New film explores combining indigenous knowledge and Western science to understand Arctic sea ice retreat
What: launch ice edge, a documentary about co-producing knowledge, reveals the forces behind the disappearance of sea ice and the impact on the Kotzebue Native village in northwest Alaska. The event will include film clips; discussions with Iñupiaq elders, scientists and filmmakers; and audience Q&As.
When: Thursday, January 27, 10-11:30am Alaska, 2-3:30pm ET
Location: Earth Institute what webcast to maintain. View links on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn will be added on January 21st.
Watch the movie ahead of time and ask questions with us: https://youtu.be/P9RzfGtLWHo
In May 2019, Iñupiaq elder and hunter from Kotzebue, Roswell Schaeffer Sr., co-author of a recent study on changes in ice seasons, was searching for bearded seals. (Courtesy of Sarah Betcher of Farthest North Films)
Under human-driven climate change, the Arctic is warming much faster than the entire planet. This is destroying the ecosystems, landscapes and seascapes that Indigenous communities have depended on for countless generations.
Five years ago, in the face of major changes in coastal sea ice, Inupiak residents of the Kotzebue Native Village joined scientists from Columbia University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks to ask questions to understand the The changes taking place in the Zeb Strait, and the future of the community may be affected by climate change. this project, known as Ice Bridge, or Ikaaġvik Sikukun in Inupiak, integrates indigenous observations, aerial drone monitoring, geophysical measurements of ice and water, and marine and marine mammal science to address the problem. The first peer-reviewed studies have been published, and a 14-part film series about the work is available on YouTube.
In this special Sustain What episode of Columbia Climate School, we celebrate the launch of the feature-length film by Sarah Betcher of Farthest North Films. The film chronicles years of research and the relationships it makes. It explores lessons that can inform efforts around the world to build bridges between local and Western sciences when tackling the most impactful challenges of climate change.
Seals are an integral part of the local diet, so these changes have major implications for residents. Seals typically inhabit the area’s seasonal sea ice, but later ice formation and earlier ice breakup have greatly compressed the hunting season. On top of that, flooding on the ice reduced seal habitat.
a new paper Data recently released by the project shows that for the past 17 years, the seal-hunting season has declined by a day or more each year, and as sea ice shrinks, the seal habitat itself is shrinking.The second paper shows that seal habitat loss is not only due to ice sheet disappears Instead, the remaining ice gets thinner and thinner. This causes surface flooding to inundate seal dens, as the weight of the snow packs down the ice below the waterline.Third paper confirms ice loss is driven by vertical rise heat from the ocean, and show that the outflow of two major rivers is a key control of coastal ice in the region, helping to insulate ice from potential ocean heat in winter, but driving ice breakup (and therefore sealing) in spring.
The film provides a detailed view of these realities for the natural environment and local residents. The images in this 80-minute film were taken from the air, on and under the ice, and Kotzebue itself.
Guests at the launch event will include filmmaker Sarah Becher; Ross Schaeffer, Bobby Schaeffer and Cyrus Harris, members of the Iñupiat Aging Advisory Council (subject to availability); Alex Whiting, director of the Kotzebue Aboriginal Village Environmental Program; Donna Hauser, marine mammal scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; Christopher Zappa, an oceanographer at the Columbia Climate Institute’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.Moderated by Andrew Revkin, founding director of the Communication and Sustainability Initiative at the Columbia Climate Institute, and SustainWhat Webcast.
The research and film by $3.7 million in grants From the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The grant aims to bring new depth to the concept of co-producing knowledge. Further research is currently underway in Kotzebue to investigate changes in coastal waters. The scientists hope to expand their efforts to include other coastal indigenous communities in the Arctic.
resource:
Watch the full movie on YouTube
Ikaaġvik Sikukun / Ice Bridges Project Website
Q&A with Columbia oceanographer Chris Zappa
Grant Announcement from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Filmmaker Sarah Becher’s website
Scientists and locals work together to study sea ice melt State of the Earth
, The Arctic Today
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