The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of August 20, 2018
Circumpolar healthcare conference held in Copenhagen
The 17th International Congress on Circumpolar Health (ICCH17) met in Copenhagen last week. Attendees, mostly researchers and Arctic healthcare practitioners, focused on the primary goal of this year’s congress “Moving Circumpolar Health Forward.” The conference sessions covered a variety of topics, including one in keeping with moving circumpolar health into the future: genetic testing to guide prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease in Greenland (NN).
Take 1: Many of the topics discussed at the Congress were issues relevant in all parts of the Arctic, such as suicide (NN) and the relationship between health, culture, and climate change. A meeting of infectious disease experts also took place prior to the official start of the conference to discuss under-reported diseases in the Arctic, hepatitis and Helicobacter pylori (NN). The focus on certain infectious diseases was especially relevant as diseases like hepatitis and tuberculosis disproportionately affect Arctic residents in their respective countries and present unique challenges for healthcare workers (NN).
Land-dwellers not the only ones feeling the heat
A recent study, published in Nature, found that the number of marine heat waves has roughly doubled between 1982 and 2016. Like regular heat waves, marine heat waves are periods of prolonged extreme heat, but they are underwater. The Swiss researchers who co-authored the study found that the incidence of marine heat waves is not increasing linearly, but rather at an accelerating rate. The study’s authors used satellite data and other sea-surface temperature sources like ships and buoys to study the recent trends in marine heat waves (Nature).
Take 2: Marine heat waves are bad news for marine life as they can cause coral bleaching, damage to marine plants, and animal death, including die offs in commercial fisheries (CBC). This trend is only predicted to increase as the climate continues to change, with 112 yearly marine heat wave days predicted if the planet warms by 3.5 C (compared to our contemporary 33 yearly marine heat wave days). These marine heat waves may also contribute to climate change as they are thought to damage shallow-water ecosystems that also store CO2 like mangroves (Phys.org, The Guardian).
Grey water levels rising in Arctic waters
A new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada commissioned study indicates that the quantity of “grey water” dumped into Canadian Arctic waters may double by 2035 if left unregulated. Grey water is the ‘used’ water that runs down the drain following laundry, showers, and similar activities. According to the WWF, grey water can actually be more harmful than raw sewage and its release into our oceans is far less regulated, leading to concerns for wildlife and water quality (EOTA). Members of the Inuvialuit Game Council, which manages wildlife in the region, are also concerned about the effect of grey water on local habitat for whales, Arctic char, and other important species (EOTA, Global Newswire).
Take 3: Presently, there is little enforcement of existing rules for the release of grey water in the Canadian Arctic, unlike in Alaskan waters where stricter regulation and enforcement are in place (EOTA). Whether Canada will adopt similar grey water management strategies to Alaska, which include onboard treatment and testing, remains to be seen, but with the Canadian government’s recent commitment to healthy oceans and the looming increase in traffic across the Arctic Ocean, the time to act is now.
Electric tour boats soon to be making waves in the Arctic
The Arctic’s first battery powered, “non-polluting” tour boat will set sail from Svolvaer, Norway next August. The boat, dubbed “Brim Explorer”, will be able to sail using battery power for 10 hours at a constant speed of 10 knots. The company launching Brim Explorer, Green Wave Holding, is also planning future projects including ships fit for longer expeditions and ships that can safely travel to ecologically vulnerable destinations (IBO).
Take 4: Is this a case of greenwashing? Greenwashing is where strategic marketing is used to dupe consumers into paying more for a product they think is environmentally friendly even though it isn’t. Although the boat will not run on fuel, its batteries will still need to be charged. Company representatives say that this will happen using shore power when the boat docks nightly, which means that the source for the charging energy will determine how much pollution a day of whale watching will create. Despite this, battery powered boats will likely be less harmful on the local scale for the marine environment and the health of humans on board, and could augur well for a peaceful alternative to noisy tour boats.
Less ice and more tourists spells need for coordinated search and rescue capabilities in Alaska
The Alaska World Affairs Council met last week in Anchorage to provide Alaskans with perspectives on current-day issues affecting their state. Hreinn Palsson, a representative of the Icelandic Embassy in Washington D.C., was in attendance and made the case for cross-border cooperation to increase security in the Arctic. In particular, he called for improving search and rescue capabilities and cooperation to be a top priority (KTOO).
Take 5: With less ice and more people, come more problems relating to security, transportation, and communication. Other council participants also made the point that because of Alaska’s natural beauty and the opening of the Arctic, Alaskan tourism is going to grow rapidly. With the harshness of Arctic waters, it is key to have an established and ready Coast Guard presence or unnecessary tragedy may occur (KTOO).