PoLAR Voices

Arctic inhabitants are taking research into their own hands. Rather than letting scientists determine what needs to be studied, Inuit communities in Canada are determining what questions they need answered and seeking researchers who can help them.

Coastlines everywhere are hit by waves and storms from rising seas that can eat away at the shoreline, but Arctic coasts once frozen in place by permafrost are especially susceptible to coastal erosion as temperatures rise and permafrost thaws. Increased erosion is threatening some coastal communities, forcing long-standing communities to consider relocation as the land underneath them disappears.

Sea ice is rapidly decreasing due to accelerated warming in the Arctic. Animals, subsistence hunters, and researchers who rely on the frozen surface are adapting to less ice while trying to preserve their livelihoods.

Many glaciers in the Kluane Region are fed by a massive reservoir of snow and ice that sits on top of the St. Elias Mountains. Glaciologists are studying how global warming is affecting the physical characteristics and behavior of these glaciers as they retreat further up mountain slopes.

Frozen soils (or permafrost) in the Arctic are thawing, destabilizing the ground surface and damaging buildings and roads. Although infrastructure is crumbling, scientists are more concerned with the potential for runaway global warming as preserved plant material in the soils starts to break down into carbon dioxide. Global climate action plans are in place to limit global warming to 2⁰C, but the huge volume of carbon stored in the soils may push us past that target.

As the Arctic warms, the limits of where trees can grow are slowly shifting up mountains and further north. Researchers at the Kluane Lake Research Station in Yukon, Canada are trying to determine the range of environmental conditions that control the position of the tree line and ultimately forecast the position of the tree line in the future.

Dr. Heidi Swanson is an assistant professor and university research chair at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. She studies the response of aquatic food webs to climate change and the accumulation of mercury in Arctic lakes. Her lab, the Swanson Lab Group, travels to ecosystems as far west as the North Slope in Alaska and as far east as Lake Superior to study fish ecology and track contaminants in lakes. Her team works collaboratively with other academics, government researchers, Aboriginal communities, and industry to conduct meaningful research for multiple stakeholders.

Dr. Craig Gerlach is the Academic Coordinator for Sustainability at the University of Calgary and a professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology. Prior to joining the University of Calgary, Gerlach spent twenty years as a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he conducted research on food systems in northern aboriginal communities including the sustainability of fisheries and the socioeconomic impact of oil and gas development. His current research focuses on sustainable food, water, and energy systems in remote northern villages and emphasizes meaningful results for stakeholders. As a result, Gerlach is looking at solutions that will reduce rural village dependence on large urban centers including community gardens, greenhouses, alternative energy sources, water infrastructure, housing and shelter, and novel rural community designs.

http://anth.ucalgary.ca/profiles/1-4584890

Norma Kassi is co-founder and Director of Indigenous Collaboration at the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research. Over the last 30 years, she has worked on issues related to contaminants, food security, climate change, wildlife protection, youth engagement and building community capacity. Kassi is Vuntut Gwitchin, which means People of the Lakes. Her understanding of traditional, scientific and ecological knowledge, passed on from Elders, has fostered a deep connection to the land and made her an advocate for the Gwitchin people. From 1985-1992, she served as a Member for Vuntut Gwitchin in Yukon's Legislative Assembly and was selected by the Elders to be a spokesperson for the preservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. She has received many awards including the National Wildlife Federation's Conservation and Achievement Award in 1991 and the Goldman Prize for conservation in 2002.

Norma Kassi is co-founder and Director of Indigenous Collaboration at the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research. Over the last 30 years, she has worked on issues related to contaminants, food security, climate change, wildlife protection, youth engagement and building community capacity. Kassi is Vuntut Gwitchin, which means People of the Lakes. Her understanding of traditional, scientific and ecological knowledge, passed on from Elders, has fostered a deep connection to the land and made her an advocate for the Gwitchin people. From 1985-1992, she served as a Member for Vuntut Gwitchin in Yukon's Legislative Assembly and was selected by the Elders to be a spokesperson for the preservation of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. She has received many awards including the National Wildlife Federation's Conservation and Achievement Award in 1991 and the Goldman Prize for conservation in 2002.