25 March 2025 | 16:00 - 17:30 (MDT)
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: UMC Third Floor - 382
Organisers: Keith Musselman (INSTAAR / CU Boulder, USA); Peyton Thomas (INSTAAR / CU Boulder, USA); Julio Postigo (Indiana University, USA)
Zoom link to the Open Session (password-protected)
The password needed to connect to the session will be distributed the day prior to the start of the sessions to all registered conference participants. Further guidelines on how to participate virtually in the ASSW 2025 can be found on the ASSW 2025 website.
Session Description:
Climate change is impacting northern Indigenous communities in many ways through cascading, compounding, and counteracting climatic, hydrologic, and ecologic effects. Numerical models of environmental systems (e.g., climate, Earth System, hydrologic models, etc.) are key tools to evaluate historical conditions and project future change. Especially when paired with Indigenous and/or local knowledge about an environment, model output can be a valuable climate service that has the potential to inform climate adaptation plans to support community resilience. This session seeks contributions from studies that link environmental processes with human aspects of climate change through the combined use of multiple knowledge sources. We invite presentations that merge information from technical climate and/or other environmental modeling efforts with local and Indigenous knowledge, observations, and experience to assess how permafrost, snowpack, groundwater, ecosystems, and/or river conditions in the Arctic may respond to future climate scenarios, and how the changes may impact local and regional communities. Particularly of interest is how such research efforts to address power asymmetries between knowledges systems might facilitate scenario planning and the development of localized adaptation strategies that respond to previous experience with specific events.
Instructions for Speakers: Oral presentations in this session should be at most 12-minutes in length, with an additional 2-3 minutes for questions (unless more detailed instructions are provided by session conveners). See more detailed presenter instructions here.
Oral Presentations:
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unfold_morePredicting Snow Structures Relevant to Reindeer Husbandry — Emma Perkins
Emma Perkins 1; Amanda Lynch 2; Vera Solovyeva 3; David Bailey 4
1 University of Pennsylvania; 2 Brown University, World Meteorological Organization; 3 George Mason University; 4 National Center for Atmospheric ResearchFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Snow conditions in the High North are an important control on wintertime forage availability for reindeer, and under climate change, they are changing rapidly. In the European Arctic, this has the potential to disrupt traditional reindeer herding practices, reindeer health, and local culture (including that of Indigenous communities). This study, a collaboration between an Indigenous Sakha environmental scientist and US climate scientists, develops an assessment of past and future snow characteristics relevant to reindeer health. Climate model and detailed snowpack simulations were performed for 1950 - 2100. Snow characteristic metrics were developed based on Indigenous knowledge of reindeer health and wellbeing requirements. Results show that deep snow becomes less frequent and spring thaw advances, favorable to reindeer. However, icy snow conditions become more frequent, potentially forcing herds from tundra and farmland to forested areas. This suggests policy alternatives that focus on the development and maintenance of migration corridors to allow appropriate movement of reindeer herds.
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unfold_moreAssessing changing cryohydrogeologic conditions with locally-relevant landscape indicators in Nunavut, Canada — Michelle Blade
Michelle Blade 1; Jeffrey McKenzie 1
1 McGill UniversityFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
For those living on continuous permafrost for multiple generations, changes to the winter local waterscape is a novel experience. Past local expert knowledge, ways of knowing, and assessment of land-based hazards have developed based on a regime of limited lateral groundwater movement during winter. Additionally, Arctic climate change prediction models generally do not account for near-surface groundwater processes nor its effects on locally-relevant landscape dynamics and suprapermafrost talik formation. Yet, there is evidence of changing groundwater dynamics - large rivers; for example, are already measuring increased winter drainage. Further, some continuous-permafrost Arctic streams that previously had a cessation of winter baseflow are now flowing year-round. This research study pairs Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit with cryohydrogeological science to identify and assess locally-relevant landscape indicators of winter groundwater movement in the continuous-permafrost region of Nunavut, Canada. Nunavut is the traditional home of the Inuit, who comprise the majority of the population. Winter overland travel primarily consists of snowmobiling and dog sledding. We document and categorize past and present winter drinking water sources and ways of identifying potential winter drinking water source locations in Nunavut. We then analyze available hydrometric station data for changes in winter baseflow, and assess the occurrence and change in groundwater springs, icings, and thin freshwater-ice locations along winter overland travel routes. Combined, these results provide integrated understanding of changing hydrogeologic conditions to one where year-round groundwater flow and resultant landscape dynamic impacts are more common place. Further, results are of a scale, format, topic, and timeframe relevant for local Arctic community resilience decision making.
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unfold_moreMulti-scalar approach towards a holistic understanding of lake level in an agricultural, sub-Arctic landscape — Amanda Gavin
Amanda Gavin 1; Jasmine Saros 1; Kiley Daley 1
1 University of MaineFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Although the disappearance of the Norse settlement in South Greenland has been a topic of interdisciplinary, scientific debate for decades, the impact of anthropogenic climate change on the past, present, and future of Inuit sheep farming communities remains unexplored. Lakes are abundant in South Greenland, where they provide drinking water sources for humans and grazing animals, irrigation sources for hayfields, and hydropower to generate electricity. As sentinels and integrators of climate change, lakes respond quickly to environmental change and record historical climatic, watershed, and in-lake conditions. As such, lakes are an ideal system for evaluating changes within an agricultural system across scales.
