The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of November 1, 2021
Prime Minister Boris Johnson Suggests Arctic-Ice Melt Can Be Beneficial for the UK While Hosting International Climate Summit
As reported by The Independent on November 3, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested during a government meeting that the melting of the Arctic ice sheet can create “opportunities” for the UK. The Prime Minister told the Members of Parliament (MP) present on Wednesday afternoon that “the retreat of the ice towards the North Pole”, can open new sea routes that will benefit Scottish ports. Boris Johnson made the comments during a statement to the UK parliament about progress in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, where he is encouraging world leaders to commit to stricter climate targets in his role as summit host. (The Independent)
Take 1: COP26 is a critical global moment to intervene in the course towards climate catastrophe we find ourselves steadily ploughing towards. As the conference host, Johnson has urged for COP26 to be a climate “turning point.” This rhetoric now rings dangerously hollow. How are world leaders meant to be convinced that climate change is an existentially serious matter, when a self-presented climate-hero has flippantly joined the ranks of those treating potential climate devastation as an opportunistic contingency plan? Johnson’s comment, however offhand, brings him in league with similar comments by Russian president Putin, who has welcomed the benefits of climate change for improving high-latitude agriculture and easing lucrative northern shipping routes. Mr Johnson’s comment speaks to the broader treatment of the Arctic during COP26. Even though scientists and Indigenous leaders have desperately warned the global leaders gathered at the summit that the Arctic is bearing the brunt of global warming, the region has continued to find itself side-lined from concrete action. Johnson is among several leaders who play at climate advocacy when beneficial. For instance, the new Norwegian Prime Minister declared during his speech that honouring the 1.5 degree target is “urgent,” while conveniently failing to mention his stubborn insistence on more oil and gas extraction in the Arctic. Yet, everyone should be concerned about the changing Arctic: if we lose it, we lose the globe, and this is an outcome no amount of shipping routes or oil fields will counteract. (Bellona, Eye on the Arctic, New York Times, Politico, The Independent)
China Successfully Deploys Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in Arctic Ocean
China has successfully used a new model of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for near-seabed observation for the first time in the Arctic, Chinese state-owned People’s Daily Online announced on October 30. The AUV technology, called Tansuo 4500, was originally developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation (SIA) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences for use in the tropical Pacific Ocean. To adapt Tansuo 4500 to the specific challenges of the Arctic ice-covered marine environment, the research team designed a new under-ice retrieval technology, highly visible emergency beacon, and upgraded the troubleshooting program. The AUV data collection formed part of the country’s 12th scientific expedition to the Arctic organised by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources, which was completed in late September after large-scale high-resolution investigation in the Chukchi Sea. (Japan Forward, Japan Forward, People’s Daily Online)
Take 2: Although the Arctic is a source of great scientific interest, much of it remains unstudied. Traditional sea-ice surveying requires scientists to drill holes in the ice, a method both historically hazardous in addition to highly inefficient. Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), however, are not limited by human constraints; capable of accessing new while conducting broader, deeper, and longer investigations. This technology opens a new realm of opportunities for observing subjects as diverse as under-ice morphology, thermohaline circulation, and even phytoplankton blooms, simultaneously helping to answer long-standing fundamental questions about the dynamics of Arctic environmental systems. Nevertheless, the difficult conditions of the region can wreak havoc on even the most sophisticated of operations. Where else in the world does your research equipment risk getting frozen, disappearing under the ice, or even being eaten by polar bears? Many Arctic (and near-Arctic) countries have been trying to adapt UUV technology for decades. Yet, most countries are still stuck at the stage of prototypes; hampered by tethering cables, limited range, and short battery lives. China’s free-flying AUV places it at the frontline of Arctic observation. However, although the Chinese state media frames this as a breakthrough purely for the benefit of environmental science, it is important to also consider how this technology fulfils a dual purpose- equally suitable for undersea reconnaissance, mine identification, and anti-submarine warfare. As in many other Chinese technological industries, the state plays a leading role in undersea vehicle development. This is a technology, which China has already been quick to militarise further south. AUVs will join a cutting-edge network of sea-borne and space-based remote sensing technology operated by China in the Arctic, introducing an undersea element to what can be interpreted as the building of a formidable strategic wall in an area of increasing Chinese economic and security interests. (High North News, Inside Unmanned Systems, Journal of Glaciology, The Maritime Executive)
Animated Film by Inuk Filmmaker Continues to Make Waves in Film Industry
An animated short film by renowned Nunavut filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk was awarded the Live Action Short Award (LASA) at the recent imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival on October 24, Nunatsiaq News reported October 29. The 20-minute stop-motion animation ‘Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice’ is an adaption of a traditional Inuit story from the North Baffin region and is jointly produced by the Indigenous-owned Kingulliit Productions and Taqqut Productions media companies. This is the latest award for the film, which has already won the FIPRESCI award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, as well as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Award for Best International Short Film since its release earlier this year. (Arctic Today, Nunatsiaq News)
