International cooperation needed on Arctic research

Anchorage mayor urges scientists to speak out, affect government policy.

Scientists, the fishing industry and university students gathered for the 2017 Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage Jan. 23 got an update on highlights of Arctic research, plus a plea to get learn more and share climate change information.

With the Arctic region undergoing rapid and dramatic change, impacting communities and economies, “this is an area where we need as much work as possible to understand what is taking place, and to make that information available to decision makers,” said Fran Ulmer, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, and one of several keynote speakers.

Fran Ulmer, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Ulmer has also served as mayor of Juneau, as a state representative and as lieutenant governor of Alaska.
Photo by Margaret Bauman/The Cordova Times

Ulmer urged the crowd of several hundred people to visit the commission’s website, www.arctic.gov , and www.iarpccollaborations.org, the website of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, to learn more about ongoing research.

She spoke about the work of the research commission, the IARPC, and the White House Arctic Science Ministerial held last Sept. 28. The event brought together science ministers from 25 governments and the European Union to discuss Arctic research priorities and sign a joint statement on increased international collaboration on Arctic science, and inclusion of indigenous peoples in understanding and responding to changes in the Arctic.

In its recently released “Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2017-2018” for the U.S. Arctic Research Program, the commission emphasized the need for continued research in all six of its major goals.  Those goals range from observing, understanding and predicting Arctic environmental change, to improving Arctic human health and enhancing international scientific cooperation in the Arctic.

The United States will complete its two-year chairmanship of the Arctic Council on May 11, at the ministerial meeting in Fairbanks.

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IARPC is mandated to develop and implement a five-year research plan in consultation with the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, the governor of Alaska, residents of the Arctic, the private sector, and public interest groups.

IARPC Collaborations is the structure created for implementing the plan, which has sarong focus on the health and well-being of northern residents.  The plan also emphasizes the role northern residents play in the coproduction of scientific knowledge.  There are 12 collaboration teams, whose joint activities aim to advance research efforts outlined in the IARPC 5-year plan. Anyone interested in getting involved in one of the collaboration teams is invited to request an account and identify their areas of expertise.

Fran Ulmer, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Ulmer has also served as mayor of Juneau, as a state representative and as lieutenant governor of Alaska. Photo by Margaret Bauman/The Cordova Times

Keynote speaker Takashi Kikuchi, of Yokosuka, Japan, gave a detailed presentation on changes in oceanographic conditions in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean and the impact on marine ecosystems. Kikuchi is the deputy director of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology’s Institute of Arctic Climate and Environment Research, and a team leader of its Arctic Ocean Climate System Research. Japanese researchers have been investigating environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean since the early 1990s.

Kikuchi noted that the Arctic Ocean has experienced unexpected environmental changes due to global warming and rapid sea ice reduction.  While recent research shows significant warming, freshening and ocean acidification, especially in the Pacific sector of the Artic Ocean, there are still knowledge gaps on Arctic Ocean environmental changes, he said.

Monitoring of oceanographic conditions and a better understanding of the impact on marine ecosystems continue to be necessary, he said.

Other keynote speakers included Nicholas Pyenson of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History; Nick Bond, of the joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean at the University of Washington; and Arctic Youth Ambassadors Macy Kenworthy of Kotzebue and Cade Terada of Dutch Harbor.

The symposium also heard from Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, who thanked participants “for doing the research and generating the knowledge necessary for us to make decisions that will make it possible for us to live in a changing world.

“Now more than ever there is an expanded need for research, for understanding the world around us,” he said.

“As a policy maker I want you to know that I depend on the knowledge you generation. You cannot be silent now. You cannot leave your learning in the laboratory. Your voices have to be heard in the political debate…

You have a responsibility to participate in the political dialogue… or that void will be filled by lesser minds, lesser voices,” he said.

“We want to be able to cope with whatever challenges come our way,” he said. “Individuals here have an ability to affect policy and if you remain silent in the face of ignorance then ignorance will spread and cause problems.

“This is a really critical time,” Berkowitz said. “Do not be silent. Let your voices be heard. Welcome to Anchorage, and thank you very much.”

The annual conference was scheduled to continue through Jan. 27, with a focus on the Gulf of Alaska on Jan. 24, the Bering Sea on Jan. 25 and the Arctic on Jan. 26.

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