Community Engagement in Permafrost Research at the Western Arctic Research Centre, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Hille ◽  
Joel McAlister ◽  
Alice Wilson ◽  
Steve Kokelj
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Delta Region ◽  
Research Programs ◽  
Permafrost Thaw ◽  
The Social ◽  
Western Arctic

<p>The Arctic is experiencing climate warming at a more pronounced rate than other regions. This has significant implications for the thermal stability of permafrost, which strongly depends on the long, cold winters typical of the region. Canada’s western Arctic is typically more sensitive to permafrost thaw than other Arctic regions in Canada, because it is underlain by large regions of ice-rich permafrost that are only protected by a thin layer of organic and mineral soil. As a result, disturbances (i.e. fire, shallow landslides, thermal and mechanical erosion, construction) often lead to the exposure and thaw of the underlying permafrost. Climate-induced permafrost thaw has led to dramatic changes to the landscape, impacting communities, infrastructure, and traditional ways of being. In this region, northern stakeholders have invested in research infrastructure that enables them to actively participate in research, research design and implementation, and lead their own research programs. Since permafrost is intrinsically linked to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of the region, it is critical that local stakeholders be engaged in permafrost research.</p><p>The Western Arctic Research Centre (WARC) is located in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Inuvik is situated in the Beaufort Delta Region of Northwestern Canada, approximately 120km from the Arctic Ocean. A key goal of WARC is to support and conduct research that fosters the social, cultural, and economic prosperity of the people of the Northwest Territories. In response to local concerns, WARC has developed a suite of research programs that focus on the impacts of permafrost thaw on terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems. To ensure that these research programs are responsive to the concerns of northern and Indigenous residents, WARC works in partnership with researchers, communities, government bodies, and Indigenous and co-management organizations. Project partners provide critical feedback on research design, study site selection, and how to communicate research to a northern audience. Furthermore, the Permafrost Information Hub at WARC is working with local organizations to establish community-based permafrost research and monitoring in the Beaufort Delta Region. This includes the development and delivery of training programs for local environmental monitors, increasing capacity in the region to support permafrost research. Northerners need to be involved in permafrost research. How Northerners want to be involved will differ depending on the location within the region and the nature of the research. This emphasizes the need for consistent, open lines of communication between researchers and local partners.</p><p>This oral presentation will outline the steps WARC has taken to engage northern and Indigenous residents in its permafrost research programs, lessons learned, and successes.</p>

‘Take it from the top’: northern conceptions about identity in the western Arctic and beyond

Polar Record ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The South ◽  
Research Project ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Student Researchers

ABSTRACTDuring the last decades the Arctic has become more central on the world stage. However, despite increased interest how much do people really know about ‘the north’ and the ‘northern people’? The aim of this article is to chronicle a research project by students, who saw themselves as northerners, that used video to capture northerners’ definitions of the north, as well as asking the community about what they wanted newcomers and southern Canada to know about the north. The group also embarked on a new discipline of northerners studying ‘the south’. 43 students interviewed 95 people in the Beaufort Delta, Northwest Territories and 25 people in Edmonton, Alberta. The student researchers’ responses and that of their interviewees are some of the most direct messages on how northerners view their identity and that of their fellow southern Canadians. This project created a video tool to share, educate, and commence a dialogue between people about the north straight from the source.

scholarly journals Range Extension of Northern Form Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma malma) to the Upper Arctic Red River Watershed, Northwest Territories, Canada

ARCTIC ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-50
Author(s):  
Kris W.C. Maier ◽  
Neil J. Mochnacz ◽  
Robert Bajno ◽  
Andrew J. Chapelsky ◽  
Peter Rodger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Red River ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Dolly Varden ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Arctic Grayling ◽  
Western Arctic

