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December 8, 2016
 
ArcticNet annual Scientific Meeting 2016, December 5-9, 2016 (Winnipeg, MP Canada). ArcticNet will host its 12th Annual Scientific Meeting. The ASM2016 will welcome researchers, students, Inuit, Northerners, policy makers and stakeholders to address the numerous environmental, social, economical and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the Arctic. As the largest annual Arctic research gathering held in Canada, ArcticNet's ASM is the ideal venue to showcase results from all fields of Arctic research, stimulate discussion and foster collaborations among those with a vested interest in the Arctic and its peoples.

Today's Congressional Action:  
The Senate is expected to consider a conference report to accompany the National Defense Authorization Act. The House is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

Media   
 
canadian flag Trudeau Promises to Create Federal Indigenous Languages Law. As an act of reconciliation aimed at undoing the damage done by residential schools and other harmful government measures, the Liberal government will introduce a bill to create an Indigenous Languages Act, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Dec. 6. "We know all too well how residential schools and other decisions by governments were used as a deliberate tool to eliminate Indigenous languages and cultures," Trudeau said in a speech given to a special chiefs meeting organized by the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Que. Nunatsiaq Online

Nenets Governor: Extreme North Travel Demand Exceeds Supply. For the second year in a row, the number of tourists wishing to travel to the Extreme North exceeds supply and capacity. Most holiday season tours to the Nenets Autonomous Area are sold out, RIA Novosti reports, citing the governor's press office.
"The demand for Extreme North holiday tours is way above available offers for the second year in a row. Given the drop in oil revenues, we have turned to alternative development strategies. Tourism is one of the priority areas. Now is the time to take action for developing tourist infrastructure and supporting small businesses in the region," Governor Igor Koshin said. The Arctic
 
Chunk of Ice 'The Size of India' Disappears From Polar Regions. In a massive blow to those hoping to combat climate change, it's been revealed that sea ice in both the Arctic and Antarctic has been lost, which equates to roughly the size of India, or two Alaskas. Polar sea ice extent on December 4 was estimated to be around 3.84 million sq km (1.48 million square miles) below the average amount between 1981 and 2010, according to NSIDC satellite measurements. Speaking to Reuters, Mark Serreze, director of the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Colorado, said: "There are some crazy things going on." RT
 
Trump Names Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma Attorney General Suing EPA on Climate Change, to Head EPA. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of the oil and gas-intensive state of Oklahoma, to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a move signaling an assault on President Obama's climate change and environmental legacy. Pruitt has spent much of his energy as attorney general fighting the very agency he is being nominated to lead. He is the third of Trump's nominees who have key philosophical differences with the missions of the agencies they have been tapped to run. The Washington Post
 
Murmansk Governor Proposes Special Conditions for Arctic Ports. The establishment of special conditions for Arctic ports similar to conditions at the Vladivostok Free Port will stimulate the development of coastal Arctic regions, according to a press release posted on the local government's website quoting Murmansk Region Governor Marina Kovtun. "Taking this approach, which involves lowering the tax burden by reducing customs duties, will strengthen our competitive advantages in several areas. In particular, we will be able to boost the development of the western coast of Kola Bay and coastal towns, improve cross-border trade and transport infrastructure, increase the volume of export-oriented ship repair and logistics services, boost fish processing, enlarge the footprint of foreign business, and accelerate the introduction of modern technology and equipment based on foreign experience," Kovtun said at a plenary meeting of the Fifth Murmansk International Business Week. The Arctic
 
Shell in Chukchi Busting the Myth of Arctic Oil. The Arctic is experiencing an extraordinary heatwave - it's 20°C warmer than usual at this time of year (just imagine London or New York having T-shirt weather in winter). So does this mean the region's fabled energy resources will finally be exploited? Will newly ice-free sections of the Arctic Ocean soon be peppered with oil rigs, like a cold, remote North Sea or Gulf of Mexico? Not quite. The Arctic's offshore oil and gas is in very deep water, literally as well as figuratively, and will likely remain untapped. The Arctic Journal

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.
Future Events
 
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 12-16, 2016 (San Francisco, CA  USA). Anticipating about 25,000 attendees, AGU's Fall Meeting will again be the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. 2016 marks the meeting's 49th year and there will be approximately 20,000 oral and poster presentations in over 1,700 sessions, many of which will focus specifically on Arctic science. Among the highlights, the "2016 Arctic Report" will again be released, IARPC will hold a "Town Hall Meeting" on Thursday, Dec. 15th, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm in Moscone West Room 2003, and NASA will have a Town Hall on Operation IceBridge on Dec. 14th, in Moscone Room 202 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm.

