Marine Mammal Commission Announces Fiscal Year 2019 Grant Focal Area: Impacts of a Changing Ocean on Marine Mammals of Importance to Alaska Natives. Maintaining marine mammals as functioning elements of healthy ecosystems and as resources for subsistence needs of Alaska Native communities, requires understanding the role of marine mammals in the ecosystem and how they may be impacted by ongoing changes in the environment and human use of marine areas. Access to accurate and precise information is imperative for sound decision-making, and can be facilitated by co-production of knowledge between scientists and Alaska Native communities. Marine Mammal Commission

 

The Arctic is Turning Brown Because of Weird Weather-and it Could Accelerate Climate Change. Over the last few years Arctic scientists have reported a surprising finding: large areas of the Arctic are turning brown. This is in part due to extreme events linked to winter weather, such as sudden, short-lived periods of extreme warmth. These events are occurring as the climate warms, which is happening twice as fast in the Arctic compared with the rest of the planet. Extreme events are therefore happening more and more often, with increasingly severe effects - including widespread damage and death in Arctic plants. Phys.org

 

NASA Chimes in on Beaufort Sea Drilling Rigs. The federal agency that oversees offshore petroleum leasing has received comment on Arctic Ocean drilling from a surprise source - NASA. Alaska's Energy Desk reports that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management asked for comment as the Trump administration considers a 2019 lease sale in the Beaufort Sea. A letter from NASA says Beaufort Sea drilling rigs could be affected by launches from its only high-latitude rocket range. CBC News

 

Alaskans are on the front lines of Climate Change, New Report Shows.  Alaska "is warming faster than any other state, and it faces a myriad of issues associated with a changing climate," according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment report released today. In the report, data shows temperatures warmed across Alaska at twice the rate of the rest of the world over the last 50 years. Specific impacts to the state include warmer temperatures and more precipitation. The report says Interior and northern areas of the state are projected to warm more than the southern areas of Alaska. The report also states, "average annual precipitation increases are projected for all areas of the state, with greater increases in the Arctic and interior and the largest increases in the northeastern interior." KTUU

American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, December 10-14, 2018 (Washington, DC USA). The AGU 2018 Fall Meeting will mark another dynamic year of discovery in Earth and space science, serve as the advent of AGU's Centennial year, and provide a special opportunity to share our science with world leaders in Washington, D.C. As the largest Earth and space science gathering in the world, the Fall Meeting places you in the center of a global community of scientists drawn from myriad fields of study whose work protects the health and welfare of people worldwide, spurs innovation, and informs decisions that are critical to the sustainability of the Earth.