Northern form Dolly Varden is an anadromous char with significant ecological value found in high-gradient rivers of the Western Arctic. Because of declines in population abundance, Dolly Varden was recently designated as “Special Concern” under the federal Species at Risk Act. This species is also of great cultural and dietary significance to Indigenous Peoples of many communities in the Western Arctic; thus, expanding knowledge of the distribution, biology, and essential habitat is an important priority. We present results of a fisheries survey in the headwaters of the Arctic Red River, Northwest Territories, that focused on confirming the presence of Dolly Varden. Of 143 fish captured among 12 sampling locations, two were Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), 33 were slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus), and 108 were char identified using qualitative and quantitative morphological features. A subsample of 44 char voucher specimens were frozen whole and later identified using a linear discriminant function (LDF) based on meristic counts and morphological measurements, and a mitochondrial DNA genetic marker. LDF scores indicated that char collected in the Arctic Red River were northern form Dolly Varden. Genetic analysis showed that all but one char possessed mitochondrial DNA sequences common in northern form Dolly Varden from Canada. Our results confirm the presence of Dolly Varden in the Arctic Red River headwaters, extending the confirmed known distribution of this taxon in the Northwest Territories approximately 450 km south and 100 km east of previously delimited areas.

scholarly journals N2O dynamics in the western Arctic Ocean during the summer of 2017

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jang-Mu Heo ◽  
Seong-Su Kim ◽  
Sung-Ho Kang ◽  
Eun Jin Yang ◽  
Ki-Tae Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Chukchi Sea ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Western Arctic Ocean ◽  
Deep Layers ◽  
Western Arctic

AbstractThe western Arctic Ocean (WAO) has experienced increased heat transport into the region, sea-ice reduction, and changes to the WAO nitrous oxide (N2O) cycles from greenhouse gases. We investigated WAO N2O dynamics through an intensive and precise N2O survey during the open-water season of summer 2017. The effects of physical processes (i.e., solubility and advection) were dominant in both the surface (0–50 m) and deep layers (200–2200 m) of the northern Chukchi Sea with an under-saturation of N2O. By contrast, both the surface layer (0–50 m) of the southern Chukchi Sea and the intermediate (50–200 m) layer of the northern Chukchi Sea were significantly influenced by biogeochemically derived N2O production (i.e., through nitrification), with N2O over-saturation. During summer 2017, the southern region acted as a source of atmospheric N2O (mean: + 2.3 ± 2.7 μmol N2O m−2 day−1), whereas the northern region acted as a sink (mean − 1.3 ± 1.5 μmol N2O m−2 day−1). If Arctic environmental changes continue to accelerate and consequently drive the productivity of the Arctic Ocean, the WAO may become a N2O “hot spot”, and therefore, a key region requiring continued observations to both understand N2O dynamics and possibly predict their future changes.

scholarly journals Arctic Ocean stratification set by sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse R. Farmer ◽  
Daniel M. Sigman ◽  
Julie Granger ◽  
Ona M. Underwood ◽  
François Fripiat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Bering Strait ◽  
Central Arctic Ocean ◽  
Phytoplankton Productivity ◽  
Nitrate Consumption ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Last Ice Age

AbstractSalinity-driven density stratification of the upper Arctic Ocean isolates sea-ice cover and cold, nutrient-poor surface waters from underlying warmer, nutrient-rich waters. Recently, stratification has strengthened in the western Arctic but has weakened in the eastern Arctic; it is unknown if these trends will continue. Here we present foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes from Arctic Ocean sediments since 35,000 years ago to reconstruct past changes in nutrient sources and the degree of nutrient consumption in surface waters, the latter reflecting stratification. During the last ice age and early deglaciation, the Arctic was dominated by Atlantic-sourced nitrate and incomplete nitrate consumption, indicating weaker stratification. Starting at 11,000 years ago in the western Arctic, there is a clear isotopic signal of Pacific-sourced nitrate and complete nitrate consumption associated with the flooding of the Bering Strait. These changes reveal that the strong stratification of the western Arctic relies on low-salinity inflow through the Bering Strait. In the central Arctic, nitrate consumption was complete during the early Holocene, then declined after 5,000 years ago as summer insolation decreased. This sequence suggests that precipitation and riverine freshwater fluxes control the stratification of the central Arctic Ocean. Based on these findings, ongoing warming will cause strong stratification to expand into the central Arctic, slowing the nutrient supply to surface waters and thus limiting future phytoplankton productivity.

