The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of June 11, 2018

Arctic voices getting louder, but is anyone really listening?

At the 2018 G7 Summit held just last week in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada made strong goals to slow warming and work towards clean energy. Despite this pledge, some feel the true urgency of the situation is not getting through to leaders, especially in light of the Canadian government’s recent decision to purchase the Kinder Morgan pipeline (Scientific American). Critics believe that Canadian decision makers are forgetting their responsibilities towards protecting the Arctic.

Take 1: The voices of Indigenous people and other Arctic residents are being raised on environmental issues through access to a growing number of platforms. For example, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services will include Arctic indigenous leaders to ensure that their expertise and knowledge is represented in their upcoming Global Biodiversity Assessment 2019 (EurekAlert). The problem is that despite “hearing” their concerns, many governments are not acting with the conviction needed to actually address many of the important issues raised by northern communities.

How bubbles can help scientists understand melting glaciers

Scientists are starting to use a new metric to study melting sea ice: sound. The technique involves recording the sound created by air bubbles escaping from ice as it melts. Researchers hope to find a way to use bubble recordings to determine exactly where, how quickly, and what type of ice is melting (BOAS). Listen to a clips comparing the melting sounds of a glacier and an iceberg here.

Take 2: This technique could be another valuable remote sensing tool to study the Arctic, which is expensive for researchers to access. Although record sea ice declines have been recently recorded using other forms of remote sensing, some areas are retaining more ice than others. In a related effort, in Canada, scientists are studying some of the last remaining multi-year sea ice. Their research examines the species living around multi-year ice and their behaviours, while this ice still remains (CBC).

The race against time to save migratory seabirds

According to Scotland’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, large declines in migratory seabird populations have taken place off the coast of Scotland, where many migratory birds nest and feed. These include arctic species like puffins, Arctic terns, and guillemots (The Guardian). The population declines are being blamed on climate change and other human-related environmental changes such as plastic pollution (The Press and Journal).

Take 3: Understanding the current state of seabirds is difficult because of the geographic distance and national borders that separate researchers from each other and the birds, but we do know that a lot of species are suffering, despite refuges and conservation efforts (Shetland News, KTOO Public Media, The Guardian). When the threat to a migratory species is localized, it can be difficult to organize cross-border conservation efforts, but it is possible. Unfortunately, when climate change is the main issue, it is much harder to implement conservation strategies because the population decline is a symptom of a disruption in the global ecosystem.

Shipping standards introduced for Bering Strait

The United States and Russia have agreed on a set of standards regarding shipping off Northwest Alaska in the Bering Strait. Unlike most areas of international shipping, the Bering Strait had no regulations for shipping vessels, meaning that there were no recognized shipping lanes or areas to avoid, leading to what many believed to be an unnecessarily dangerous situation. The risk was high for not only the vessels but also the diverse wildlife in the area that would have been affected by any incident (KTOO).

Take 4: To those unfamiliar with the region, it may be shocking that no shipping regulation previously existed for the Bering Strait, but more ships enter the English Channel in a day than the Bering Strait in a season. With the changes taking place in the Arctic, the Strait should see more usage and will need more regulation. The new standards take effect on December 1st, 2018 and should go a long way to reducing the risk to ships and wildlife (KTOO).

Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto showcases art, culture, and fashion

Toronto, ON, hosted its first Indigenous Fashion Week last week. Similar events have been organized for years, but this marked the largest and most organized event yet (The Conversation). Designers, artists, and activists from the United States, Canada, and Greenland attended to showcase runway looks and also traditional art. The event also included various panels that discussed Indigenous history as well as Indigenous issues of the future (CBC).

Take 5: The four nights of runway shows were each themed with a different season of the moon, but the event was about much more than the runways. While most fashion weeks seek to showcase clothing for buyers and retailers, the organizers of Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto wanted to create a space where clothing design could be appreciated as an art form. Organizers also wanted to encourage Indigenous self-representation in the face of cultural appropriation (CBC).