The Politics of Color in the Arctic Landscape: Blackness at the Center of Frederic Edwin Church's Aurora Borealis and the Legacy of 19th-Century Limits of Representation

ARTMargins ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 6-26
Author(s):  
Noelle Belanger ◽  
Anna Westerstahl Stenport
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Western Tradition ◽  
Urban Modernity ◽  
Oil Painting ◽  
Aurora Borealis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Circumpolar North ◽  
Rich History

American painter Frederic Edwin Church's monumental oil painting Aurora Borealis (1865) presents a stark contrast to the dominant Western tradition of representing the Arctic as monochrome and static. This article discusses how the impressive palette of Aurora Borealis and its black semi-circle in the center allow for a revisionist understanding of Church's contributions to a rich history of Arctic representation, including in an age of climate change and rapidly melting ice. The article connects Aurora Borealis to emerging lens technologies—especially photography and astronomy, and later the cinema and composite satellite imagery, to argue for circumpolar north as globally connected—then, and now. The article furthermore draws connections to the nineteenth-century trade in pigments, the interconnected routes of slavery, and cultural modes of urban modernity.

scholarly journals Making Sense of the Aurora: A Research Project

Nordlit ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Robert Marc Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Aurora Borealis ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
Rational Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
Natural Philosophers ◽  
The Cold War

The article provides an introduction to a on-going research project based at University of Tromsø that seeks to analyze the history of efforts to make sense of the aurora borealis from the early 1700s through to the Cold War. Following brilliant displays of the northern lights in the early eighteenth century, natural philosophers strove to explain this phenomenon that evoked widespread fear and superstition. It was not until well into the twentieth century that consensual explanation emerged for this, one of the great enigmas in the history of science. From the start, the quest to explain the aurora borealis became enmeshed with patriotic science and nationalist sentiments. The history of efforts to understand the nature and cause of the aurora poses a number of thematic problems. Being a fleeting and at times rapidly changing phenomenon, only occasionally seen south of far-northern latitudes, the aurora needed to be constituted as an object able to be brought into the domain of rational science. Observational accounts of the aurora came most often from by personsliving or travelling in the far north or in the Arctic, but these persons were generally not trained scientists: Whose witnessing counted and how was authority negotiated among professional scientists and amateurs?

scholarly journals Coral Reef Conservation Solution-Scape White Paper

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia Wenger ◽  
Gabby Ahmadia ◽  
Jorge Gabriel Álvarez-Romero ◽  
Megan Barnes ◽  
Jessica L. Blythe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coral Reef ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Diverse Cultures ◽  
Rich History ◽  
Coral Reef Conservation

In the face of climate change, warming oceans, and repeated mass coral bleaching, coral reef conservation is at a timely crossroads. There is a new urgency to support and strengthen a rich history of conservation partnerships and actions, while also building toward new actions to meet unparalleled global threats. The goal of this white paper is to synthesize and summarize the diversity of tools, approaches and solutions for coral reef conservation implemented to date and to understand the enabling conditions that lead to successful coral reef conservation. Framed as a “solution-scape,” this white paper seeks to support ongoing decisions to strengthen existing assets and build new investments into portfolios of global coral reef conservation that are equitable and aligned with diverse cultures and worldviews. We conclude with 10 recommendations that focus on equitable conservation practices that will align successful interventions with diverse cultures and worldviews, help ensure that the right decisions are made, and strengthen investments into conservation portfolios that will lead to successful coral reef conservation.

scholarly journals Climate change and Indigenous mental health in the Circumpolar North: A systematic review to inform clinical practice

2022 ◽  
pp. 136346152110666
Author(s):  
Laurence Lebel ◽  
Vincent Paquin ◽  
Tiff-Annie Kenny ◽  
Christopher Fletcher ◽  
Lucie Nadeau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Circumpolar North ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change is disproportionally impacting the Circumpolar North, with particular impacts among Indigenous populations. Environmental changes are felt in many aspects of daily life of Northern communities, including both physical and mental health. Thus, health institutions from around the Arctic must meet emerging needs, while the phenomenon remains marginal to their southern counterparts. In this systematic review, we aimed to review current scientific knowledge on the mental health impacts of climate change in Indigenous Peoples across the Circumpolar North. Seven databases were searched. Original peer-reviewed research articles were included if they addressed links between climate change and mental health in Arctic or Subarctic Indigenous Populations. After extraction, data were synthesized using thematic analysis. Of the 26 articles that met inclusion criteria, 16 focused on Canadian Inuit communities and 21 were exclusively qualitative. Being on the land was identified as a central determinant of wellbeing. Immediate impacts of climate change on mental health were felt through restricted mobility and disrupted livelihoods. Effects on mental health were further felt through changes in culture and identity, food insecurity, interpersonal stress and conflicts, and housing problems. Various ways in how communities and individuals are coping with these effects were reported. Understanding climate-related pathways of mental health risks in the Arctic is crucial to better identify vulnerable groups and to foster resilience. Clinicians can play a role in recognizing and providing support for patients affected by these disruptions. Policies sensitive to the climate–mental health relationship must be advocated for.

scholarly journals Constructing the “New” Arctic: The Future of the Circumpolar North in a Changing Global Order

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 6-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. R. Young
Keyword(s):  
International Society ◽  
Peripheral Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
History Of ◽  
Circumpolar North ◽  
The Cold War

