US Arctic Research Commission
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June 7, 2011

Today's Eventstodaysevents 

 

The Senate is considering legislation to reauthorize the Economic Development Administration. The House is in recess for the week.

 

American Prosperity and Global Security: Ocean Solutions for the 21st CHOWlogoCentury, June 7-9.  Capitol Hill Ocean Week is coordinated by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Today, there will be a panel discussion on Ocean Science, Policy and Communications in the 21st Century. On June 8th, there will be a discussion on "Opportunity and Risk in a Changing Arctic: American Prosperity and Security on the Next Frontier." Senator Begich is expected to be a panelist. On June 9th, Senator Murkowski is scheduled to speak in a session titled "Looking Ahead to Secure American Energy Supply Chain."

 

The Arctic in new
National Ocean PolicyObama2

 "Changing Conditions in the Arctic" is the focus of a strategic action plan that's being developed under the "National Ocean Policy" signed by President Obama in July 2010. A 10-page draft outline of this plan is now available at a White House website for review and comment (and please do comment...). This plan is one of nine national priority objectives, and it's the only one focusing on a specific geographic region. The plan contains long-term themes, and six specific actions, below, to begin in 2012, when the final plan is released. The plan is being drafted by an interagency team co-led by Robert Winokur (Navy) and John Farrell (USARC). Public listening sessions on this effort will begin this week, including two in Alaska (June 9, Barrow, and June 10, Anchorage), and in DC (June 9). Details on the sessions are here.

 

Themes:

· An integrated Arctic observing network

· Arctic climate and environmental change (understand, forecast, predict)

· Arctic mapping and charting

· A safe, secure, and reliable Arctic Marine Transportation System

· Stewardship of the Arctic marine environment and sustainable development of resources

· Resilient and healthy Arctic communities and economies

· Domestic and international policy and partnerships in the Arctic

 

Actions:

      1: Improve Arctic environmental response management

      2: Observe and forecast Arctic sea ice

      3: Establish a distributed biological observatory

      4: Improve Arctic communication

      5: Advance Arctic marine mapping and charting

      6: Improve coordination on Arctic Ocean issues

Media Reviewtodaysevents    

 

As Arctic Sea Ice Retreats, Storms Take Toll on the Land. For millennia, the blanket of ice covering the Arctic Ocean protected the shore from damaging storms. But as that ice buffer disappears, increasingly powerful storm surges are eroding the coastline and sending walls of seawater inland, devastating Arctic ecosystems that support abundant wildlife. Yale 360

 

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Russia and Norway Ready for Joint Arctic Emergency Drills. Russia and Norway will host joint emergency drills to practice search and rescue and oil spill response in the Varanger Fjord. Barents Observer

 

Norway- Meeting in Moscow on Maritime Delimitation Treaty. In connection with the upcoming entry into force of the Treaty between the Kingdom of Norway and the Russian Federation concerning Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean, representatives of Norwegian and Russian relevant ministries and agencies met in Moscow on June 2-3, 2011.  Fisheries and exploration of natural resources were discussed. ISRIA

 

Military Construction Requests by Senator Mark Begich. Senator Mark Begich requested appropriations requests through the Senate Armed Services Committee.  His requests included support for $18.4 million requested by President Obama for a Cold Weather Maritime Training Facility to be located on Kodiak. Senator Mark Begich

 

Fishing Has Driven Evolution of Smaller Alaskan Salmon. Evolution induced by sockeyefishing may explain why the bodies of Alaska's sockeye salmon have shrunk by 5 per cent since the 1940s. Neala Kendall at the University of Washington in Seattle sorted through data from canneries on the size and age at maturation of the sockeye fished from five fisheries in Bristol bay, Alaska, since 1943. She found that the fish had become, on average, 14 millimetres shorter. Moreover, the number of fish that spent two rather than three years in the ocean before returning to fresh water to spawn increased by 16 per cent. New Scientist

 

Marine Mammal Deaths Bring NOAA Investigators to Skagway. Federal wildlife officials are investigating the deaths of five marine mammals found near Skagway, including one found with a bullet in its head. Since January biologists have recovered the carcasses of two Steller sea lions and three harbor seals. One sea lion appeared to have died from illness but the four other animals showed signs of head trauma. The bullet was recovered from a harbor seal. Anchorage Daily News

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

H.R. 1540, National Defense Authorization (McKeon, referred to the Senate Armed Services Committee)

 

H.R. 2017, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (Aderholt, referred to Senate committee)

 

S. 782, Economic Development Revitalization Act (Boxer, considered in the Senate)

 

Future Events                 

 

The Arctic Imperative, June 19-21, 2011. The Alaska Dispatch, Aspen Institute,

ulmer
Fran Ulmer

Commonwealth North, and the Institute of the North will host a domestic investment and policy forum titled "The Arctic Imperative." The forum, at the Alyeska Resort near Anchorage, will bring together international policymakers, industry, and investment leaders to consider topics such as security, resources, port development, marine shipping, commerce, and trade. The goal of the gathering is to "sharpen the world's focus on the policy and investment needs of Arctic development through a series of high-level meetings, presentations and investor roundtables." Confirmed speakers include Fran Ulmer, Chair of the USARC; Edward Itta, Mayor of the North Slope Borough; Thomas Barrett, President of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company; Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations; Mead Treadwell, Lt. Gov. of the State of Alaska; David Rubenstein, Managing Director of the Carlyle Group; Reggie Joule, Alaska State Legislator, among others.

