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NOAA Science Challenge Workshop: Predicting Arctic Weather and Climate and Related Impacts, May 13-15, 2014. (Bolder, CO, USA/ Web) The overarching purpose of the workshop is to inform NOAA on actions required to address present and anticipated future mission requirements for predictions of Arctic weather and climate and related impacts. The workshop will also define actions needed to determine relationships between Arctic and lower latitude weather and climate variability and their predictive implications, with emphasis on predictions over the sector encompassing North America and adjacent ocean regions. The workshop's primary emphasis will be on steps needed to improve predictions and related services from days to seasons in advance; however, needs and opportunities for developing longer--term prediction products will also be considered.
 Today's Congressional Action:
The House is not in session. The Senate is expected to consider non-Arctic legislation.
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 [Opinion] Americans' Aversion to Science Carries High Price. Americans have something of a science problem. They swallow, for example, about $28 billion worth of vitamins each year, even though the Annals of Internal Medicine recently concluded that "[m]ost supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death, their use is not justified, and they should be avoided." Americans often fear swallowing genetically modified plants (and Vermont recently required labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs), though GMOs have "been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years, with no reported ill effects," according to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Washington Post
Melting of Antarctic Ice Sheet Might be Unstoppable. Scientists have long worried about climate change-induced melting of the huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Now they say that not only is the disintegration of the ice already underway, but that it's likely unstoppable. That means that in the coming centuries, global sea levels will rise by anywhere from 4 to 12 feet. As NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports, that's a larger increase than the United Nations expert panel noted last year. But it would occur over a longer time frame - centuries instead of decades. National Public Radio
 Transferring Live, From Inside the Arctic Circle. Stable, secure and high-speed internet connections are still a long ways off for vast swaths of the Arctic, but the results of a recent Lockheed Martin test show that such networks are at least possible to create. Stationed on a floating ice camp in Prudhoe Bay in March, the team, taking part in the US Navy's Ice Exercise, transmitted files as large as 20 megabytes over the secure network. Arctic Journal
Statistically Safer. As shipping traffic off Greenland's coasts increases, so too does the danger of an accident. Now, the Danish navy, which has responsibility for patrolling Greenland's territorial waters, is hoping to remove some of the guesswork about where it should focus its efforts as it seeks to ramp up its military presence in the region. Captain Peter Harling Boysen, the head of Danish military planning, said compiling a complete risk analysis for the maritime environment would provide more insight into how best the Navy could deploy its Arctic resources. Arctic Journal
Investigation Into Walrus Disease Closes With No Culprit Identified. An investigation into a mysterious disease afflicting Pacific walruses has been closed with no culprit identified, federal agencies said on Monday. The investigation into what scientists call an "unusual mortality event" -- an unexpected die-off of a large numbers of animals -- was launched in 2011 when seals and walruses began showing up with bleeding skin lesions, labored breathing, lethargy and hair loss. Alaska Dispatch
It's 'Unlikely' US Could Fully Clean up an Arctic Oil Spill - NAS Report Author. The United States is prepared to respond to an oil spill in the Alaskan Arctic, although additional resources and studies are needed to enhance potential cleanup operations in the frigid north, according to a National Academy of Sciences author. Martha Grabowski, chairwoman of a recent NAS study on Arctic oil spills, said the federal government has amassed significant resources, expertise and knowledge to handle an oil spill. E&E News
 Could Isolationist North Korea Become Key Player on Northern Sea Route? Last year, a total of three ships sailed from the Port of Ust-Luga, Russia along the Northern Sea Route. A relatively new port on the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, Ust-Luga is the fastest growing port in Russia according to TransBaltic. By 2018, the port is predicted to be able to handle 180 million tons of cargo annually. By 2020, the port could become Russia's largest. Two of the tankers were carrying shipments of naphtha, a hydrocarbon, to Yeosu, South Korea. One of them was notably the first pilot voyage of the Northern Sea Route by South Korean chaebol Hyundai Heavy Shipping, which it accomplished with the assistance of Swedish company Stena Bulk. Alaska Dispatch
Tracking Collars Could Affect the Health of Nunavik Caribou. Tracking Arctic animals is no easy task - not even for the most skilled hunter. For researchers based in southern universities and research facilities, it's often radio transmitters embedded into collars, backpacks or ear tags that are used to study those animals' habitat use, behavior and survival. Nunatsiaq Online
 Census Shows 27 Percent Decline in Caribou Herd. The state's largest caribou herd suffered a 27 percent decline in numbers between 2011 and 2013, and if that trend continues, state officials said Monday they might have to restrict hunting. The Western Arctic Herd had about 235,000 animals, according to a census conducted last July by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Anchorage Daily News
[Opinion] Congress Should Support the Coast Guard's Modernization Efforts. With responsibilities ranging from drug interdiction to search and rescue-and an expanding area of operation in the Arctic-the Coast Guard will see its workload only increase in the future. Therefore, Congress should support the sea service's modernization efforts by ensuring that they properly replace aging assets with new cutters and aviation assets. In addition to the Coast Guard's internal budget concerns, it will be facing capability problems due to external cuts as well. The Navy will decommission its entire fleet of Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates by the end of 2015, some of which have played an integral role in Joint Interagency Task Force South, serving as platforms from which Coast Guard interdiction teams deploy to intercept drug-running vessels. The Heritage Foundation
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Legislative Action
H.R. 4438, American Research and Competitiveness Act (Introduced by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and passed in the House. Yesterday, it was received in the Senate.)
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Future Events
Cumulative Impacts and Landscape Initiatives: A sustainability Check During Climate Change, May 18-22, 2014 (Anchorage, Alaska). US-IALE fosters landscape ecology in the United States, providing a link among practitioners in landscape ecology in the U.S. and the international community, and promoting interdisciplinary research and communication among scientists, planners, and other professionals concerned with landscape ecology. Program highlights will include plenary sessions with featured speakers, symposia and contributed papers, in-depth workshops on key topics, field trips, and networking events.
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.
2014 FAMOS School and Workshop #3, October 21-24, 2014. (Woods Hole, MA) The Forum for Arctic Ocean Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) is an international effort to focus on enhancing collaboration and coordination among Arctic marine and sea ice modelers, theoreticians and observationalists synthesize major results from the field studies and coordinated numerical experiments. The major themes of workshop include but not limited by studies focused on: predictions; Arctic observational and modeling initiatives; fate of sea ice in models and observations; atmospheric, sea ice and ocean dynamics; process studies and parameterizations; model validation and calibration; numerical improvements and algorithms; ecosystems, biological issues, and geochemistry.
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.
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.
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