Like all spatially delimited regions in international society, the Arctic is socially constructed. Political and economic considerations play prominent roles as determinants of the region’s boundaries, the identity of those states regarded as Arctic states, and the nature of the interactions between the Arctic and the outside world. From this perspective the recent history of the Arctic divides into two distinct periods: the late 1980s through 2007 and 2007 to the present. As the cold war faded, the Arctic became a peripheral region of declining importance in global political calculations. No one challenged the dominance of the eight Arctic states in regional affairs, and the Arctic Council focused on regional concerns relating to environmental protection and sus tainable development. Today, by contrast, the ‘new’ Arctic is a focus of intense glo bal interest, largely because climate change is proceeding more rapidly in this region than anywhere else on Earth with global consequences and because the increasing accessibility of the Arctic’s natural resources has generated enhanced interest on the part of outside actors. As a result, Arctic issues have merged into global issues, making the region a prominent arena for the interplay of geopolitical forces. Cooperative arrangements established during the first period (e.g. the Arctic Council) may require adjustment to operate effectively in the ‘new’ Arctic. Treated as a case study, the Arctic story provides an illuminating lens through which to analyze the forces that shape thinking about the nature of regions in international society and the role of cooperative arrangements at the regional level.

scholarly journals Biographical Introduction, Summary of Contents (Danish original), Summary of Contents (German edition) and Summary of Contents (English edition)

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Per Pippin Aspaas
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
English Edition ◽  
Aurora Borealis ◽  
History Of ◽  
German Edition

The seventh volume in the series consists of extracts from Erich Pontoppidan's Natural History of Norway, originally published in Danish in 1752 and soon followed by a German (1753) and an English edition (1755). All three editions are included, with extracts covering Pontoppidan's treatment of the aurora borealis and closely related subjects. They are introduced by a biographical essay and summaries of contents by Per Pippin Aspaas from UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

scholarly journals Ancient DNA and human history

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (23) ◽  
pp. 6380-6387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Montgomery Slatkin ◽  
Fernando Racimo
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Past ◽  
Early Modern Humans ◽  
History Of ◽  
Demographic Patterns ◽  
Rich History

We review studies of genomic data obtained by sequencing hominin fossils with particular emphasis on the unique information that ancient DNA (aDNA) can provide about the demographic history of humans and our closest relatives. We concentrate on nuclear genomic sequences that have been published in the past few years. In many cases, particularly in the Arctic, the Americas, and Europe, aDNA has revealed historical demographic patterns in a way that could not be resolved by analyzing present-day genomes alone. Ancient DNA from archaic hominins has revealed a rich history of admixture between early modern humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans, and has allowed us to disentangle complex selective processes. Information from aDNA studies is nowhere near saturation, and we believe that future aDNA sequences will continue to change our understanding of hominin history.

scholarly journals Aurora borealis and the arctic climate change: is there any relation?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
El. Kotrotsiou ◽  
St. Anastassopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Solar Activity ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Proton Density ◽  
Aurora Borealis ◽  
Solar Storms ◽  
Arctic Ice ◽  
Arctic Climate Change ◽  
Clear Relation

In our study we tested the hypothesis that one of the causes of climate change could also be the recently observed solar hyperactivity, since it differentiates the way clouds are formed. We analyzed, from specific databases, the speed (km/s) and the proton density (p/cm3) of the solar storms in the atmosphere along with the ambient temperature and the ice extent in the arctic over the last eleven (11) years. Our study indicates indeed an explicit increase of the speed and the density of the solar wind. A not so definite analogy between the temperature’s increase and the limitation of the arctic ice extent is also noticed. Yet, the period studied is short to establish a clear relation between the rise of temperature with the enhanced solar activity. A further investigation should be followed, documenting values of more solar activity and climate change parameters during longer periods of recent time to make safe conclusions.

Origin and life history of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) near their northernmost oceanic limit

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 1740-1746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne J. Jensen ◽  
Sten Karlsson ◽  
Peder Fiske ◽  
Lars Petter Hansen ◽  
Gunnel M. Østborg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Atlantic Salmon ◽  
Salmo Salar ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Genetic Assignment ◽  
Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Profiles ◽  
Rule Out

138 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) captured in the Advent Fjord off Svalbard were genetically assigned to two main clusters of European salmon. Two-thirds were assigned to salmon rivers in Finnmark (the northernmost county in Norway) and the rest to salmon rivers further south in Norway. The genetic assignment was based on genetic profiles from 60 Norwegian rivers. The two clusters correspond to two larger genetic groupings: the Barents–White seas and Atlantic groupings. Thus, we cannot rule out other populations from these groupings as sources of Atlantic salmon at Svalbard. Svalbard salmon assigned to the two genetic groupings differed in ecological and phenological traits, with highest smolt age and lowest postsmolt growth in the Finnmark salmon cluster. High smolt ages in both groups, however, suggest a northern origin of most individuals in the sample. Although Atlantic salmon have sporadically been observed in the Arctic Ocean at earlier times, the high abundance outlined here seems to be a recent phenomenon, suggesting a northward penetration caused by climate change.

A Well-Ordered Thing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gordin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Periodic Table ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Classic Work ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements. Generally, little else has been known about him. This book is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time. As the book reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure. From his attack on Spiritualism to his failed voyage to the Arctic and his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip, this is the story of an extraordinary maverick. The ideals that shaped his work outside science also led Mendeleev to order the elements and, eventually, to engineer one of the most fascinating scientific developments of the nineteenth century. This book is a classic work that tells the story of one of the world's most important minds.

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