Suchergebnisse

Originating from a series of workshops held at the Alaska Forum of the Fourth International Polar Year, this interdisciplinary volume addresses a host of current concerns regarding the ecology and rapid transformation of the arctic. Concentrating on the most important linked social-ecological systems, including fresh water, marine resources, and oil and gas development, this volume explores opportunities for sustainable development from a variety of perspectives, among them social sciences, natural and applied sciences, and the arts. Individual chapters highlight expressions of climate change

The need for data from an Arctic observing network to help stakeholders with planning and action is generally recognized. Two key research concerns arise: (1) potential contrasts between fundamental and applied science in the design of an observing system, and (2) development of best practices to ensure that stakeholder needs both inform and can be met from such an observing system. We propose a framework based on the concept of sea-ice system services (SISS) to meet these challenges and categorize the ways in which stakeholders perceive, measure, and use sea ice. Principal service categories are (1) climate regulator, marine hazard, and coastal buffer; (2) transportation and use as a platform; (3) cultural services obtained from the "icescape"; and (4) support of food webs and biological diversity. Our research focuses on cases of ice as platform and marine hazard in Arctic Alaska. We identify the information for each SISS category that users need to track, forecast, and adapt to changes. The resulting framework can address multiple information needs and priorities, integrate information over the relevant spatio-temporal scales, and provide an interface with local knowledge. To plan for an integrated Arctic Observing Network, we recommend a consortium-based approach with the academic community as an impartial intermediary that uses the SISS concept to identify common priorities across the range of sea-ice users. ; Il est généralement reconnu qu'il faudrait avoir accès à des données prélevées à partir d'un réseau d'observation de l'Arctique pour aider les parties prenantes à planifier et à prendre les mesures qui s'imposent. Il existe deux grandes sources de préoccupations à ce sujet : 1) les contrastes potentiels entre la science fondamentale et la science appliquée en matière de conception d'un système d'observation; et 2) la mise au point des meilleures pratiques pour s'assurer qu'un tel système d'observation informe les parties prenantes et réponde à leurs besoins. Nous proposons un cadre de référence fondé sur le concept des services d'un système de glace de mer (SISS) pour relever ces défis et catégoriser les manières dont les parties prenantes perçoivent, mesurent et utilisent la glace de mer. Les principales catégories de service sont les suivantes : 1) régulateur climatique, obstacle marin et tampon côtier; 2) moyen de transport et plateforme; (3) services culturels obtenus à partir du « paysage glaciaire »; et 4) soutien du réseau trophique et de la diversité biologique. Notre recherche porte plus précisément sur les cas où la glace sert de plateforme et présente un obstacle marin dans l'Arctique alaskien. Nous identifions l'information que les utilisateurs doivent repérer, prévoir et adapter aux changements dans le cas de chaque catégorie du SISS. Le cadre de référence qui en résulte peut répondre à de multiples besoins et priorités en matière d'information, intégrer l'information sur des échelles spatiotemporelles pertinentes et fournir une interface avec les connaissances locales. Afin de planifier en vue de l'établissement d'un réseau intégré d'observation de l'Arctique, nous recommandons la formation d'un genre de consortium composé de chercheurs, consortium servant d'intermédiaire impartial utilisant le concept SISS pour déterminer les priorités qui sont communes aux usagers de la glace de mer.

This paper explores whether fundamental differences exist between urban and rural vulnerability to climate-induced changes in the fire regime of interior Alaska. We further examine how communities and fire managers have responded to these changes and what additional adaptations could be put in place. We engage a variety of social science methods, including demographic analysis, semi-structured interviews, surveys, workshops and observations of public meetings. This work is part of an interdisciplinary study of feedback and interactions between climate, vegetation, fire and human components of the Boreal forest social–ecological system of interior Alaska. We have learned that although urban and rural communities in interior Alaska face similar increased exposure to wildfire as a result of climate change, important differences exist in their sensitivity to these biophysical, climate-induced changes. In particular, reliance on wild foods, delayed suppression response, financial resources and institutional connections vary between urban and rural communities. These differences depend largely on social, economic and institutional factors, and are not necessarily related to biophysical climate impacts per se. Fire management and suppression action motivated by political, economic or other pressures can serve as unintentional or indirect adaptation to climate change. However, this indirect response alone may not sufficiently reduce vulnerability to a changing fire regime. More deliberate and strategic responses may be required, given the magnitude of the expected climate change and the likelihood of an intensification of the fire regime in interior Alaska.