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Today's Congressional Action:
The House and Senate are not in session.
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 Walrus Provide Bridge Between Scientists and Native Communities in Russia and Alaska. From Chukotka to the North Slope and from the village to the research vessel, walrus is an important species to understand for those who live and work in the Arctic. For that reason, walrus management was the subject of a series of roundtable discussions at the Arctic Science Summit Week this month in Fairbanks. Alaska Dispatch News
Engineers Say Warmer Winters, Flooding Complicate Maintenance of Arctic Roadways. State Transportation Department spokeswoman Meadow Bailey says work began early this year on protecting the highway that serves Alaska's North Slope oilfields from a repeat of last year's flooding. "In December, we started to see overflow on the Dalton Highway near the same area where we had the aufeisand overflow and flooding last year," she said. Aufeis is a type of ice that forms into piles of sheets, usually caused by overflowing rivers. KUAC
 'Blocking-High' Pressure Systems Spawn Most of the Warming That Melts Greenland Surface Ice, Study Says. Vanishing Arctic sea ice. Dogged weather systems over Greenland. Far-flung surface ice melting on the massive island. These dramatic trends and global sea-level rise are linked, according to a study coauthored by Jennifer Francis, a research professor in Rutgers University's Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. Phys.org
Russian Scientists Bring Back to Life Amebae that Stayed in Arctic Permafrost for 60,000 Years. Russian scientists have discovered new amebae (unicellular organisms) in the Arctic's permafrost and have brought them back to life after they had been frozen for 30-60,000 years, TASS said. "We placed defrosted soil samples into a nutrient medium in Petri cups (laboratory glassware), then the amebae came out of their cysts and began feeding and breeding like the ordinary organisms," said Alexei Smirnov, an associate professor at St. Petersburg State University who led the research, which also involved experts from the Institute of Physical-Chemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Arctic
 What Happens to Oil Spilled on an Arctic Beach? New Research Aims to Find Out. Recent laboratory research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, with funding assistance from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, suggests that some oil spilled on an Arctic beach would likely evaporate quite quickly, but that biodegradation of the oil would be relatively slow. Depending on how sandy a beach is, wave and tidal action may remove much of the oil. Longer chained hydrocarbons would tend to persist in the beach and would be relatively difficult to remove. Alaska Dispatch News
Boaty McBoatface: How an Internet Craze Provided Priceless Publicity. You may have seen Boaty McBoatface in the news recently, and it sparked you to do a bit of digging on Google to get the full story. After doing some research on Boaty McBoatface, you likely found yourself on the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) website. This is exactly what NERC wants you to do. This story started when NERC opened an internet poll for naming suggestions on their brand new $287 million polar research vessel. Quickly, Boaty McBoatface rose to prominence, fueled by viral posts on the potential name of the British government's newest research ship. Despite many comments and stories surrounding the merits of naming the ship Boaty McBoatface over more traditional names, one cannot deny the publicity this has provided to the NERC. Forbes
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Legislative Action
No Arctic legislation was formally considered Friday.
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Future Events
Using an Environmental intelligence Framework to Evaluate the Impacts of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic, March 31, 2016 (Washington, DC, USA). The intensity and extent of ocean acidification in the Arctic will increase rapidly as atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise making the region a bellwether for the global ocean during the next few decades. The environmental changes brought on by ocean acidification could pose a significant threat to Arctic ecosystems that are already facing challenges from changes in sea ice distribution, warming and increased freshwater discharge. New ways of collecting and integrating critical environmental intelligence will be discussed in the context of developing resilience and adaptation strategies for dealing with ocean acidification. This event is sponsored by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, March 31-April 2, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The Juneau Workshop, organized in collaboration with University of Alaska Southeast Department of Social Science, aims to explore the contributions and potentials of Arctic social sciences in the emerging synergies that involve humanities, natural sciences, and engineering. The connections we attempt to foster reach mainly into two directions within the recent history of Arctic research.
15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar, April 1, 2016 (Anchorage, Alaska, USA). The American Society for Circumpolar Health will host the 15th Annual Arctic Health Science Seminar in Anchorage, Alaska. This event will include the annual meeting of the American Society for Circumpolar Health, the Robert Fortuine Memorial lecture, and the Albrecht Milan Foundation will provide the Albrecht-Milan Emerging Professional Award to one of the Arctic Health Science Seminar presenters. The call for abstracts is open through Monday February 29, 2016.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, April 14-16, 2016 (Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. This workshop will gather a diverse group of scholars to discuss the state-of-the art in Arctic social sciences and develop visioning scenarios for the future of social science research in the Arctic. The core topics will parallel discussions held at other regional workshops (Portland, OR and Providence, RI), which include: social sciences research and climate change; interdisciplinary research in the Arctic; social sciences and humanities in the Arctic, and applied social sciences research.
Alaska Rural Energy Conference, April 26-28, 2016 (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA). The Alaska Rural Energy Conference is a three day event offering a large variety of technical sessions covering new and ongoing energy projects in Alaska, as well as new technologies and needs for Alaska's remote communities. Building on the growing success, the Alaska Energy Authority and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power have joined forces again to organize and sponsor the 10th annual Alaska Rural Energy Conference.
High North Dialogue 2016: The Blue Future of the Arctic, May 25-26, 2016. HND is an annual conference hosted by the High North Center at Nord University, engaging a wide audience of researchers and future leaders of the region. It will address the necessary questions to effectively promote dialogue between interested stakeholders on how to sustainably develop the different realities of the many Arctics. PhD and Masters students can also participate in a week long credit awarding graduate course.
14th IATS Seminar, June 19-25, 2016 (Bergen, Norway). The University of Bergen (UiB) is honored to host the 14th IATS Seminar in Bergen, Norway, from Sunday 19 to Saturday 25 June 2016 in co-operation with the Network for University Co-operation Tibet-Norway, an academic network with the universities of Oslo, Bergen and Tromsų as partners. The convenor is Professor Hanna Havnevik, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo, and Chair of the Network.
Bridging the Future of Arctic Social Science Research, September 23-24, 2016 (Monticello, Rhode Island, USA). The event is sponsored by Arctic Horizons. The event will reassemble the members of the National Steering Committee and a small but diverse selection of representatives from the five regional workshops, to total about 15 people. The aim will be to identify and synthesize the core threads of the previous workshops and public contributions proffered between workshops. The target output for the workshop will be a final report draft and outline of steps leading to the final report release in June 2016. The Jefferson Institute will manage production of the publication.
Second International Conference on Natural Resources and Integrated Development of Coastal Areas in the Arctic Zone, September 27-29, 2016 (Arkhangelsk, Russia). The Conference is organized by FASO of Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, Government of Arkhangelsk region, Arkhangelsk Scientific Center and International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). Conference is aimed at elaboration of research-based practical measures and instruments for realization of human, natural and transport-logistical potential of the Arctic zone, including development of the Northern Sea Route and implementation of models of integrated coastal areas management. For additional information, please email.
Inuit traditions are a repository of Inuit culture and a primary expression of Inuit identity. The theme for the 2016 Inuit Studies Conference invites Elders, knowledge-bearers, researchers, artists, policy-makers, students and others to engage in conversations about the many ways in which traditions shape understanding, while registering social and cultural change. The institutional hosts of "Inuit Traditions," Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Nunatsiavut Government, invite you to contribute to an exchange of knowledge to be held in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, October 7-10, 2016. Presentations on all aspects of Inuit studies will be welcome.
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