Arctic

The Aiviq icebreaker, targeted by the U.S. Coast Guard for purchase and deployment in Alaska, completes a chartered refueling operation at Davis Research Station in Antarctica. (Kirk Yatras / Australian Antarctic Program)

Juneau-based Coast Guard icebreaker in final budget bill as Congress tries to avoid shutdown

Murkowski, Sullivan say they don’t expect repeat of last minute-deal in ‘22 that sunk vessel’s funds.

 

The ocean surface at the Chukchi Borderland is seen on Aug. 10, 2016, from the Coast Guard icebreaking Cutter Healy. At the time, an international and multi-disciplinary team of scientists, media personnel, and educators were conducting a mission to the Arctic’s Chukchi Borderland onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. That mission, called Hidden Ocean 2016, was among the many scientific voyages conducted by the Healy in the Arctic each summer and fall. The Chukchi Borderland is an area of complex underwater topography located about 600 miles north of the Bering Strait. The area is part of the large swath of newly mapped extended continental shelf in the Arctic where the U.S. is seeking to assert sovereignty. (Photo provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

U.S. preparing to claim new ocean territory off Arctic Alaska and in central Bering Sea

Includes an area within the Arctic Ocean that is bigger than California.

 

Ned Rozell holds up a king salmon caught on the Tanana River, a major tributary of the Yukon, in July 2019, when some fishing was still allowed. (Photo by Sam Bishop)

Alaska Science Forum: Yet another dramatic Arctic Report Card

In December 2006, I sat in a similar carpeted room in this city and listened to scientists talk about an Alaska-size chunk of sea ice… Continue reading

 

Spawning chum salmon swim in a spring feeding the Tanana River, a tributary of the Yukon River. Crashes in Western Alaska chum and Chinook salmon runs are tied to rapid warming that is having myriad effects across the Arctic, as described in the 2023 Arctic Report Card released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Photo by Seth Adams/University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Alaska salmon woes, extreme precipitation, tundra shrub growth part of Arctic transformation

NOAA’s 2023 Arctic Report Card highlights challenges posed by rapid climate change in Alaska

Spawning chum salmon swim in a spring feeding the Tanana River, a tributary of the Yukon River. Crashes in Western Alaska chum and Chinook salmon runs are tied to rapid warming that is having myriad effects across the Arctic, as described in the 2023 Arctic Report Card released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Photo by Seth Adams/University of Alaska Fairbanks)
Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard The Aiviq, a private icebreaker the U.S. Coast Guard is considering purchasing for Arctic operations with Juneau as its home port, is seen on March 24, 2012.

Juneau-based private icebreaker remains in Coast Guard’s plans as needs grow

Officials now say up to nine vessels needed for polar areas, but first may not be ready until 2028

Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard The Aiviq, a private icebreaker the U.S. Coast Guard is considering purchasing for Arctic operations with Juneau as its home port, is seen on March 24, 2012.
Dimitri Kusnezov, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for science and technology, stands by Lake Spenard on Tuesday. Kusnezov was on his first Alaska trip, with stops from Juneau to Utqiagvik. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

As climate change transforms the Arctic, Homeland Security must adapt, official says

Department undersecretary visits Coast Guard in Juneau, other parts of Alaska this week

Dimitri Kusnezov, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for science and technology, stands by Lake Spenard on Tuesday. Kusnezov was on his first Alaska trip, with stops from Juneau to Utqiagvik. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
The Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, is the privately owned vessel likely to be purchased with a $150 million allocation in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Juneau is the preferred home port for the icebreaker, which would be the only such ship stationed in Alaska and would result in about an additional 190 personnel in the city. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Juneau-based icebreaker in final NDAA bill, Sullivan says

Purchase of private ship, which may bring 600 people to Juneau, gets warm support from local leaders

The Aiviq icebreaker, seen here towing a mobile drilling rig about 100 miles southwest of Kodiak, is the privately owned vessel likely to be purchased with a $150 million allocation in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. Juneau is the preferred home port for the icebreaker, which would be the only such ship stationed in Alaska and would result in about an additional 190 personnel in the city. (U.S. Coast Guard)
FILE - A woman stands next to an antenna at an NYU base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. In an effort to combat climate change and help develop Arctic communities, the Department of Energy Wednesday announced it was seeking to develop new sustainable energy projects in Alaska. (AP Photo / Felipe Dana)

Feds promote Arctic energy innovation

Living laboratory.

FILE - A woman stands next to an antenna at an NYU base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. In an effort to combat climate change and help develop Arctic communities, the Department of Energy Wednesday announced it was seeking to develop new sustainable energy projects in Alaska. (AP Photo / Felipe Dana)
Cpl. Jose M. Barragan, a bulk fuel specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, prepares to conduct a live-fire and maneuver range in Fort Greely, Alaska, Feb. 11, 2020, prior to exercise Arctic Edge 20. (U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Christopher W. England)

Elected officials welcome Navy’s new Arctic strategy

The Arctic — and the Navy’s strategy — are changing.

Cpl. Jose M. Barragan, a bulk fuel specialist with 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, prepares to conduct a live-fire and maneuver range in Fort Greely, Alaska, Feb. 11, 2020, prior to exercise Arctic Edge 20. (U.S. Marine Corps / Lance Cpl. Christopher W. England)
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the Gulf of Alaska on May 24, 2019. (U.S. Navy | Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anthony J. Rivera)

Experts, military officers testify about rising importance, threat in Arctic

The Great Game will be played in the Arctic, expert says.

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transits the Gulf of Alaska on May 24, 2019. (U.S. Navy | Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anthony J. Rivera)
Trump administration reevaluating offshore drilling plans

Trump administration reevaluating offshore drilling plans

Court ruling blocked oil and gas development off Alaska.

Trump administration reevaluating offshore drilling plans
George Edwardson, board member for Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska and President of the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) stands in front of the UK HQ of cruise industry giant Carnival Corporation. (Courtesy Photo | Jiri Rezac via Stand.earth)

Alaskans travel to UK to protest cruise’s heavy oils

Alaska indigenous leaders traveled to the United Kingdom this week to deliver a petition asking a cruise industry giant to stop using inexpensive fuel believed… Continue reading

George Edwardson, board member for Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska and President of the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (ICAS) stands in front of the UK HQ of cruise industry giant Carnival Corporation. (Courtesy Photo | Jiri Rezac via Stand.earth)
A panel of experts on Arctic issues convened in Juneau on Thursday at a meeting of the Hyrdographic Services Review Panel. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)

Ocean minds tackle Arctic marine traffic bump

Sea ice in the Arctic is melting earlier in the spring and forming later in the fall, allowing ships more time to navigate ice-free waterways.… Continue reading

A panel of experts on Arctic issues convened in Juneau on Thursday at a meeting of the Hyrdographic Services Review Panel. (Kevin Gullufsen | Juneau Empire)
In this Dec. 19, 2017 photo, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during debates about the GOP tax cut on the floor of the U.S. Senate. (C-SPAN)

State asks Legislature for $10 million to survey ANWR for oil

The administration of Gov. Bill Walker is asking the Alaska Legislature for permission to spend $10 million on seismic surveying in the coastal plain of… Continue reading

In this Dec. 19, 2017 photo, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during debates about the GOP tax cut on the floor of the U.S. Senate. (C-SPAN)