Russian Arctic

The Russian maritime Arctic stretches more than 160 degrees longitude from the Norwegian-Russian border in the west, to the Bering Strait in the east. It is Russia’s vast northern coastline, an open border to the Arctic Ocean, and a marine space that presents both strategic vulnerabilities and economic opportunities. The entire coastal area is arguably undergoing the most profound changes of any region in today’s Arctic. This essay seeks to identify key influential drivers of change, and uncertainties that will plausibly determine the region’s future.    

The Arctic is experiencing rapid environmental changes that present challenges to the natural environment, built environment, and social systems that have sustained Arctic peoples and ecosystems for generations. These changes are strongly evident in Arctic coastal systems. New research on Arctic coastal systems has been supported through both the Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) program and the Coastlines and People (CoPe) program. However, coordination and synthesis among these Arctic coastal projects and new perspectives are needed to fully understand these rapid changes.

This paper explores the story of Russia SIKU (sea ice knowledge and use) project, a local and international effort on knowledge documentation and co-production with Indigenous knowledge related to sea ice and climate change. The Russia SIKU team also worked with agency managers, science planners and scientists to prioritize Indigenous knowledge and culture in science activities. Russia SIKU produced 5 dictionaries of ice, sea, weather and snow nomenclature in three local languages.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF’s 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. This Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, enhances efforts in formal and informal education, and integrates the co-production of knowledge where appropriate.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. This Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, enhances efforts in formal and informal education, and integrates the co-production of knowledge where appropriate.

Seasonality shifts, thawing permafrost, and the occurrence of extreme weather conditions in the Arctic today have led to cascading effects in the natural and human worlds. Plants and animals are changing their seasonality and ranging patterns. These changes put increased pressure on livelihoods of peoples of the North, whose dependence on the natural world is tied to weather and seasonality. Globalization, such as the growing presence of industrial and urban centers, also impacts the Arctic tundra and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples as never before.

This project will bring together earth system scientists, engineers, ecologists, and anthropologists to develop a plan to document and explain changes in ecosystems and their effects on the plants, animals, indigenous peoples, and industrial infrastructure of the Arctic region. It will emphasize interactions between these elements to help understand, inform, and plan for changes to come.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. The Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, and integrates the co-production of knowledge. This award fulfills part of that aim.

Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years. It occurs under approximately one fourth of the northern hemisphere's land surface. In the far north, the permafrost is continuous across the landscape and contains large amounts of ice in its upper few meters. Thawing of permafrost has been observed at several locations across the Arctic in recent decades, yet the pan-Arctic extent of ice-rich permafrost and permafrost degradation is not fully described. This is because it is difficult to directly measure permafrost.

The permafrost (perennially frozen ground) regions occupy nearly a quarter of the Earth's terrestrial surface. Permafrost is experiencing large changes stemming from the unprecedented degree of environmental change being observed in the Arctic. Changes in the permafrost system have profound effects on the ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, and human occupation of cold environments.