THE ISSUE. Loss of sea ice, thawing permafrost, reduced snow cover, and rising sea level arereducinghuntingand7ishingopportunitiesanddegradinginfrastructureforruralArcticcommunities.Most Alaska Native communities are affected by erosion and 7looding, with 31 communitiesimminentlythreatenedand12planningtorelocate.Localresponsestothesestressesarehamperedbythenation’shighestpricesforfoodandfuelandwidespreadpovertyacrossruralAlaska.

WHYITMATTERS.Climatechangeampli7ieschallengesconfrontingArcticcommunities,where60-80%ofhouseholdsdependonwildgameand7ishforfood,harvestingseveralhundredpoundsperpersonannually.Alreadyfacedwitheconomic,social,andculturalchanges,traditionalwaysoflifeinrural Alaska are further threatened by climate change impacts on diminishing food security,deteriorating water and sewage systems, increasing risk of accidents, and greater expenditures toconstructandmaintain infrastructure.Governmentagenciesandother institutionsneedtopromotepolicies that reduce stresses on Arctic communities and foster responses consistent with localeconomiesandcultures.

STATE OF KNOWLEDGE.Arctic communitiesand scientists haveworked together to documentlocal observations of climate change; theassociated impacts onhunting, 7ishing, safety, andfood security; and the potential impacts ofprojected changes into the future. More recently,researchers have been assessing the ef7icacy oflocal responses. For example, subsistencewhalerson St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea haveinitiated a fall harvest to helpmakeup for springwhaling seasons made shorter by changing iceconditions.AtKivalina—avillagethatisalsofacingrelocation due to erosion—changing spring iceconditionshavepreventedtheharvestofbowheadwhales for over 20 years. In other cases, changescanamplifyoneanother.Limitedtimeofffromjobsmeans thatwhalers fromNuiqsutnowhavemuchshorter time available for whaling in fall. InAlaska’s Arctic region, 78% of Native Iñupiathouseholdscombine jobsandsubsistence tomeettheireconomic,cultural,andnutritionalneeds.Thebene7itsof employmentare lessened,however,by the reduction in timedevoted toharvestingwildfoods. Less time to huntmeans less chance towait out fall storms or to adapt to other changes inweather or animal migration patterns. Those migration patterns may be further altered asdiminishingsea iceopensopportunities for industrialactivities (forexample, shippingandoffshorepetroleumdevelopment).Thecumulativeeffectsofstressesandchangesarebroadlyrecognizedbutdif7iculttomeasure.

June 2017

Arctic Answers Science briefs from the Study of Environmental Arctic Change

https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic-answers

How is diminishing Arctic sea ice influencing coastal communities?

Map of the 11 Alaska traditional whaling communities, with the 2015 and 1981-2010 medianSeptember ice extents shown.

WHERE THE SCIENCE IS HEADED.Moreworkisneededtounderstandhowlocalresponses can be effective (such as the St.Lawrence Island fall whaling season) as wellashowhowthey fall shortofwhat isneeded(suchasKivalina’sinabilitytohuntinspring).In addition, future research must addresswaysthatpoliciesexacerbateormitigatesuchimpacts, for example by imposing additionalconstraintsonwhatcommunitiescando,orbysupporting 7lexibility and local initiative tosolve problems. Actions made withoutadequate knowledge of local conditions, nomatterhowwell intentioned,mayunderminelocal well-being by promoting ineffectiveresponsesorfosteringdependenceonoutsideintervention rather than on local talent,capac i ty, and crea t iv i ty. U l t imate ly,communities need support to identify localsolutions.

FURTHERREADINGChapin,F.S.,III,S.F.Trainor,P.Cochran,H.Huntington,C.Markon,M.McCammon,A.D.McGuire,andM.Serreze,2014.Ch.22:Alaska.ClimateChangeImpactsintheUnitedStates:TheThirdNationalClimateAssessment, J.M.Melillo,Terese (T.C.)Richmond,andG.W.Yohe,Eds.,U.S.GlobalChangeResearchProgram, 514-536. doi:10.7930/J00Z7150. [Available online at: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/alaska]

Goldsmith, S., 2008. Understanding Alaska’s Remote Rural Economy, UA Research SummaryNo. 10,Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage. [Available online at:http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/researchsumm/UA_RS10.pdf]

SEARCH is supported by the National Science Foundation. SEARCH Science Brief AA-002.

Contactforfurtherinformation:HenryHuntington,HuntingtonConsultinghph@alaska.netMatthewDruckenmiller,NationalSnowandIceDataCenterdruckenmiller@nsidc.org

SEARCH Science Brief - June 2017

Iñupiat hunters establish a whaling camp on coastal sea ice near Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, where thinning ice and warming temperatures in Spring are reducing hunting opportunities and increasing risks to personal safety. (Courtesy: M. Druckenmiller)

SEARCH: Advancing knowledge for action in a rapidly changing Arctic https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic-answers