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Category: News & Press Releases

Arctic Portal News Portlet

  • Why´s this year´s spring so cold?

    Why´s this year´s spring so cold?

    The warming Arctic is give Europe and North America cold springs.

    Most of the Arctic states have already welcomed spring. Majority of them, have only seen it on the calendar as temperatures have been staying on the negative side of a meter. Why hasn´t a spring truly arrived yet?

    Climatologists blame an unprecedented melting of Arctic sea ice. According to their research it is the reason for this year’s extraordinary cold spring weather in northern Europe and North America.

    A massive high pressure has been stable over major parts of the northern hemisphere weeks longer than normal, while the traditional warm winds from the Atlantic Sea have been absent. The consequence has been temperatures far below the seasonal average.

    The reason for the trend is the powerful warming and subsequent ice melting in the Arctic, researchers believe.

    While northern Europe this spring has experienced cold and dry weather, North America has had low temperatures and late snow. Figures from the Norwegian Meteological Institute show that southern Norway in the period January-March had average temperatures between 2-4 degrees below normal. Northern Norway, meanwhile, had temperatures significantly above the average and snow and rain in abundance.

    Data from National Snow and Ice Database suggest that the Arctic sea ice extent in March 2013 averaged 15.04 million square kilometers (5.81 million square miles). This is 710,000 kilometers (274,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average extent, and 610,000 square kilometers (236,000 square miles) above the record low for the month, which happened in 2006. Continuing a trend in recent winters, ice extent was near or below average levels throughout most of the Arctic, with the exception of higher extent in the Bering Sea.

    Sources

    Barents Observer

    Climate Change and Sea Ice Portlet

  • China plans to invest in Russia

    China plans to invest in Russia

    Russian harbor

    Chinese investors are interested in building deep water harbor in Arkhangelsk Oblast, according to Deputy Governor of the region. It is believed that a new deep water harbor is the natural ending point of the infrastructure development around the area.

    Alsufyev and Dmitry Deart, who is Head of the Department for Transport, have just returned from China, where they took part in the third meeting in the joint Russian-Chinese working group on the Belkomur project.

    They presented the deep-water harbor project to Chinese investors, who showed “principal interest” in developing the port of Arkhangelsk, the regional administration’s web site reads.

    The planned deep-water port in Arkhangelsk, which is included in Russia’s transport strategy for the period to 2030, will have an annual capacity of 30 million tons.

    Source

    Barents Observer

  • April Arctic sea ice below average

    April Arctic sea ice below average

    Arctic sea ice extent for March 2013

    Arctic sea ice extent in March 2013 averaged 15.04 million square kilometers (5.81 million square miles). This is 710,000 kilometers (274,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average extent, and 610,000 square kilometers (236,000 square miles) above the record low for the month, which happened in 2006.

    Continuing a trend in recent winters, ice extent was near or below average levels throughout most of the Arctic, with the exception of higher extent in the Bering Sea.

    The Arcic sea ice is one of the key symbols of the cold and barren Arctic Region. It affects lives of both, Arctic and non – Arctic residents.

    The Arctic sea ice significantly contributes to the world weather patterns and it helps to keep the globes temperatures down.

    The measurements that have been conducted for the past six years show that the Arctic sea ice has been decreasing. Scientists predict that this pattern will lead to the ice – free Arctic before 2050.

    Click here to find daily reports on Arctic sea ice. To read more about the Arctic sea ice, climate change and more, please access the Arctic Portal Climate Change & Sea Ice Portlet.

    Source

    National Snow and Ice Data Center

  • Treaty for the Arctic?

    Treaty for the Arctic?

    The sea divided into east and west.

    Diplomats and fisheries officials from five Arctic states will meet in Washington later this month to discuss regulations on commercial fishing near the North Pole.

    Government representatives from five Arctic states, i.e. Norway, Denmark, Canada, United States and Russia, agreed yesterday to meet later this month in order to discuss the laws that will apply to commercial fishing within the Arctic Circle.

    About 70 percent of the world’s total white fish supply comes from Arctic waters. This marine resource is extremely significant to Arctic regional and coastal communities.