Take 3: As much as an award for Zacharias Kunuk, this is a win for Indigenous-produced media. Increasing critical appreciation of Inuit creativity is affording greater visibility to Indigenous creators alongside larger platforms with which to share their perspectives to new audiences. Kunuk told Nunatsiaq News in the Summer that this film is his personal attempt to bring attention to a part of Inuit culture “hidden by colonialism,” a sentiment made particularly poignant when his win coincided closely with Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This award is also particularly significant because imagineNATIVE is the world’s largest festival dedicated exclusively to works made by Indigenous content creators, highlighting both the issue of authentic representation and the need to provide tangible opportunities for Indigenous Arctic writers, directors, and producers. While Arctic Peoples are now gaining attention in international media, their representation has been historically limited by an external gaze. It may seem strange to concentrate on this cultural disparity at a time when other Indigenous inequalities in education, health, and legal treatment are so apparent but films and other popular media are powerful. Their easily consumable narratives create perceptions that can be static and damaging. Visual sovereignty is an underappreciated but critical component of Indigenous self-representation. With the LASA award given to The Shaman’s Apprentice now qualifying the film for an Oscar nomination (which would be the first nomination for an Indigenous artist from above the Arctic circle since Pathfinder in 1987!), it is clear Arctic Indigenous content creators are successfully paving the way for their stories to be told to audiences larger than ever – but on their own terms. (Aperture, Capital Current, Screen Daily, The Walrus, Variety)
Russia Chooses Northern Sea Route to Ship Cargo to Bangladesh
Russian state-owned nuclear enterprise Rosatom announced on November 2 that its nuclear-powered container carrier ‘Sevmorput’ has departed for Bangladesh, the Russian News Agency TASS reports. The nuclear-powered container carrier will deliver cargo to the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) west of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The current destination is port city Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, from where the cargo will be reloaded to another vessel for the final leg of transport to Bangladesh. The voyage from St. Petersburg, around Scandinavia, and then across the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to Vladivostok will take around 25 days in total. (High North News, TASS, The Barents Observer)
Take 4: Although this story might initially seem indistinguishable from the usual slew of northern journeys the media has covered as evidencing the inevitable domination of Russia’s NSR as a shipping route, with a closer look one realises this is in fact quite an unusual voyage. Putin has banked on boosting commercial transport in these waters in tandem with Arctic ice-melt, and the route has generated much hubbub as “the shortcut between Europe and Asia.” However, this voyage is no shortcut. While the nuclear-powered ‘Sevmorput’ is technically capable of navigating without the assistance of icebreakers, winter ice-formation means that use of the NSR remains strongly discouraged this time of the year. Not only will sailing here be substantially more difficult than sailing through alternative open waters, but the route actually adds time and distance compared to sailing the same cargo via the Suez Canal (in fact, 3,200 nautical miles more!) This seemingly bizarre decision is in likelihood calculated. With the Bangladeshi NPP also operated by Rosatom, use of its own ship might make sense from an economical point of view. Alternatively, as the institution in charge of NSR development, Rosatom might be under pressure to deliver on the high traffic expectations ordered by Putin. Above all, Russia might just be keen to demonstrate to an incredulous international audience just how little it is willing to bend to cooperate with others. (High North News)
Scientists Find Mid-Latitude Burning Contributing to Arctic Black Carbon
As covered by Phys.org, a study published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics on November 4 revealed that biomass burning at mid-latitudes is strongly correlated with black carbon (BC) aerosol abundance in the Arctic. The Japanese-German research team from Nagoya University, the University of Tokyo, and the Alfred Wegener Institute measured vertical profiles of BC mass concentration up to 5 km high in north-eastern Greenland during 2018 as part of the Polar Airborne Measurements and Arctic Regional Climate Model simulation Project (PAMARCMiP). Statistically comparing the data to previous datasets and satellite observations, the team identified Eurasian landscape fires as the primary factor for the interannual variation in Arctic BC abundance. The study concludes that these emissions can influence the amount of Arctic BC and its radiative impacts up to three times more than suggested by previous models. (Phys.org)
Take 5: Black carbon is the dark horse of pollutants, with its major impacts on near-term climate and human health only gaining attention in the last decade. The Arctic has borne the brunt of the burden, with concentrations growing faster compared to the rest of the world. This is a particular problem because BC contributes to greatly enhanced rates of ice melt: when soot darkens icy surfaces and lowers local albedo, the surface temperature of the cryosphere increases as a result. If unchecked, this phenomenon poses a severe risk not only to the Arctic environment and those that depend on it, but to the entire planet. This is also a dangerous cycle: BC is expected to increase with emissions from shipping activities and gas flaring from offshore oil development in Arctic waters, activities both intensifying because of sea ice loss. These domestic sources have recently gained critical attention, and the importance of Arctic maritime BC regulation for climate mitigation has been emphasised at the ongoing COP26 conference by Inuit representatives and the Finnish president alike. The contribution of EU oil and gas demand to 36% of Arctic BC deposits has also been a motivation for its much-discussed extractive moratorium in the region, and the union has boldly pledged to assist Arctic states in reducing BC impacts as part of the EU-funded Action on Black Carbon in the Arctic launched in 2020. However, the research makes clear that simply treating Arctic BC as a purely localised issue is insufficient, nor enough for the EU to escape culpability. An extractive ban in the region is useless against long-range transboundary pollutant transport from southern countries. However, as much as this research highlights that BC might be a bigger problem than initially thought, it also paves a pathway for concrete actions in Europe and other states to take on an issue previously shrouded in scientific uncertainty. Above all, the news reminds us to reconsider the popular rallying cry of “what happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic” – in reality, it is often the opposite. (AMAP, Clear Seas, EU Arctic Information Centre, European Commission, High North News)