** New this week ** IARPC Town Hall AGU on the next 5-Years of Federally Funded Arctic Research, December 15, 2016 (San Francisco, CA USA). Conveners will provide an overview of the science and policy drivers, scope, and research goals of the Arctic Research Plan FY2017-2021. The Research Plan describes Arctic research priorities of the Federal Government that are expected to benefit from interagency collaboration during the period FY2017-2021. The town hall will provide an opportunity for the research community to learn about the Research Plan and how they can engage in its implementation. The Plan, drafted by and approved by IARPC, is a product of the National Science and Technology Council of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Additionally, the US Arctic Research Commission will describe the USARC Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2017-2018.

Symposium on Climate Displacement, Migration, and Relocation, December 13-14, 2016 (Honolulu, HI USA)The White House Council on Environmental Quality, NOAA's Office of Coastal Management, the Hawaii and Alaska Sea Grant College Programs, the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai'i Manoa, and the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center are convening this symposium.  The event will bring together stakeholders, policy makers, legal experts, academics, and others to discuss legal and policy options to assist individuals and communities considering relocation as an adaptation response to climate change, in both the domestic and international contexts.
 
More information is available at the symposium website:  https://seagrant.uaf.edu/conferences/2016/climate-migration/



The USARC will release its biennial "Report on Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research"





** New this week ** Meet and Brief Luncheon with Fran Ulmer, US Arctic Research Commission, December 21, 2016m (Anchorage, AK  USA). Chair of the US Arctic Research Commission Fran Ulmer will brief attendees on "The rapidly changing Arctic: why does that matter to you?" This event is hosted by World Trade Center Anchorage.

34th Annual Alaska Health Summit, January 17-19, 2017 (Anchorage, AK USA). The theme of this year's health summit is "The Changing Landscape of Public Health." This meeting feature tracks focusing on Advocacy for Public Health, Social and Economic Determinants of Health, Interdisciplinary Partnerships, Public Health Research and Evaluation, and Health Promotion.

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 23-27, 2017 (Anchorage, AK  USA). The annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) is Alaska's premier marine research conference. It brings together roughly 800 scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public to discuss marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. Research will be presented by geographic theme, including the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands, and the Arctic. Topic areas will include ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local traditional knowledge and more. Keynote presentations will be held Monday, January 23rd; Gulf of Alaska presentations will be on Tuesday, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands on Wednesday, followed by the Arctic on Thursday.

USARC will also do a "State of Alaska release" of its 2017-2018 "Goals Report" at this symposium. A prior release will be at the AGU meeting, described above, on December 15th.

Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 6-10, 2017 (Anchorage, AK  USA). This statewide gathering of environmental professionals, community leaders, Alaskan youth, conservationists, biologists and community elders will be holding its 19th meeting to continue providing a strong educational foundation for all Alaskans and a unique opportunity to interact with others on environmental issues and challenges. As many as 1,800 people are expected to attend AFE this years meeting.

6th Annual Fletcher Arctic Conference, February 17-18, 2017 (Medford, MA USA). Fletcher Arctic VI, a TEDx-style event, will showcase the ideas, stories, and initiatives of people who live and work in the Arctic. The conference will bring together inspiring leaders, innovative business people, expert scientists, and artists from the pan-Arctic region. Building on The Fletcher School's interdisciplinary approach, Fletcher Arctic VI will be a forum to engage in conversation and spark open and constructive debate between speakers and participants, providing deep insights into this unique and rapidly changing region.

