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December 9, 2014
  

Arctic Change 2014, December 8-12, 2014 (Ottawa, Canada). The international Arctic Change 2014 conference aims to stimulate discussion and foster collaborations among people with a vested interest in the Arctic and its peoples. Coinciding with the pinnacle of Canada's chairmanship of the Arctic Council and marking ArcticNet's 10th anniversary, Arctic Change 2014 welcomes researchers, students, Northerners, policy makers, and stakeholders from all fields of Arctic research and all countries to address the numerous environmental, social, economical and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the Arctic. With over 1000 participants expected to attend, Arctic Change 2014 will be one of the largest trans-sectoral international Arctic research conferences ever held in Canada.  

 

capitalToday's Congressional Action:  

The House and Senate are in session and expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.

Media  

 

budget Cromnibus Stalling Behind Closed Doors. With "cromnibus" negotiations bogging down in the House Monday, lawmakers pressing up against their self-imposed deadline were preparing a one- to two-day temporary spending bill that would fund the government until they resolve their differences. Both the House and Senate want to wrap up the 113th Congress Thursday, the day government runs out of cash, with a final vote on the cromnibus (a combination of a continuing resolution for the Homeland Security department and an omnibus to fund all other federal operations) - but negotiators hit a host of snags Monday afternoon. Roll Call   

 

Shell Contractor Faces $12.2 in Fines for Environmental, Safety Violations. The company that operated both of the drill rigs used in Shell's ill-fated 2012 Arctic offshore season has agreed to pay $12.2 million in fines and community service payments stemming from environmental and safety violations aboard its vessels, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday. Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC, owner and operator of the Noble Discoverer and operator of the Shell-owned Kulluk, will plead guilty to eight felony offenses and will receive four years of probation and must implement a comprehensive environmental compliance plan for violating federal environmental and maritime law in 2012, under a settlement announced by Karen Loeffler, U.S. attorney for Alaska. Alaska Dispatch News

 

On Funding: Ottawa Discriminates Against Inuit Women: Pauktuutit. Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada says the federal government has discriminated against Inuit women in its funding of programs designed to tackle violence against Aboriginal women across the country. Over the past few months, Pauktuutit has analyzed the government's Action Plan to Address Family Violence and Violent Crimes Against Aboriginal Women and Girls, released this past September. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Science Sanctions-Hit Russia Should Make Leap in Science: Putin. President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Russia should make a leap in developing its fundamental science after Western powers limited the country's access to modern technology as part of sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. The West has introduced sanctions against Russia, ranging from visa bans and asset freezes to restricting its access to foreign drilling technologies, key to Russia's development of untapped Arctic oil and gas deposits. Speaking to a government meeting, Putin said the ban could stimulate Russia to develop its own technologies. The Peninsula

 

Secretary of the Navy Talks Arctic Changes at UAF. The United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus met with University of Alaska Fairbanks officials and scientists Friday to discuss how they could work together to meet the challenges of a changing Arctic. Mabus, who took his post in 2009, said the Navy has a "particular interest" in the Arctic because its responsibilities increase as the Arctic changes. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 

 

Cooper Island Research Part of Polar Sea Documentary. Cooper Island sits at the western end of the fabled Northwest Passage that has engaged explorers and adventurers for centuries.  Cooper Island would not even be called "Cooper Island" if it were not for John Franklin's attempt (and failure) to navigate from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.  As the British H.M.S. Plover waited for the Franklin Expedition near Point Barrow, Alaska in August of 1850, they annexed an island with the Inupiat name Iglurak, renaming it Cooper Island (originally Cooper's Island) after one of their officers. Friends of Cooper Island

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

The House and Senate did not formally consider Arctic legislation yesterday.

Future Events

  

"The Melting Arctic... What the Science Says, and What it Means for Our Future" December 10, 2014. (Remote access, see here.) The National Weather Service; Office of Climate, Weather, and Water Services; Climate Division is sponsoring this webinar. This talk probes the loss of ice in the Arctic Ocean from three aspects -- 1) what the science says, 2) why it is important, and 3) what it means for our future, and makes the case that as transport drives the patterns of human civilization, a melting Arctic will move population centers in the far north. This talk, which puts climate science in a social and historical context, was presented previously at the AMS Annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, in February 2013. 