 

4th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval

Roughead
CNO Roughead

and Maritime Operations, June 20-22, 2011 (downtown DC).  The symposium, co-hosted by the U.S. National Ice Center and the U.S. Arctic Research in Arctic Ocean sea ice on a wide range of maritime operations. Confirmed speakers include the Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Research, RADM Nevin Carr Jr., the Commandant of the US Coast Guard ADM Robert Papp, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich, and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco. The forum is a key opportunity to learn about changes in the Arctic environment, and the manner in which they are being responded to in terms of policies and practices. Registration is now open.

 

Tribal Energy Development at the Federal Level, July 14-15, 2011. Law Seminars International will host a seminar for attorneys, tribes, industry executives, and government officials to discuss energy development on tribal lands.

 

Holocene Glacier Variability from the Tropics to the Poles, July 20-27, 2011. Glaciers respond sensitively to climate change. Recent (Holocene) glacier fluctuations are a valuable proxy for terrestrial interglacial paleoclimate conditions. A main challenge for interpreting paleoclimate from past mountain glacier extents is distinguishing local and regional patterns from global signals. Reconstructing Holocene glacier extents involves many disciplines including terrestrial and marine geology, geochronology and glaciology. Organizers hope to facilitate an inter-hemispheric comparison of glacier records including locations in the Tropics, European Alps, American Cordillera, Southern Alps of New Zealand, Himalaya and Polar Regions and to identify future research questions and directions. For additional information contact: Meredith Kelly.  

   

13th Arctic Ungulates Conference (AUC), August 22-26, 2011. The theme of the conference will be "Challenges of Managing Northern Ungulates." The theme addresses the difficulties of managing ungulate populations that are faced with the unpredictable effects of climate change and an ever-increasing human presence on the land. The conference will also focus on the challenges associated with developing recovery actions for declining caribou and reindeer populations that are an integral part of Aboriginal cultures and ways of life.

 

9th International Symposium on Permafrost Engineering, September 3-7, 2011. The Melnikov Permafrost Institute (Yakutsk, Russia), the Institute of Northern Mining (Yakutsk, Russia), the Cold and Arid Regions Engineering and Environmental Research Institute (Lanzhou, China), and the Heilongjiang Institute of Cold Region  Engineering (Harbin, China) will host the Ninth International Symposium on  Permafrost Engineering to be held in Mirny, Yakutia. The aim of the Symposium is to provide a forum for discussion of permafrost engineering issues, as well as for exchange of practical experience in construction and maintenance of engineering structures on frozen ground. For additional information, please contact Lilia Prokopieva. 

 

4th International Sea Duck Conference, September 12-16, 2011. The seaduckconference is held to provide researchers and managers with opportunities to share information, research, and conduct workshops.

 

Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, September 14-17, 2011.The 27th Lowell Wakefield International Fisheries Symposium, entitled "Fishing People of the North: Cultures, Economies, and Management Responding to Change," will be held in Anchorage, Alaska. This international symposium will provide a forum for scholars, fishery managers, fishing families, and others to explore the human dimensions of fishery systems and growing need to include social science research in policy processes. The conference is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Sea Grant program.    

 

Advanced Workshop on Oil Spills In Sea Ice: Past, Present and Future Fermo

September 20-23, 2011. A technical workshop, organized by Dr. Peter Wadhams, on the physical problems associated with oil spills and blowouts in sea ice will be held at the Istituto Geografico Polare "Silvio Zavatti," Fermo, Italy. Scientists, engineers and policy makers are invited to address the questions of how oil is emitted from a blowout or spill, how the oil and gas are incorporated in the under-ice surface, how the oil layer evolves, how the oil is transported by the ice, and how and where eventual release occurs. The aim is to incorporate the experience of those scientists who worked in this field in the 1970s-1990s, when large-scale field experiments involving oil release were possible, and to relate this to the needs of present researchers who are seeking solutions to the problem of a sustainable Arctic oil spill management system. Notably, the workshop will be attended by the oil spill work package of the EU ACCESS project (Arctic Climate Change and its Effect on Economic Systems). Registration forms are available here

 

Arkhangelsk Arctic Forum, October 1-2, 2011.  Hosted by the Russian Geographic Society and the regional government of Arkhangelsk, the forum will host discussion on Arctic navigation, development of the Northern Sea Route, railway extensions, and construction of a deep-water port in Arkhangelsk.  The official website is in Russian.

 

The Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, June 2012. The conference will be held in Tyumen, Russia, and is organized and hosted by Russia. The last conference was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2008. Details to follow.   

 

15th International Congress on Circumpolar Heath, August 5-10, 2012. This kivalina girlevent is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Society for Circumpolar Health, and the International Union for Circumpolar Health.  The forum will consider community participatory research and indigenous research; women's health, family health, and well-being; food security and nutrition; social determinants of health; environmental and occupational health; infectious and chronic diseases; climate change-health impacts; health service delivery and infrastructure; and, behavioral health.

   

Arctic/Inuit/Connections: Learning from the Top of the World, October 24-28, 2012.  The 18th Inuit Studies Conference, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, will be held in Washington, DC. The conference will consider heritage museums and the North; globalization: an Arctic story; power, governance and politics in the North; the '"new" Arctic: social, cultural and climate change; and Inuit education, health, language, and literature. For more information, please email Lauren Marr.

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