|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 is expected to consider the the Transportation, House and Urban Development appropriations bill.
|
 Senator Murkowski Proposing Alaska Amendments to National Defense Bill. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is filing amendments to must-pass defense legislation the Senate is currently considering. Murkowski is asking for changes to the National Defense Authorization Act - annual legislation that guides the U.S. Department of Defense's spending - centered around Arctic policy, hunting and fishing, National Guard sexual assault investigation and veteran health care, according to a Monday release from the senator." Alaska's military community is a valuable member of our family," Murkowski said in the email release. "Its reach and impact touches nearly every corner of the state and will be a major contributor to the nation's Arctic future. The NDAA provides a valuable opportunity to strengthen our military presence and make sure its operations are being conducted in the most responsible and effective way for everyone." Juneau Empire
Alaska Fire Crews Battling 2 Large Tundra Wildfires. Following a winter marked by little snow and warmer temperatures, fire crews on Monday were tackling two large wildfires burning on mostly treeless tundra in the southwest part of the state. Weekend rain helped tamp down the lightning-caused fires that through Monday have burned 63 square miles in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, about 50 miles northeast of the commercial hub town of Bethel. Huffington Post
 Climate Scientists Find Evidence Linking Arctic Warming to Jet Stream Movement. Using self-organizing maps - statistical tools to help identify characteristic patterns in a data set - Rutgers climate scientists Jennifer Francis and Natasa Skific studied 48 years worth of daily atmospheric information to detect weather patterns that occur repeatedly. The patterns they found validated previous study findings that the polar jet stream has been meandering more north and south in the past two decades rather than traveling in a relatively straight path. Scientists are studying the relation of changing jet stream patterns and Arctic warming to extreme weather conditions. Phys.Org
Global Action Needed on Arctic Contaminants: New Human Health Report. Poisonous contaminants continue to harm the health of many Arctic residents, says the soon-to-be-released 2015 Human Health in the Arctic report - but there are mixed messages from its authors about who should communicate what about health dangers linked to toxic industrial substances. "Strong international efforts should be made" by world leaders to reduce the flow of mercury and other pollutants, old and new, into the Arctic environment, says a report from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program of the Arctic Council. Nunatsiaq Online
Funny Blue Clouds Light Up The Arctic Sky. Here's something you won't see from the ground: a luminous patch of blue drifting across the Arctic. But a satellite operated by the National Aeronautic and Space Administrations, called "Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere," recently spotted the shiny blue cloud drifting across the Arctic Circle. The sighting marked the beginning of the 2015 season for what's called "noctilucent" or night-glowing clouds, NASA said in a recent news release. Nunatsiaq Online
 Arctic Berries May Hold Key to Diabetes Prevention for Inuit: New Research. Worried about diabetes? You might just want to get yourself a bowl of aqpiks (cloudberries) or some other local Arctic berries. That's because research by Laval university's health expert André Marette suggests that Arctic aqpiks, among others, increase healthy microbes in your intestines and can prevent or even diminish the symptoms of diabetes. If this surprises you, Marette said the main medicine used to fight Type 2 diabetes is actually derived from lilacs. Nunatsiaq Online
 NOAA to Boost Arctic Navigational Safety. NOAA officially deployed two survey ships Monday in a bid to improve navigational safety in the Arctic. The Rainier and Fairweather will conduct surveys of the ocean floor to measure water depths and search for navigational dangers. This data will be used to update Alaskan navigational maps and improve overall safety. NOAA is currently stepping up Arctic charting activities in anticipation of growing vessel traffic in the region. This year's hydrographic project areas for Alaska will cover an area of 2,800 square nautical miles, plus the 12,000 linear nautical miles for the shipping route project. The Maritime Executive
|
|
Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
|
|
Future Events
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.
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.
|
|
  
4350 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 510
Arlington, VA 22203, USA
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
