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December 18, 2014
  

PHOTO CONTEST: The U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) is holding a photo contest titled "Observing the Arctic" to identify compelling Arctic images to be included in USARC's publication "Report of the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2015-2016." This report, to the President and Congress, outlines scientific research goals and objectives for the Arctic.

 

We invite you to submit original photos of Alaska and the greater Arctic region in the following categories:

  • Environmental Change
  • Human Health
  • Natural Resources
  • Civil Infrastructure
  • Indigenous Cultures and Identities
  • Nature
One overall winner and six runners up will be selected. Consistent with U.S. Federal Government Challenge.gov regulations, the winner will receive a prize of $400.00, and the winning photo will be prominently exhibited in USARC's Alaskan and Washington offices, displayed on the USARC website, and published on the cover of USARC's 2015-2016 Goals Report. The six runners up will receive prizes of $150.00 each, and will also have their photos displayed on the USARC website and published in the report. For details, click here. 

 

capitalToday's Congressional Action:  

The House and Senate have adjourned for this Congress. 

Media  

 

Annual Arctic Report Card Details Continued Warming on Land and Sea. While the Arctic in 2014 continued its long-term warming, much of the rest of the world was struck by wacky and extreme weather, and studies are underway to determine whether the trends are related, said scientists who released an annual report on the Arctic on Wednesday. The Arctic Report Card 2014, compiled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, described a year of warm weather, open seas, proliferating far-north plankton blooms and steady spread of vegetation northward. Alaska Dispatch News

 

Link to the 2014 Arctic Report Card here.

 

Statement by Minister Valcourt Welcoming Royal Assent of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Act. The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, today issued the following statement on the passage of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station Act: "The passage of this Act is yet another example of our Government's ongoing commitment to promote the Canadian Arctic as a vital part of our national identity as outlined in our 2007 Northern Strategy. "The Act establishes the governance structure for the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) - a new, year-round, world-class science and technology research facility located in the Canadian Arctic. NewsWire

 

Chevron Puts Arctic Drilling Plans on Hold Indefinitely. Chevron Canada, in a letter to the National Energy Board, has announced it's put its Arctic drilling plan on hold indefinitely, in part due to "the level of economic uncertainty in the industry." The company paid more than $100 million to explore sections of the Beaufort Sea northwest of Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T. CBC News

 

Study Finds Capture-Research is Safe for Polar Bears. A new study suggests that tranquilizing, handling and collaring polar bears does not inflict any negative long-term harm on the animals. The United States Geological Survey released those findings Dec. 15, which were based on 40 years of research on the southern Beaufort Sea polar bear population. Nunatsiaq Online

 

Department of Defense Awards $1 Million Contract to WSU Tri-Cities Researcher. A Washington State University Tri-Cities faculty member will use a nearly $1 million federal contract to study how climate change could affect U.S. defense facilities. Yonas Demissie, an assistant civil and environmental engineering professor, will partner with graduate students at the Richland campus and a team from Argonne National Laboratory outside of Chicago on the four-year project. Bellingham Herald 

 

Northern Sea Route Traffic Plummets. After four years of increased use of the Northern Sea Route by vessels going in transit between Europe and Asia, 2014 saw a steep downturn. The amount of cargo transported in transit dropped 77 percent compared to last year. Only 274,000 tons of cargo was shipped in transit along the Northern Sea Route this sailing season, website PROVED reports. This is a steep downturn compared to 2013, when a total of 1,355,897 tons was shipped along the route, as BarentsObserver reported. Alaska Dispatch News

 

NASA NASA Satellites Reveal the Arctic Is Absorbing More Solar Radiation as Ice Disappears. It turns out that there's been a steady increase in the absorption of solar radiation by the Arctic. Now, NASA satellite instruments are revealing a bit more about this absorption, which corresponds to the steady decrease in Arctic sea ice since the year 2000. Sea ice mostly reflects the sun's rays. However, ocean water is darker, which means that it's prone to absorb the sun's energy at a higher rate. As sea ice retreats, the Arctic absorbs more and more solar energy. Now, satellites are revealing exactly how far that trend has gone. Science World Report

 

Legislative Actionfutureevents  

 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered yesterday.

 

Future Events

   

"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.

 

International Symposium on Northern Development, February 25-27, 2015 (Quebec, Canada). The Québec government, in collaboration with Université Laval, will co-chair with the Nordic Council of Ministers the International Symposium on Northern Development. The event will allow for the pooling of knowledge, experience and perspectives in the realm of northern development. It will assemble representatives of the northern countries, the universities and local populations, including the Aboriginal nations, and businesspeople and enterprises. The key themes will be the North as a living environment; the North as a physical territory; the North as a hub of economic development; and, the North as a hub of knowledge training and research. 

 

Arctic Summit 2015, March 12, 2014 (Oslo, Norway) The Economist is hosting the Arctic Summit 2015 where discussions will focus on whether commercial interest in the Arctic is a bubble about to burst. There are discounted registration fees are available for NGOs, government, academics, charities and students. There are also discounts for groups of 3 or more people.

 

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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