scholarly journals Population living on permafrost in the Arctic

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-38
Author(s):  
Justine Ramage ◽  
Leneisja Jungsberg ◽  
Shinan Wang ◽  
Sebastian Westermann ◽  
Hugues Lantuit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Permafrost Region ◽  
Permafrost Thaw ◽  
Arctic Regions ◽  
High Hazard

AbstractPermafrost thaw is a challenge in many Arctic regions, one that modifies ecosystems and affects infrastructure and livelihoods. To date, there have been no demographic studies of the population on permafrost. We present the first estimates of the number of inhabitants on permafrost in the Arctic Circumpolar Permafrost Region (ACPR) and project changes as a result of permafrost thaw. We combine current and projected populations at settlement level with permafrost extent. Key findings indicate that there are 1162 permafrost settlements in the ACPR, accommodating 5 million inhabitants, of whom 1 million live along a coast. Climate-driven permafrost projections suggest that by 2050, 42% of the permafrost settlements will become permafrost-free due to thawing. Among the settlements remaining on permafrost, 42% are in high hazard zones, where the consequences of permafrost thaw will be most severe. In total, 3.3 million people in the ACPR live currently in settlements where permafrost will degrade and ultimately disappear by 2050.

Comparison of carbon and nitrogen storage in mineral soils of graminoid and shrub tundra sites, western Greenland

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Petrenko ◽  
Julia Bradley-Cook ◽  
Emily M. Lacroix ◽  
Andrew J. Friedland ◽  
Ross A. Virginia
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Soil C ◽  
N Storage ◽  
C Storage ◽  
Arctic Soils ◽  
C Pools ◽  
C And N

Shrub species are expanding across the Arctic in response to climate change and biotic interactions. Changes in belowground carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage are of global importance because Arctic soils store approximately half of global soil C. We collected 10 (60 cm) soil cores each from graminoid- and shrub-dominated soils in western Greenland and determined soil texture, pH, C and N pools, and C:N ratios by depth for the mineral soil. To investigate the relative chemical stability of soil C between vegetation types, we employed a novel sequential extraction method for measuring organo-mineral C pools of increasing bond strength. We found that (i) mineral soil C and N storage was significantly greater under graminoids than shrubs (29.0 ± 1.8 versus 22.5 ± 3.0 kg·C·m−2 and 1.9 ± .12 versus 1.4 ± 1.9 kg·N·m−2), (ii) chemical mechanisms of C storage in the organo-mineral soil fraction did not differ between graminoid and shrub soils, and (iii) weak adsorption to mineral surfaces accounted for 40%–60% of C storage in organo-mineral fractions — a pool that is relatively sensitive to environmental disturbance. Differences in these C pools suggest that rates of C accumulation and retention differ by vegetation type, which could have implications for predicting future soil C pool storage.

Pseudoditrichum mirabile gen. et sp. nov. (Musci: Pseudoditrichaceae fam. nov.), a unique moss from Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories

1974 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-705 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Campbell Steere ◽  
Zennoske Iwatsuki
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
New Genus ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Arctic Circle ◽  
New Family ◽  
Bear Lake ◽  
Evolutionary Level

The name Pseudoditrichum mirabile Steere et Iwatsuki is proposed for a minute moss with leafy stem 1-3 mm high and seta 6 mm long; it was collected on calcareous silt near the Sloan River, Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, only a few miles south of the Arctic Circle. The gametophytic characters agree well with those of the Ditrichaceae, a relatively primitive family, but the peristome is clearly double, with the inner and outer teeth opposite, which thereby indicates a much more advanced phylogenetic position, perhaps at the evolutionary level of the Funariaceae. As the combination of gametophytic and sporophytic characteristics exhibited by this moss does not occur in any existing family of mosses, it is therefore deemed necessary to create the new family Pseudoditrichaceae for the new genus and species described here.

scholarly journals Colonization of the Beaufort Coastal Plain by Beaver (Castor canadensis): A Response to Shrubification of the Tundra?

