New Movie Explores Integrating Native Knowledge and Western Science to Understand Waning Arctic Sea Ice
WHAT: Launch of Ice Edge, a documentary about the co-production of understanding that reveals the forces behind disappearing sea ice and the results on the Native Village of Kotzebue, northwest Alaska. The occasion will consist of clips from the film; conversation by Iñupiaq seniors, researchers and the filmmaker; and audience Q&A.
WHEN: Thursday, January 27, 10-11:30 am Alaska time, 2-3:30 pm US Eastern
WHERE: The Earth Institutes Sustain What webcast. Viewing links on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn will be added on January 21.
View the motion picture ahead of time and join us with questions: https://youtu.be/P9RzfGtLWHo
Roswell Schaeffer Sr., an Iñupiaq elder and hunter from Kotzebue and coauthor of a current research study of ice-season modifications, searches for bearded seals, May 2019. (Courtesy Sarah Betcher, Farthest North Films).
Under human-driven climate change, the Arctic is warming much faster than the world as a whole. This is disrupting environments, landscapes and seascapes that indigenous neighborhoods have actually depended upon for countless generations.
Five years earlier, facing momentous modifications in coastal sea ice, Iñupiaq citizens of the Native Village of Kotzebue, together with scientists from Columbia University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, co-developed concerns to comprehend changes going on within Kotzebue Sound, and how the neighborhoods future might be impacted by climate modification. The project, called Ice Bridges, or Ikaaġvik Sikukun in the Iñupiaq language, blended indigenous observations, monitoring from aerial drones, geophysical measurements within the ice and water, and ocean and marine mammal science to attend to concerns created through this discussion. The very first peer-reviewed research studies have been published, and a 14-part movie series on the effort has actually been offered on YouTube.
In this unique Sustain What episode from the Columbia Climate School, we celebrate the launch of the feature film, produced by Sarah Betcher of Farthest North Films. The film chronicles the years-long study and the relationships it forged. It checks out lessons that can inform efforts around the world to bridge regional and western science when tackling obstacles where the impacts of environment modification are biggest.
Seals are essential to the regional diet plan, so these changes have significant implications for residents. Seals usually rest on seasonal sea ice in this location, but later formation and earlier separation of the ice have significantly compressed the open season. On top of that, flooding on top of the ice surface has actually lowered seal habitat.
One new paper just recently published from the project reveals that over the previous 17 years, seal open season has actually shrunk one day or more each year, and that seal environment itself is shrinking as the sea ice declines. A second paper demonstrates that the decrease in seal environment is due not just to loss of ice cover however to the staying ice getting thinner. This is leading to surface flooding that can swamp seal burrows as the weight of accumulated snow depresses the ice below the waterline. A third paper confirms that ice loss is driven by the vertical rise of heat from the ocean, and shows that the outflow from 2 major rivers is a vital control on seaside ice in the area, assisting to insulate the ice from underlying ocean heat during winter season, but driving ice breakup (and therefore initiating the seal hunt) throughout the spring.
The film provides a comprehensive view of these truths for both the natural environment and the native locals. Images in the 80-minute film were taken from the air, on and under the ice, and in Kotzebue itself.
Guests at the launch will consist of filmmaker Sarah Betcher; Iñupiat Elder Advisory Council members Ross Schaeffer, Bobby Schaeffer and Cyrus Harris (contingent on schedule); Alex Whiting, environmental program director of the Native Village of Kotzebue; Donna Hauser, marine mammal scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Christopher Zappa, oceanographer at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia Climate School. Moderated by Andrew Revkin, establishing director of the Columbia Climate Schools Initiative on Communication and Sustainability, and host of the SustainWhat webcast.
The research and the movie were funded by a $3.7 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Further research study is now underway in Kotzebue to investigate changes in the seaside waters.
RESOURCES:.
Watch the entire motion picture on YouTube.
Ikaaġvik Sikukun/ Ice Bridges job site.
Q&A with Columbia oceanographer Chris Zappa.
Grant announcement from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Filmmaker Sarah Betchers site.
Researchers and Native People Jointly Study Sea-Ice Declines State of the Planet.
A brand-new Indigenous-led research study reveals how ice loss is altering seal hunts, Arctic Today.
Check out more than 200 Sustain What episodes
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5 years ago, dealing with momentous modifications in coastal sea ice, Iñupiaq homeowners of the Native Village of Kotzebue, together with scientists from Columbia University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks, co-developed questions to understand changes going on within Kotzebue Sound, and how the communitys future might be impacted by climate change. The job, called Ice Bridges, or Ikaaġvik Sikukun in the Iñupiaq language, blended indigenous observations, monitoring from aerial drones, geophysical measurements within the ice and water, and ocean and marine mammal science to attend to concerns created through this discussion. Seals usually rest on seasonal sea ice in this area, but later development and earlier break up of the ice have actually considerably compressed the hunting season. A second paper demonstrates that the decrease in seal habitat is due not only to loss of ice cover but to the remaining ice getting thinner. A 3rd paper validates that ice loss is driven by the vertical increase of heat from the ocean, and reveals that the outflow from two significant rivers is a vital control on seaside ice in the region, helping to insulate the ice from underlying ocean heat throughout winter, however driving ice separation (and hence initiating the seal hunt) throughout the spring.