    Fishing in the Circumpolar North has been and is a significant economic resource. Fishing is also rooted in the culture of many of the Arctic nations.

    World catch in numbers

    Now Exclusive Economic Zones divide where nations can catch fish but this economic activity has shaped the cultural values in the Arctic and is an important factor in the daily life of the coastal residents.

    If an agreement is made, it will represent the third such accord struck by countries in the far north to manage the commercial development and industrialization of the region, which is expected to increase with global warming. The other two agreements reached so far regulate oil spill response and search and rescue.

    The 12th Conference on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography that will take place in Seattle, Washington on 29th of April, is sponsored by the American Meteorological Society and organized by the AMS Polar Meteorology and Oceanography Committee.

    This year it will treat not only about natural science but also serve as a place to discuss legal and political issues between Arctic stakeholders.

    Source

    Barents Observer

    Fishing Portlet

  • Anthony Speca gives a lecture in Akureyri

    Anthony Speca gives a lecture in Akureyri

    Antony Speca

    Today, 18th of April at the University of Akureyri in northern Iceland, Anthony Speca gave speech on Nunavut, Greenland and politics of resource revenues. Another lecture from The Arctic Lecture series, organised by the University of Akureyri, touched upon economic situation in Canadian North and Greenland. Mr Speca highlighted that the idea that Nunavut could one day put more into Confederation than it takes out is not a flight of fancy.

    Nunavut’s entire 2011-12 territorial formula financing grant of about $1.2 billion is less than half of the resource income that Newfoundland and Labrador, the newest net-contributing of “have” province, is projected to collect the same year.

    If self-reliance is truly Nunavut’s aim in negotiatingdevolution, then it seems sensible for Nunavut to align. Co nceptually the fiscal self-reliance it will gain from a share of resource revenues with the political self-reliance it will gain from more province-like power over resource development.

    Anthony Speca is founder and Managing Principal of Polar Aspect, a Nunavut-based consultancy dedicated to public policy, government strategy and economic negotiation in the Canadian and circumpolar North.

    Borgir Research Center in Akureyri

    He has advised government on fiscal policy and the devolution of lands and resources, particularly fiscal federalism and resource-revenue sharing.

    As a columnist for Northern Public Affairs magazine, Anthony also writes on international politics and economics in the Arctic, and its implications for Canada. Anthony is a trained negotiator and accredited mediator, with a special focus on negotiations and disputes involving government, indigenous peoples, or rural or resource-based business.

    Anthony trained as a negotiator at the London School of Economics and Political Science and was accredited as a mediator in both the UK and USA in 2013. Anthony obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1999.

    His research culminated in his book, Hypothetical Syllogistic and Stoic Logic (Brill 2001).

    For more detailed information about the politics of resource revenues of these northern terretories, plese see the Speca’s report here.

    Source

    UNAK

  • Sabetta port becomes a reality

    Sabetta port becomes a reality

    Computer image of future Sabetta port

    Construction of Sabetta port, a key component in the huge Yamal LNG project, is now planned to start this summer.

    It is predicted that the Sabetta port will become one of the biggest in the Russian Arctic. Located in the Yamal Peninsula, it will boost shipping in the icy waters of the Ob Bay and the Northern Sea Route.

    Project Manager – Maksim Minin officially announced that the project has been delivered to the contractor and is ready to be reviewed by the state expert panel.

    The new port, a joint initiative of the Novatek company and Russian federal authorities, will be a key component in the development of the gas-rich Yamal Penisula. Linked with the South Tambey field and a major projected LNG plant, the port will be built to handle more than 30 million tons of goods per year.

    Sabetta port is planned to be operational all-year-round, despite the highly complex ice conditions of the Ob Bay.

    The total investments in the Sabetta port project amount to 75 billion RUB (€1,82 billion). The Russian government is investing 49 billion RUB (€1,19 billion) while private investments amount to 25 billion RUB (€607 million).

    The Yamal LNG project is developed by the JSC Yamal LNG, a joint venture of Novatek (80%) and Total (20%), and in close cooperation with the Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport and the Rosmorport state enterprise.