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S Jung ◽  
Jay Frandsen ◽  
Danny C Gordon ◽  
David H Mossop
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Castor Canadensis ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Beaver Dam ◽  
Winter Food ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Food Cache ◽  
Key Driver ◽  
River Valleys ◽  
American Beaver

A consequence of rapid global warming has been the shrubification (increase in shrub abundance, cover, and biomass) of arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems. Shrubification is likely a key driver of predicted and observed changes in the biodiversity of the Arctic. The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) has a vast distributional range, covering most of north America below the tree line; however, it has not been recorded in tundra habitat of the Beaufort Coastal Plain of Yukon and Alaska. in 2015, we observed a beaver dam, lodge, and winter food cache on the Babbage River in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon, Canada. Local Inuvialuit hunters first observed beavers on two rivers immediately east of the Babbage River in 2008 and 2009. Together, these are the first observations of beavers on the Beaufort Coastal Plain and indicate initial attempts at colonization. Colonization of the Beaufort Coastal Plain by beavers may have been facilitated by shrubification of river valleys on the tundra of northern Yukon and adjacent Alaska, which is a consequence of rapid climate warming in the western Arctic.

An early nineteenth century meteorological register from the eastern Canadian Arctic

Polar Record ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (178) ◽  
pp. 335-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Kay
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Northwest Passage ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Modern Experience ◽  
Eastern Canadian Arctic

AbstractSignificant warming in the Arctic is anticipated for doubled-CO2 scenarios, but temperatures in the eastern Canadian Arctic have not yet exhibited that trend in the last few decades. The spatial juxtaposition of the winter station in 1822–1823 of William Edward Parry's Northwest Passage expedition with the modern Igloolik Research Centre of the Science Institute of the Northwest Territories affords an opportunity for historical reconstruction and comparison. Parry's data are internally consistent. The association of colder temperatures with westerly and northerly winds, and wanner temperatures with easterly and southerly winds, is statistically significant. Temperatures are not exactly comparable between the two time periods because of differences in instrumentation, exposure, and frequency of readings. Nevertheless, in 1822–1823, November and December appear to have been cold and January to March mild compared to modern experience. Anomalously, winds were more frequently northerly (and less frequently westerly) in the latter months than in recent observations. Parry recorded two warm episodes in mid-winter, but, overall, it appears that the winter of 1822–1823 was not outside the range of modern experience.

Inuit vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan Pearce ◽  
Barry Smit ◽  
Frank Duerden ◽  
James D. Ford ◽  
Annie Goose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Climate Change Research ◽  
Climate Conditions

ABSTRACTClimate change is already being experienced in the Arctic with implications for ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. This paper argues that an assessment of community vulnerability to climate change requires knowledge of past experience with climate conditions, responses to climatic variations, future climate change projections, and non-climate factors that influence people's susceptibility and adaptive capacity. The paper documents and describes exposure sensitivities to climate change experienced in the community of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories and the adaptive strategies employed. It is based on collaborative research involving semi-structured interviews, secondary sources of information, and participant observations. In the context of subsistence hunting, changes in temperature, seasonal patterns (for example timing and nature of the spring melt), sea ice and wind dynamics, and weather variability have affected the health and availability of some species of wildlife important for subsistence and have exacerbated risks associated with hunting and travel. Inuit in Ulukhaktok are coping with these changes by taking extra precautions when travelling, shifting modes of transportation, travel routes and hunting areas to deal with changing trail conditions, switching species harvested, and supplementing their diet with store bought foods. Limited access to capital resources, changing levels of traditional knowledge and land skills, and substance abuse were identified as key constraints to adaptation. The research demonstrates the need to consider the perspectives and experiences of local people for climate change research to have practical relevance to Arctic communities such as for the development and promotion of adaptive strategies.

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