2006 Arctic Science Conference: Sessions Overview

The following sessions have been schedule for the 2006 conference. Please contact the session chairs with any questions regarding the session. (Chairs are listed at the end of each synopsis.)

• Africa and Alaska: Similarities and Differences in Human Dimensions
• Art and Science: Inspiration and Collaboration
• The Contribution of Human Dimensions Research to Observing and Understanding the Current State of the Arctic
• EPSCoR
• Go North! Education and Research through Adventure Learning
• High-Latitude Marine Ecology
• International, Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Arctic Policies
• International Polar Year
• Managing Resources for Resilience in Conditions of Rapid Change
• Persistence of Climate Change in Northern High-Latitudes
• Socioeconomic Issues in the Arctic
• Terrestrial Ecosystems in a Changing Arctic

Africa and Alaska: Similarities and Differences in Human Dimensions

Alaska is warming as much as any place on earth. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate change impacts. This session will feature speakers from Africa and Alaska, exploring common themes and the potential for comparative research of human dimensions.

Session Chair: Dr. Henry Huntington
Huntington Consulting
Eagle River, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.696.3564

Art and Science: Inspiration and Collaboration 

This session will feature presentations by each of the artists featured in the Fall 2006 “POLARities: Aesthetics / Experiments / Observations” exhibition at the UA Museum of the North. All of the artists involved in the exhibit create work that has been inspired and influenced by science, and some also actively collaborate with scientists when creating artwork.

The Contribution of Human Dimensions Research to Observing and Understanding the Current State of the Arctic

This session is designed to draw studies that focus on identifying and understanding linkages and feedbacks among the different components of the Arctic system, and of the role(s) of the human component in particular. Papers that highlight interdisciplinarity across physical, biological and social sciences are particularly encouraged, and especially those that consider human dimensions as focus for assessing the current state of the Arctic and developing an understanding of future system changes.

Session Chair: Maribeth S. Murray, Director
HARC Core Office
Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.474.6751

EPSCoR

The Alaska EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) annual meeting will gather together EPSCoR faculty and students across the University of Alaska campuses to discuss findings.

Session Chair: Dorothea Moss
EPSCoR, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.474.5895

Go North! Education and Research through Adventure Learning

Go North! is an adventure-learning program based around dog-sled journeys in the Arctic. Engaging imagination as well as intellect, the program involves thousands of schools around the nation and the world. This session describes the 2006 journey through northeastern Alaska, including community research as well as the broader education program.

Session Chair: Dr. Henry Huntington
Huntington Consulting
Eagle River, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.696.3564

High-Latitude Marine Ecology

This session will highlight the recent changes in the Arctic marine environment from a life sciences perspective. Contributions from a broad range of topics in marine ecology are sought, including zoology, biological oceanography, pollution, ecological aspects of fisheries, conservation, environmental protection, ecosystems, ocean biogeochemistry, biogenic trace gas exchanges, and microbiology.

Session Chair: Clara Deal, Research Assistant Professor
International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.474.1875

International, Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Arctic Policies

How do global politics relate to circumpolar concerns? In turn, how do the conditions and policies of the North affect global developments? Does the policy and research activity of the Arctic respond to the critical issues? How does science address societal needs and how does research engage to improve the human condition? What are the political and disciplinary strategies for managing future directions in the North?

Session Chair: Dr. Karen Erickson
Department of Political Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.474.6503

International Polar Year

History of International Polar Years; International Geophysical Year (IPY3)-personal perspectives; IPY4 (2007-2009) - themes, objectives & priorities; IPY4 research plans; IPY4 education and outreach; IPY4 and Arctic residents; IPY4 and the media.

Session Chair: Martin Jeffries
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.474.5257

Managing Resources for Resilience in Conditions of Rapid Change

This session focuses on the capacity of northern communities and their institutional arrangements to sustain natural resources in conditions of rapid social-ecological change. How well are resource management systems meeting the challenges of rapid change in the North? What does it mean to manage natural resources for resilience? To what extent are resource management systems facilitating stakeholder collaboration, social learning, and human adaptation? Are co-management solutions still viable? What are the cross-scale problems related to effective resource management? Are the goals of “adaptive management” possible in an environment of protracted political conflict? What are the examples and lessons of resource management success in the North? What will be demanded of resource managers as the North is transformed by climate change and development? Papers of this session are invited to explore these and their related themes.

Session Chair: Gary Kofinas
SNRAS and IAB, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Phone: 1.907.474.7078

Persistence of Climate Change in Northern High-Latitudes

We solicit contributions on the State of the Arctic over the last 5-10 years in all aspects of the climate system:  sea ice, land (permafrost, vegetation, snow, ice sheets, rivers and lakes, forest fires), ocean and atmospheric transports, and radiation fields including clouds. Consideration should include how these components might interact. We also ask the contributors to speculate on the potential persistence of these elements to a  hypothetical 2-5 year cold period. Model studies that project Arctic climate for the next 20-30 years are welcome.

Session Chair: James Overland
NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Seattle, Washington, USA
Phone: 1.206.526.6795

Socioeconomic Issues in the Arctic

This session focuses on the status and well being of the people of the Arctic and their adaptation to the changing conditions they face. Climate change, major industrial developments, migration, infrastructure enhancements and other factors are altering social and economic relationships.

What impacts can be observed or compared? What are the appropriate definitions and measures of well being? What local, regional, national and international policies are contributing to these changes and what is their impact on well being? Papers are invited to explore these and related themes.

Terrestrial Ecosystems in a Changing Arctic

This session will explore the state of terrestrial ecosystems in the Arctic, with a focus on ecosystem responses to direct and indirect manifestations of climate change. Topics of interest in this session include: past, present, and future patterns of ecosystem response (e.g., changes in species distribution, community structure, ecosystem processes), mechanisms of ecosystem response, and feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystems on the climate system.

Session Chair: Andrea Lloyd
Department of Biology, Middlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont, USA
Phone: 1.802.443.3165