources are inevitable but those conflicts are unlikely to erupt any time soon. In a discussion at the Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C. think tank, Studin said he sees a much closer path to conflict in the Arctic, and it starts with Russia, in Europe. Alaska Public Radio

USCGC Polar Star: America's Only Operational Heavy Icebreaker. The icebreaker USCGC Polar Star (WAGB-10) was commissioned in 1976, following construction by Lockheed Shipbuilding in Seattle.  It is 399 feet long, with a beam of 83 feet, a draft of 31 feet, and a standard displacement of 10,863 long tons.  Its six 3,000 horsepower diesel engines and three 25,000 horsepower gas turbines power three shafts equipped with controllable-pitch propellers.  As one of the world's most powerful non-nuclear icebreakers, it can maintain a speed of up to three knots in six-foot thick ice.  It has a complement of 15 officers, 127 enlisted personnel, and a 12-person helicopter detachment, as well as accommodations for up to 33 scientific personnel.  Its hull at the bow and stern in one-and-three-quarters inches thick with close frame spacing so as to allow Polar Star to break through ice ridges up to twenty-one feet thick by backing and ramming. Maritime Professional

Large-Scale Mapping Project Nears Completion. After four years, nearly $2 million, and countless hours of interviews, field studies, and research, the Northwest Arctic Borough's Subsistence Mapping Project is nearly ready for unveiling. The project will produce a nearly 600-page atlas documenting subsistence-use areas (where people hunt, fish, and gather by season) and important ecological areas (places where animals feed, breed, raise young, and migrate) in seven of the region's coastal communities - Kivalina, Noatak, Selawik, Noorvik, Deering, Buckland, and Kotzebue. Arctic Sounder