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April 8, 2014

Arctic Science Summit Week April 5-8, 2014 and Arctic Observing Summit, April 9-11 (Helsinki, Finland). ASSW is a gathering for Arctic research organizations. Any organization engaged in supporting and facilitating arctic research is welcome to participate. The ASSW meeting in 2014 will be arranged during April 5-8 in Helsinki Kumpula Campus, in the facilities of FMI and Physics Department of the University of Helsinki. The revised program is available here.

 

Association of American Geographers Polar Geography Sessions, April 8-12, 2014 (Tampa, Florida).  Polar Geography Sessions are being planned in areas such as Sustainable Development in the Arctic, Urbanization and Transportation in the Arctic, etc. Contact Scott Stephenson (stephenson@ucla.edu) for more information, and see attached flyer. 


capital Today's Congressional Action:   

The Senate will consider non-Arctic legislation. The House will consider a number of provisions including H. Con. Res. 96, establishing the budget for the United States for 2015.

 

 

Media 

    

US-Russia Tensions Escalating. The White House accused Moscow on Monday of stirring up trouble in Ukraine, as pro-Russian demonstrations provoked fears that President Vladimir Putin might mount a second invasion there just weeks after annexing Crimea. The administration said demonstrators who seized government buildings in the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk were not locals, and were part of a carefully orchestrated campaign backed by the Kremlin. The Hill

 

A '64 Quake Still Reverberates. When a strong earthquake rocked northern Chile on April 1, scientists were quick with an explanation: It had occurred along a fault where stresses had been building as one of the earth's crustal plates slowly dipped beneath another. A classic low-angle megathrust event, they called it. Such an explanation may seem straightforward now, but until well into the 20th century, scientists knew relatively little about the mechanism behind these large seismic events. But that all changed when a devastating quake struck south-central Alaska on March 27, 1964, nearly 50 years to the day before the Chilean quake. New York Times

 

ICC Greenland Faces Shutdown After Funding Slashed. The voice of the Inuit in Greenland could fall silent if that country's parliament does not take steps to counter a decision to slash the budget of ICC Greenland by 1 million kroner ($184,000) a year for the next four years. The move would see the Greenlandic parliament gut its annual contribution to the group from 5.4 million kroner to 1.4 million in 2018. Arctic Journal

 

Finland: Saimaa Canal Reopens. As a sure sign of spring, icebreakers are breaking up the ice on the Saimaa Canal this weekend to open the waterway to cargo ships and boaters. The Saimaa Canal connects Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. It also links to an elaborate system of inland waterways and canals, providing access to 120 interconnected lakes in the south-central and southeast part of Finland, known as Finnish Lakeland. Deep channels in the network extend all the way to Kuopio in Central Finland. Alaska Dispatch

 

polar bear matt Genetic Studies of Polar Bears' Past Raises Questions About Their Future. Today's polar, brown and black bears are the descendants of common ancestors that first began to split off into different species in the early Pleistocene Epoch, more than a million years ago, says a new study by scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of California-Davis and other institutions. Meanwhile, another study suggests one isolated population in Southeast Alaska may have seen polar and brown bears interbreed as recently as the end of the last Ice Age. Polar bears and brown bears have common ancient ancestors, but they diverged as different species 1.2 million years ago, while black bears diverged from the polar-brown branch even earlier, an estimated 2.3 million years ago, according to the study, co-authored by Matt Cronin, professor of animal genetics at UAF's School of Natural Resources. Alaska Dispatch

 

SAR The Tyranny of Time and Distance in Arctic SAR. With Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 missing since March 8, seven countries are now scanning the southern Indian Ocean for any sign of the aircraft. The effort has turned into more of a recovery than search and rescue mission, even as the chances of recovery seem to dwindle with each passing day. Australia is coordinating the search out of the newly established Joint Agency Coordination Center in Perth, on the country's west coast. Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced, "This multi-country search is a powerful example of international cooperation at a time of adversity. Military air crew from Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and the United States are searching for possible debris from MH370." Alaska Dispatch

 

Study Investigates Potential Impacts of Road Development on Western Caribou Herd. In March, a group of researchers announced the results of a multi-year study assessing the impacts to caribou habitat of a potential service road from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District.  Their research is one of the first wildlife biology studies looking at whether a road through a stretch of the Interior would disrupt the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, which is vital to subsistence users across Western Alaska. Kyle Joly is with the National Park Service, which, along with the Wilderness Society and U.S. Geological Survey, conducted the study. He says the results showed minimal effects from a road on the areas where caribou spend their winters. Alaska Dispatch

