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March 5, 2014

capital Today's Congressional Action:   

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

 

 

Media 

 

Finished Business (For Now). Receding ice levels in the Arctic Ocean could potentially open up an area measuring 2.3 million square kilometers unregulated to commercial fishing. Before fishing begins in earnest, representatives from the five Arctic coastal states want to make sure there are clear guidelines in place to prevent overfishing. Oceanographers and climate scientists have been looking into fish migration into the Arctic as they seek to escape warmer waters in their current habitat. Arctic Journal 

 

permafrost Scientists Revive 30,000-Year-Old Virus Found in Arctic Siberian Permafrost. A patch of Russian permafrost from eastern Siberia contained something potentially scary -- a "giant" virus brought back to life after 30,000 years and powerful enough to kill modern single-cell organisms. That's according to French scientists who discovered the ancient virus. Scientists from France's Aix-Marseille University and other institutions isolated the virus' DNA from a sample of permafrost collected in Chukotka, the Russian region across the Bering Strait from Alaska. Alaska Dispatch  

 

Murkowski: New USCG Alaska District Commander Signals Alaskan, Arctic Importance. Senator Lisa Murkowski responded to the United States Coast Guard naming Rear Admiral Daniel B. Abel to be the Commander of the 17th District, which oversees all of Alaska's waters: "Once again the Coast Guard challenges in Alaska have attracted one of the service's best and brightest. I look forward to working with Rear Admiral Abel as we increase our focus on Arctic strategic priorities." Political News 

 

New Data Confirms Arctic Ice Trends: Sea Ice Being Lost at a Rate of 5 Days Per Decade. The ice-free season across the Arctic is getting longer by five days per decade, according to new research from a team including Prof Julienne Stroeve (UCL Earth Sciences). New analysis of satellite data shows the Arctic Ocean absorbing ever more of the sun's energy in summer, leading to an ever later appearance of sea ice in the autumn. In some regions, autumn freeze-up is occurring up to 11 days per decade later than it used to. The research, published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, has implications for tracking climate change, as well as having practical applications for shipping and the resource industry in the Arctic regions. Science Codex 

 

Arctic Communities Behind on Disaster Prep. A Canadian think-tank says Northern communities are not prepared for natural disasters. The Monk-Gordon Arctic Security Program held meetings on the subject last week in Ottawa. According to program director Sara French, if something goes wrong in small communities across the North many aren't prepared. CBC News 

 

Chinaflag China Joins Hunts for Arctic Oil. China is the latest world superpower to join the hunt for fuel in icy Arctic waters. Chinese state energy company CNOOC has bagged an exploration licence from Iceland's National Energy Authority (Orkustofnun). It is partnering with Norwegian-owned firms Eykon Energy and Petoro Iceland to drill for oil in the Dreki region, inside the Arctic Circle to the north east of Iceland. Energy Live News 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

  

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

Future Events

 

Arctic 2050, March 12, 2014 (Brussels, Belgium). The 4th European Marine Board Forum will bring together Arctic stakeholders from multiple sectors (science, industry, policy & governance, NGOs, etc.) to: discuss current trends and patterns of change in Arctic Ocean ecosystems, including human activity; identify possible "2050" scenarios for Arctic Change and the corresponding implications for human health and well-being; highlight key research gaps, needs and challenges in support of understanding, mitigating against, or adapting to Arctic change; stimulate dialogue across sectors to aid common understanding, collaborative actions and sustainability targets; promote a vision for a sustainable ecosystem-based management of the Arctic Ocean by 2050.
 
New Vision for Sea Shipping Between Europe-Asia-USA, March 12-14, 2014 (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Region, Russia). The Tranzit-DV Group, with the participation of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, is holding a conference in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The conference theme is the creation of a logistics complex - MILC (Multimodal Industrial-Logistics Complex) in the Asia-Pacific Region with developed infrastructure and traffic network. Topics include: Seaports in the Primorsky and Kamchatka regions: experience, opportunities, prospects and development of sea transport; use of the Northern Sea Route in the global transport services market; state programs for investment support and development of the Russian Far East; analysis of the situation on the Russian and global container transport and bunkering markets; prospects for port hub development and multimodal carriage; and, maritime insurance issues.

 

44th Annual International Arctic Workshop, March 14-16, 2014 (Boulder, CO). The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research of the University of Colorado will host the workshop. This year's theme is "Arctic's New Normal." The workshop will consider shifting environmental baselines over decades to millennia and comparisons with the Antarctic. Previous workshops have included presentations on Arctic and Antarctic climate, atmospheric chemistry, environmental geochemistry, paleoenvironment, archeology, geomorphology, hydrology, glaciology, soils, ecology, oceanography, Quaternary history and more.
 

Navigational Developments and the Viability of Commercialized Shipping in the Arctic, March 20, 2014. (Washington, D.C.) The Federal Maritime Commission's Maritime Environmental Committee will be hosting a Brown Bag Speaker Series with a presentation by Dr. John Farrell, Executive Director of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and Captain David Murk, Senior Maritime Safety and Security Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation at the U.S. Department of Transportation. The speakers will discuss the environmental impact commercial shipping may have in the Arctic, United States' interests in the Arctic, and the viability of commercial shipping in the region.

 

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. 

 

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. Second circular here

 

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