 

Subcommittee Hearing: The United States as an Arctic Nation: Opportunities in the High North, December 10, 2014 (Washington, D.C., USA). The House of Representatives Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats will hold a hearing on "The United States as an Arctic Nation." US Special Representative Admiral Robert Papp is expected to testify.

 

"Arctic Modeling: Improving Models and Predictions in the Arctic" January 13, 2015. (Remote access, see here). The Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) program will host this webinar. Additional information will be released soon.

 

AGU Fall Meeting, December 15-19, 2014 (San Francisco, CA, USA). With nearly 24,000 attendees, the AGU Fall Meeting is the largest Earth and space science meeting in the world. The AGU Fall Meeting brings together the entire Earth and space sciences community for discussions of emerging trends and the latest research. The technical program includes presentations on new and cutting-edge science, much of which has not yet been published.

 

Arctic Frontiers: Climate and Energy, January 18-23, 2015. The earth is in the midst of major climate changes. The Arctic is experiencing the impact of these changes more and faster than other parts of the globe. Processes starting in the Arctic may have deep and profound impacts on other parts of the globe. At the same time the Earth's population is rising and with it the global energy demand. New and greener energy sources are gaining market shares, but still the energy mix of the foreseeable future will have a substantial fossil component. The Arctic is expected to hold major oil and gas resources, while the regions green energy potentials are less explored. The Arctic Frontiers conference is a central arena for discussions of Arctic issues. The conference brings together representatives from science, politics, and civil society to share perspectives on how upcoming challenges in the Arctic may be addressed to ensure sustainable development. Arctic Frontiers is composed of a policy section and a scientific section. 

  

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 19-23, 2015 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The symposium will feature a session on the Communicating Ocean Sciences, keynote addresses, poster sessions, and workshops. As in past years, the main content of the symposium is organized by large marine ecosystem. The 2015 schedule will be: Tuesday, January 20 - Gulf of Alaska; Wednesday, January 21 - Bering Sea; and Thursday, January 22 - Arctic Ocean. The details of the 2015 Alaska Marine Science Symposium program will be available in mid-November.

 

Symposium on Law and Governance in the Arctic, UCI LAW, January 30-31, 2015 (Irvine, California, USA).  The symposium will explore the effectiveness of existing governance in the Arctic region, strategies for improving effective implementation, and possible alternative governance regimes. A segment of the presented papers will be published in the UCI Law Review as a symposium. Presenters include: Betsy Baker, Michael Byers, Joseph DiMento, Tore Henriksen, Brian Israel, Timo Koivurova, Tullio Scovazzi, and Oran Young. 

 

Arctic Encounter Symposium 2015: Charting a Path to US Leadership in the Far North, January 30-31, 2015 (Seattle, Washington, USA). The second annual Arctic Encounter Symposium will focus on the role of the U.S. as an Arctic nation and the challenges it will confront in its upcoming chairmanship of the Arctic Council, including: climate change, natural resources, investment opportunities, and international relations. The goal of the 2015 Arctic Encounter is to facilitate a creative environment for the development of a proactive agenda, short and long-term domestic and international priorities, and a strategic execution plan.The two-day program will take place at the University of Washington with a dinner reception on January 30, 2015 at the Museum of History and Industry.

 

Polar Shelves and Shelf Break Exchange in Times of Rapid Climate Warming, March 15-20, 2015 (Lucca, Italy). The GRCs provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies. The guiding principle of a GRC is to encourage communication and discussion of ideas and new unpublished results at the very frontier of a particular field of research, by bringing together outstanding scientists from academia, industry, and government, ranging from senior experts to Ph.D. students. With the increasing impacts of reduced sea ice and warming seawater conditions in both the Arctic and Antarctic, this conference can act as a forum for potentially transformative discussions for interdisciplinary, international and compare/contrast evaluation of polar sciences. In addition, the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will precede the GRC to provide a forum for graduate students and post-docs to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas with experts in the different polar fields of science.


The Polar Geography and Cryosphere, April 21-25, 2015 (Chicago, IL, USA). The Polar Geography and Cryosphere Specialty Groups of the Association of American Geographers will host its annual meeting in Chicago to consider: current topics in human-environment interactions; current topics in politics, resource geographies, and extractive industries; current topics in Antarctic research; advances in cryosphere research; high latitude environments in a changing climate; an mountain ice and snow.

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