    Source

    Barents Observer

  • AES abstract deadline extended

    AES abstract deadline extended

    Arctic Energy Summit 2013

    The deadline to submit an abstract for the 2013 Arctic Energy Summit has been extended to April 30th.

    Submissions can include proposals for papers, workshops, and panels.

    The 2013 Arctic Energy Summit is a multi-disciplinary event that will bring several hundred industry officials, scientists, academics, policy makers, energy professionals, and community leaders together to collaborate and share leading approaches on Arctic energy issues.

    The 2013 Arctic Energy Summit will address energy extraction, production, and transmission in the Arctic as it relates to the theme of “Richness, Resilience & Responsibility: The Arctic as a Lasting Frontier.”

    The Summit will take place October 8-10 in Akureyri, Iceland. More information is available on the conference´s website or by e – mail: aen@institutenorth.org. 

    Source

    Arctic Circle

  • Arctic Circle now official

    Arctic Circle now official

    President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

    Yesterday, Iceland’s President – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson announced establishment of a new assembly for international cooperation on Arctic issues that can give non-Arctic countries like China, India and Singapore a forum for influence in the region.

    The assembly, called the Arctic Circle, will have its inaugural gathering in Reykjavik, Iceland in October. The formation of the Arctic Circle was announced by Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson in Washington, D.C. on Monday.

    The organization has been registered as a 501(c) 3 non-profit and is supported by private donations. The board of directors is led by Alice Rogoff, founder of the Alaska Dispatch and the Arctic Imperative Summit.

    The mission of the Arctic Circle is to facilitate dialogue and build relationships to confront the Arctic’s greatest challenges. The organization aims to strengthen the decision-making process by bringing together as many Arctic and international partners as possible under one large “open tent.”

    By facilitating circumpolar meetings of leaders across disciplines, the organization will identify truly sustainable development practices for the Arctic, the world’s last pristine environment.

    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 without surrendering their institu¬tional independence.

    Please, click here to read more about the Arctic Circle.

    Source

    Arctic Circle

  • New center established in Tromsø

    New center established in Tromsø

    Tromsø port during the winter

    University of Tromsø in northern Norway has now announced the establishment of new Law of the Sea center.

    Global climate change and melting sea ice, offers more and more opportunities for international transportation networks.

    Notably, the trend of receding ice cap around the North Pole could possibly make the Arctic more reliable for scheduled navigation, at least during the summer months.

    Asia’s and EU’s increased interest in the Arctic will likely enlarge the group of the Arctic Council Observers at the upcoming meeting in Kiruna, northern Sweden on May 15th.

    Last Friday, the representatives of Tromso University announced the establishment of a dedicated center for research on questions related to the law of the sea and other juridical topics regarding the role of international and national jurisdictions in the Arctic.

    Fifteen experts on Arctic issues and Law of the Seas will be working with the new center. The Fridtjof Nansen Institute is a partner. Funding comes from the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation, also branding the name of the new initiative; KG Jebsen Center for Ocean Law.

    Professor Tore Henriksen with the Law faculty at the University of Tromsø will be the head of the new canter.

    Source

    University of Tromsø

  • Conoco’s drilling now on hold

    Conoco’s drilling now on hold

    Alaskan landscape

    In a big blow to Arctic exploration, Conoco’s offshore-drilling program was put on hold.

    Not long after Royal Dutch Shell and Russian Gazprom signed the memorandum on their Arctic Ocean drilling program, ConocoPhillips Alaska announced early Wednesday that an uncertain regulatory environment has forced the company to put the brakes on exploratory drilling it planned for next summer.

    The news is consequential for Alaskans hoping new discoveries will replenish the dwindling flow in the trans-Alaska pipeline, the 800-mile long corridor shipping black crude that funds most state government services.

    The announcement means there may be little oil activity on Alaska’s outer-continental shelf this summer, in part because other companies, including Norwegian oil giant Statoil, have followed the lead of Shell and Conoco.

    ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States. It is the world’s largest independent pure-play exploration & production company.

    In the year 2007 Conoco Phillips became the first U.S. oil company to join the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, an alliance of big business and environmental groups. Today, it is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.

    Source

    Alaska Dispatch