From 2019 to 2023, we had a series of conversations with sheep farmers where the uncertainty of drought and extreme weather events and their impact on water systems emerged as major concerns. In this project, we use multiple knowledge sources to understand the drivers of water quality and quantity across temporal scales and develop a predictive tool that is useful for sheep farmers and aids food sovereignty. We use diatom-inferred lake level to reconstruct historical trends in water availability, which will be interwoven with Indigenous Knowledge to understand the impact of lake level changes at a finer scale. High-frequency, continuous lake level sensors paired with weather station data are used to understand drivers on a daily, seasonal, and interannual scale. These multi-scale drivers of lake level will inform a model to predict the role of future climate on water quality and quantity in lakes across a hydrological gradient.
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unfold_moreA traditional calendar in Ulukhaktok to co-design common ground with climate modelers — Patrick Farnole
Patrick Farnole 1; Allen Pogotak 2; Koral Memogana 2; Steven Ferguson 3; Antoine Haddon 1; Ellen Lea 3; Adam Monahan 1; Nadja Steiner 4; Mark Stoller 5
1 University of Victoria; 2 Ulukhaktok; 3 Arctic and Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; 4 Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada; 5 Queen's UniversityFormat: Oral virtual
Abstract:
In Ulukhaktok, NWT, the effects of a warming marine environment are experienced by local Inuit in a variety of ways. These effects, which include seasonal shifts and increased inter-annual variability in addition to longer term trends, influence the occurrence and location of subsistence species and the associated harvesting patterns and methods of local hunters. The ability to document and share knowledge of these changes is one of several steps towards adapting to the challenges of changing oceanic conditions.
Responding to a request from community members of Ulukhaktok, and moved by the desire to weave together Inuit knowledge and Academic scientific research methods, we co-designed a seasonal calendar documenting observations of current seasonal arrivals and harvesting of subsistence species by local hunters. We then linked these ecosystem timings with the major environmental drivers, and analyzed past and future changes with the community using an ensemble of earth system models and regional downscaling of a coupled ocean-sea-ice-biogeochemistry model.
In this presentation we will review the methods and learnings from this 3-years project, highlighting the benefits of starting with a specific community request (a calendar) mixed with open-ended scientific questions. We will go through the co-design phases that led to the actual calendar now used by the community, and review how we can support climate resilience from the perspective of the community of Ulukhaktok. Finally, we will present how we integrated this methodology into the development of a panarctic habitat model for ringed seals.
Poster Presentations (during Poster Exhibit and Session on Wednesday 26 March):
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unfold_moreUnderstanding the changing coast and ocean in Jones Sound (Nunavut) through shared visions and participative research — David Didier
David Didier 1; Erin Bertrand 2; Daniela Marianne Regina Walch 1; Terry Noah 3; Jimmy Qaapik 4; Laisa Audlaluk-Watsko 5; Andrew Hamilton 6; Paul Myers 6
1 Université du Québec à Rimouski, Northern and Arctic Coastal Research Lab; 2 Department of Biology Dalhousie University, Canada Research Chair in Marine Microbial Proteomics; 3 Ausuittuq Adventures; 4 Arctic College, Grise Fiord, Nunavut, Canada; 5 Qikiqtani Inuit Association; 6 University of AlbertaFormat: Poster in-person
Poster number: 425
Abstract:
Rapid climate warming is dramatically altering the nature of Arctic coastlines and adjacent oceans. The community of Ausuittuq (Grise Fiord), ‘the place that never thaws’, is experiencing first-hand the effects of climate change on local infrastructure, travel safety and food security. Over the last decade, community members have noted significant recession of glaciers and erosion of their local beaches, as well as changes in the fiords surrounding their home and hunting grounds. Together, we aim to establish a long-term, community-led observation and monitoring program centered around the co-consideration of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and scientific knowledge to understand ongoing changes in high Arctic coastal environments. Our observations span from the glacier watershed to the ocean, and include a range of instruments (drones, time-lapse cameras, seafloor mapping, current profilers, multi-channel water column loggers, oceanographic moorings) and analyses (numerical models, water quality parameters, and phytoplankton characterization) to understand how meltwater contributions, the land surface, the shoreline, and the coastal ocean are changing. Since 2021, >20% of the community of Ausuittuq has worked with non-indigenous researchers to make these observations. Here we describe 1) the process of co-developing research priorities and questions, 2) the structure of the observation and monitoring program, and 3) some key outcomes to date.
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unfold_moreBridging Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge: A New Era for Arctic Ocean Modeling and Resilience — Claudine Hauri
Claudine Hauri 1; Donna Hauser 1; Remi Pages 1; Kate Hedstrom 2; Charlie Stock 3; Kaja Brix 4; Roberta Glenn 1; Krista Heeringa 1; Libby Logerwell 4; Julie Keister 4
1 International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks; 2 University of Alaska Fairbanks; 3 GFDL NOAA; 4 NOAAFormat: Poster in-person
Poster number: 434
Abstract:
The Arctic is undergoing rapid environmental changes, including marine heatwaves, sea ice loss, harmful algal blooms, and ocean acidification, which pose unprecedented challenges. Marine resource shifts and sea ice declines are putting additional strain on ecosystems including commercial and subsistence fisheries, food security of Indigenous Peoples, and generating additional resource conflicts under current governance structures. Current Arctic monitoring programs are not sufficient to guide sustainable management, leading to precautionary measures like the US Arctic Fishery Management Plan or the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement. Indigenous Knowledge, which has long guided adaptation and conservation, is vital for addressing these changes. We will introduce a newly funded project, developed in partnership with the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto; color: var(--JKqx2); text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> and Indigenous communities, aimed at co-developing an equitable Arctic ocean modeling system that integrates scientific data and observations rooted in Indigenous Knowledge. We will outline our plans to draw from Indigenous observations and Knowledge to evaluate and improve our regional ocean biogeochemical model. This collaborative effort aims to produce more accurate models, strengthen sustainable fisheries management, and establish a framework for equitable resource management that bridges diverse knowledge systems, benefiting coastal Indigenous communities.