IV International Forum, March 2017 (Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation) Arkhangelsk will host the Forum. The Forum will be titled Human in the Arctic and will be aimed at putting together joint efforts of the international community to promote effective development of the Arctic region as a territory for comfort life, work and leisure. The Forum will be attended by government officials, representatives of international organizations and prominent business communities, centers for political studies, Polar researchers and members of the international Arctic expeditions, foreign political scientists and economists, Russian and foreign journalists from leading international media organizations. The Forum will be attended by the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin. Additional information will be announced here.

The Arctic Science Summit Week, March 31- April 7, 2017 (Prague, Czech Republic). This event is sponsored by the University of South Bohemia in Cecke Budejovice, the Faculty of Science, and the Center for Polar Ecology of the Czech Republic. The Science Symposium will address the three sub-themes: changes in the Arctic, global implications of Arctic changes, and images of global change on the Arctic.

International Conference on Arctic Science: Bringing Knowledge to Action, April 24- 27, 2017 (Reston, VA  USA). This conference builds on a previous conference from 2011 entitled "Arctic Messenger of Change Conference." The 2017 conference will provide updated scientific, decision-making, and policy-relevant information across a broad array of different Arctic issues and related scientific disciplines. The topics that will be addressed are:
  • The Arctic Cryosphere
  • Pollution in the Arctic
  • Human Health Aspects of Pollution and Climate Change
  • Global and Arctic Systems Feedback Mechanisms
  • Resilience within Arctic Ecosystems
  • Science and Plicy Making
  • Socio-Economic Drivers and Impacts of Arctic Change
Organizers announce a call for abstracts which are due by December 2, 2016.  The event is organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP).

Ninth International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences: People and Places (ICASS IX), June 8-12, 2017 (UmeÃ¥, Sweden).ICASS IX's theme is People & Place. Research on social sciences and humanities have a great responsibility to address the challenges for sustainable development in the Arctic, with a specific focus on the many different parts of the Arctic and the people that live there. The multiple Arctics have lately been addressed by many policy makers and researchers. The purpose is often to counteract the stereotypic understanding of the Arctic too often represented by icebergs and polar bears. A focus on people and place highlights the many variances across the region in terms of climate, political systems, demography, infrastructure, history, languages, legal systems, land and water resources etc.

** New this week ** The 2nd Asian Conference on Permafrost, July 2-6, 2017 (Sapporo, Japan). Delegates will participate in state-of-the-art oral and poster presentations in the modern city of Sapporo (host of the 1972 Winter Olympics). Field trips will visit marginal and extrazonal mountain permafrost sites that support unique geo-eco-hydrological features. All aspects of frozen ground research will be covered, from needle ice to deep permafrost, from frozen ground engineering in cities to permafrost on volcanoes, and from links between frozen ground and ancient cultures to present-day outreach. Plan now to enjoy science and engineering, excellent food, and unique field trips in Sapporo.

7th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations, July 18-20, 2017, Naval Heritage Center, Washington, DC.
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2017 Arctic Energy Summit, September 18-20, 2017 (Helsinki, Finland). The 2017 Summit will address energy in the Arctic as it relates to:
  • Small and off-grid community energy solutions
  • Oil and gas development
  • Renewable energy
  • Regulation and Financing
  • Transportation and transmission
The AES is a multi-disciplinary event expected to draw several hundred industry officials, scientists, academics, policy makers, energy professionals and community leaders together to collaborate and share leading approaches on Arctic energy issues.

Polar Law Symposium 2017 and Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit, November 13-16, 2017 (Rovaniemi, Finland). The purpose of the Polar Law Symposium is to examine, in detail, the implications of the challenges faced by the Polar Regions for international law and policy and to make recommendations on appropriate actions by states, policy makers and other international actors to respond to these emerging and re-emerging challenges. The Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit Conference is integrated with the Polar Law Symposium, which will be organized by the Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law at the Arctic Center of the University of Lapland.

POLAR 2018, June 15-27, 2018 (Davos, Switzerland). POLAR2018 is a joint event from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). The SCAR meetings, the ASSW and the Open Science Conference will be hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL under the patronage of the Swiss Committee on Polar and High Altitude Research. The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF is organizing POLAR2018.

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