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Effects of Oil on Wildlife, May 18-22, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). This event is co-sponsored by International Bird Rescue and "Aiuka," which is a Brazilian conservation organization. The event will focus on polar wildlife issues and integrating wildlife into oil response, etc. Alaska Clean Seas is also a sponsor. North Slope Borough will also be a part of this meeting.
Today's Congressional Action:
The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation. The House is not in session.
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 Study Finds Lower Cancer Rates Among Indigenous Sami. According to a doctoral dissertation to be published by the University of Helsinki, the indigenous Sámi people of Northern Finland generally have lower cancer rates than the rest of the country's population. The study by researcher Leena Soininen, to be presented next week, finds that the disease mortality among the Northern and Inari Sámi was statistically significantly lower than among other Finns. However, that of the Skolt Sámi subpopulation was higher than that of the general population, apparently linked to high rates of stomach cancer. Alaska Dispatch News
Alaska's Popular Walrus Cam Streams Again After a Decade. A popular webcam showing large male Pacific walruses lying on the beach with a Hitchcockian number of seabirds flying overhead is once again streaming to the Internet. The high-definition stream from Alaska's remote Round Island had been dormant for nearly a decade after private funding ran out, but a high-definition version is back now, thanks to a philanthropic organization that operates a series of nature webcams from around the planet. The walrus cam, part of the Pearls of the Planet series, can be viewed at: http://explore.org/live-cams/player/walrus-cam-round-island. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
 Inuit Dogs Can Trace Ancestry Back to Ancient Siberian Wolf. If you think Inuit sled dogs are special, you're right. They have an ancient lineage that stretches across the circumpolar world, from Siberia to Greenland. That's according to a new study, published May 21 in the academic journal Current Biology, which traces the descent of huskies back to wolves that lived in Siberia some 35,000 years ago. Nunatsiaq Online
Results of Massive Plankton Study Published. The researchers spent over three years aboard the schooner Tara, taking 35,000 samples of plankton from 210 sites globally, determining the distribution of the organisms, tracking how they interact with one another and carrying out genetic analyses. Plankton include microscopic plants and animals, fish larvae, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that drift in the oceans. RTE News
 [Opinion] Scientists, Not Politicians, Should Set Scientific Priorities. When Chairman Lamar Smith said that America depends on taxpayer-financed research to fuel the scientific breakthroughs and innovations that have driven our economy for the last several decades, he was absolutely right ("If everything is a priority, nothing is"). That's what makes the rest of his justification of "America COMPETES", H.R. 1806, so confusing. Instead of reinforcing America's leadership across the sciences, the bill arbitrarily cuts funding for two of the NSF's divisions - Geosciences and Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Americans rely on NSF's preeminent scientists and well-respected peer review process to advance the grant proposals that hold the most promise, but H.R. 1806 declares Congress to be the 'expert' in what qualifies as scientific innovation, allowing them to pick winners and losers among scientific disciplines. The Hill
[Opinion] How to Destroy the Arctic. It isn't the best of times for the American Arctic and let me explain why. The world is in the midst of an oil glut. In the last year, oil prices bottomed out before rising modestly. A NASA study just offered the news that a massive ice shelf in Antarctica, half the size of Rhode Island, will disintegrate by 2020, and not so long ago Science magazine reported that the melting of that region's ice sheets is proceeding far faster than expected. Sayonara, Miami Beach! All of this, of course, is happening thanks to the burning of fossil fuels. In March, the Obama administration responded to such a world by preparing the way for a rather familiar future. It lifted a ban on drilling for oil and gas off the U.S. southern Atlantic coast, opening those waters and their untapped four billion barrels of oil and 37 trillion cubic feet of gas to future drilling. Then, less than two weeks ago, the Interior Department green-lighted Shell Oil, a company with a memorably bleak record of exploration and disaster in the Arctic, to launch this country into a drill-baby-drill future in northern waters. Huffington Post
Arctic Adviser: Rigid Regs Worsen Climate Change Impacts. Alaska communities could better adjust to climate change if hunting and fishing rules become more flexible. Craig Fleener, Gov. Bill Walker's special assistant on Arctic policy, says northern Native people had the ability to adapt before western-style government took over. "A thousand years ago, if the caribou didn't come, you killed a moose. If the caribou that should have come to your community three weeks ago, two weeks ago, one week ago, today, weren't there, well, you harvested them next week," he says. KCAW
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
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Future Events
IARPC Webinar on Indigenous Arctic Languages, May 27, 2015, 3pm EDT (Webinar/ Teleconference). Connect via WebEx or teleconference to hear highlights of the recent international symposium "From Assessment to Vitality: Indigenous Arctic Languages Assessment" organized by the Inuit Circumpolar Council and other Arctic Council Permanent Participant, as well as the activities of the Alaska Native Languages Preservation and Advisory Council. Webinar speakers include Lenore Grenoble (Project Coordinator of the Arctic Indigenous Languages Vitality Initiative of the Arctic Council), B. Yaayuk Alvanna-Stimpfle (Eskimo Heritage Program Director at Kawerak Inc) and Kathy Sikorski (Instructor at the University of Alaska).
The European Union and Arctic (2015 EU-Arctic Conference), May 29, 2015 (Dundee, UK). The School of Law, University of Dundee, UK and the K. G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsř, Norway are pleased to announce the registration open for "The European Union and the Arctic" (2015 EU-Arctic Conference). This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from relevant disciplines such as international law, international relations, political science and marine biology, NGOs, representatives from EU institutions and international organizations to discuss the EU's potential contribution to enhance Arctic governance. A roadmap for increasing the effectiveness of the EU's action in the Arctic will be drawn at the end of the conference.
Polar Research Board Spring Meeting, June 2-3, 2015 (Washington, DC, USA). The Polar Research Board is a part of the Division on Earth and Life Studies of the National Academies. The Polar Research Board will host its spring meeting in Washington, D.C. Please see the link for the agenda.
7th International Conference on Arctic Margins, June 2-5, 2015 (Trondheim, Norway). The next meeting, the 7th International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM VII), previously announced to be arranged in St. Petersburg, will be held in Norway. ICAM VII is hosted by the Geological Survey of Norway. The International Conference on Arctic Margins (ICAM) was founded by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, formerly the Minerals Management Service, in 1991 with the underlying two-point theme of 1) Arctic understanding, 2) international cooperation in Arctic research. To these ends, ICAM has provided a successful forum for the exchange of information, collaboration in research, and presentation of results. ICAM is organized, hosted, and conducted by scientists for scientists which makes it a unique forum.
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.
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.
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.
ATTENTION RESEARCHERS IN THE NOME REGION: The US Arctic Research Commission (Fran Ulmer, Chair) invites you to share your Arctic research activities and/or suggestions on research when the Commission meets in Nome, Alaska, August 25-26, 2015. 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.
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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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.
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