 

Murkowski: Arctic Not Priority for Administration. Sen. Lisa Murkowski took to the Senate floor on Monday to press the administration on Arctic development and exploration. The Alaska Republican has made the case for the U.S. to take a leadership role in the Arctic as new opportunities arise from its changing landscape. The Hill

 

Prominent Alaska Geologist Dies at 97; Was at Work on Portage Lake Ice During 1964 Earthquake. Recently the American Association of Petroleum Geologists announced it would honor the organization's first 100 female members to commemorate its centennial in 2017. The first woman featured is Ruth A.M. Schmidt, 97, of Anchorage, who passed away on March 29, just two days after the 50th anniversary of the 1964 earthquake. Anchorage Daily News

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

S. Res. 412, A resolution reaffirming the strong support of the United States Government for freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of sea and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region, and for the peaceful diplomatic resolution of outstanding territorial and maritime claims and disputes. (Yesterday, the resolution was introduced and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.)

Future Events

 

Alaska Policy Commission. May 6-7, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. The draft agenda is available here

 

International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, May 22-24, 2014. ICASS is held every three years, bringing together people from all over the world to share ideas about social science research in the Arctic. ICASS VII, held in Akureyri in June 2011, attracted 450 participants from 30 different countries. ICASS VIII's theme is Northern Sustainabilities. By using the plural, ICASS underscores both that 'sustainability' has social, cultural, economic, political and environmental dimensions, and that definitions of the concept vary. Yet, while debating specific definitions, most would agree that working toward sustainable ways of living in the North and on approaches to sustainable engagement with the North, are critical both to the North's and to the world's future. Community sustainability in the North, whether for small settlements or large urban conglomerations, requires new models of food and energy security, and of access to employment, health care and social and cultural services for residents.

 

Arctic in the Athropocene. June 23-July 2, 2014 (Potsdam, Germany). Under the overarching theme "Arctic in the Anthropocene", this two-week interdisciplinary and interactive event will be the first in a series of Potsdam Summer Schools to be held annually. The goal is to bring together early-career scientists and young professionals from research departments, governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations, as well as the private sector from all around the world. Participants will deal with global challenges and address urgent questions on how to shape sustainable futures in the Arctic and beyond from a scientific and socioeconomic point of view. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. August 26-27, 2014 (Kotzebue-Nome, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

Arctic Circle, October 31-November 2, 2014 (Reyjavik, Iceland).

The Arctic Circle is nonprofit and nonpartisan. Organizations, forums, think tanks, corporations and public associations around the world are invited to hold meetings within the Arctic Circle platform to advance their own missions and the broader goal of increasing collaborative decision-making without surrendering their institutional independence. The Arctic Circle will organize sessions on a variety of issues, such as: Sea ice melt and extreme weather; Polar law: treaties and agreements; The role and rights of indigenous peoples; Security in the Arctic; Shipping and transportation infrastructure; The prospects and risks of oil and gas drilling; Clean energy achievements and sustainable development; Arctic resources; Business cooperation in the Arctic; The role of Asian and European countries in the Arctic; Greenland in the new Arctic; Fisheries and ecosystem management; The science of ice: global research cooperation; Arctic tourism; The ice-dependent world: the Arctic and the Himalayas. 

 

Alaska Policy Commission. November 13-14, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission (AAPC) has more important work to do in 2014. The Commission will strive to gather public input and engage with Alaskan communities, state agencies, federal partners, and the international organizations working in the Arctic. In order to meet our goals AAPC will convene three in-person meetings over the course of 2014 and focus on implementation and final recommendations. 

 

The Arctic Biodiversity Congress, December 2-4, 2014. (Trondheim, Norway). The Arctic Biodiversity Congress will present and discuss the main scientific findings of the ABA; facilitate inter-disciplinary discussion, action and status updates on the policy recommendations in the ABA; provide scientific, policy, management, NGO, academia, Indigenous peoples and industry audiences the opportunity to collaborate around the themes of the ABA; advise CAFF on national and international implementation of the ABA recommendations and on the development of an ABA Implementation Plan for the Arctic Council; highlight the work of CAFF and the Arctic Council on circumpolar biodiversity conservation and sustainable development; and, contribute to mainstreaming of biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring that the recommendations of the ABA are implemented by not just governments, but many organizations and people across disciplines.

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