The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of October 29, 2018

Canadian government to apologise for treatment of tuberculosis sufferers

The federal government of Canada is expected to apologize to Inuit citizens any day now for how they were treated during the Tuberculosis outbreaks of the mid-20th century. The apology was planned as part of the Inuit-Crown partnership in 2017, which Inuit leaders and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed. The exact date of the apology is not known, but Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett has acknowledged that it is forthcoming. Inuit leaders stressed that by asking for an apology, they are not asking for any formal compensation (EOTA).

Take 1: During the 1950s alone nearly half of the Eastern Arctic Inuit people were taken from their communities, often without their consent or the ability to say goodbye to their families, and relocated to Hamilton, Ont. for treatment. The location of the remains of many of those who died in Southern Canada are unknown to surviving family members, which has created a lot of trauma in Inuit communities in addition to the insensitive treatment of tuberculosis patients. The forthcoming federal apology is seen as a step towards reconciliation (EOTA).

Inuit Circumpolar Council promotes Indigenous participation in scientific research

In Berlin this week the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) spoke to the Arctic Science Ministerial about the need for Arctic researchers to respect and cooperate with Inuit. Monica Ell-Kanayuk, president of ICC-Canada, stressed that in addition to preserving Arctic flora and fauna, protection of Inuit culture and people is key. Several representatives from the 24 countries present at the meeting stressed understanding and commitment to the call (Nunatsiaq News).

Take 2: An appreciation of traditional ecological knowledge has benefits for local indigenous communities as well as for research in the natural sciences. In recent years, scientists have begun to respect traditional ecological knowledge more than ever before. There is currently a lot of research into how to utilize it most appropriately, specifically for informing research in climate change and natural resource management.

A year on ice: how Greenland’s ice sheet changed in 2018

The annual report of the Greenland ice sheet, conducted by the Danish Meteorological Institute and Polar Portal, presents the finding of a larger than average increase in the ice sheet’s surface mass budget (SMB). The SMB of an ice sheet represents the balance between the mass added to the sheet through snow deposition and the mass lost through melting ice than runs off into the ocean, with larger values representing a larger mass gain (Science Nordic).

Take 3: Although the SMB gains made by this year by the greenland ice sheet were impressive, this value does not take into account the losses to the ice sheet by “calving”, the breakoff of icebergs from the edge of the ice sheet. This is where the largest mass outputs are generated, but this has been hard to study until the launch of the GRACE-FO satellite in May of this year. Researchers expect to find no net mass gain, despite the high SMB, in the ice sheet when the GRACE-FO data is compiled and incorporated into the total mass budget (Science Nordic)

Call to diversify Arctic research locations

Despite increasing research in the Arctic, the number of unique Arctic research sites is small and in fact about one third of all Arctic research is conducted within 50km of just two sites. A recent analysis by Dan Metcalfe of Lund University in Sweden found that Toolik Lake, Alaska and Abisko, Sweden are the major sites for Arctic research (Yale Climate Connections).

Take 4: Metcalfe argues the bulk of Arctic research is conducted at these sites purely because of their accessibility, but that this is problematic for the discipline. While this research should not necessarily be discouraged, researchers should attempt to run further afield to increase the generalizability of their findings for the diverse Arctic landscape (Yale Climate Connections).

Oslo summit marks 15th anniversary of Arctic cruise organisation

The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) welcomed 120 cruise operators from around the Arctic to Oslo to participate in the Arctic Cruise Conference last week. The conference focused on combating marine plastic pollution and engagement with local communities (Seatrade Cruise News). AECO also recently decided to expand its geographical range to include cruise operators operating off the coast of Iceland, a tourist hotspot.

Take 5: This conference comes an ideal time as Arctic cruises are taking up their biggest ever market share, with Norwegian and Alaskan itineraries currently making up just under 10% of global itineraries (Forbes). This point was raised at the conference too, where organizers emphasized that as the industry grows, now is the time for strong self-reflection and self-regulation to create responsible, sustainable Arctic tourism practices (Seatrade Cruise News).