| NSF Org: |
RISE Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | August 27, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 27, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1927722 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Colleen Strawhacker
colstraw@nsf.gov (703)292-7432 RISE Integrative and Collaborative Education and Research (ICER) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | November 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | October 31, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $62,357.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $62,357.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
4333 BROOKLYN AVE NE SEATTLE WA US 98195-1016 (206)543-4043 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
1013 NE NE 40th Street Seattle WA US 98105-6698 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | NNA-Navigating the New Arctic |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
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.
Hundreds of glaciers around the Arctic flow into ocean fjords that are several miles wide, tens of miles long, and thousands of feet deep. Glacial meltwater and sediments released into the fjords make their waters nutrient-rich to the extent that glacial fjords, all over the Arctic region, are characterized by prosperous marine ecosystems, featuring a high density of seabirds, marine mammals, and fishes. As a result, many Arctic settlements are located near glacial fjords that, through their ecosystems, support hunting and fishing and contribute to the regional economy. As the Arctic warms, however, glaciers are melting and retreating, and ocean waters are expected to warm, thus affecting these glacial fjord ecosystems and the human communities they support. Within this project, researchers will take advantage of new projections of how the glaciers and the ocean will change, combined with improved understanding of glacial fjords and their ecosystems, to investigate change at two distinct glacial fjords in Greenland. The long-term goal of this project is to provide relevant planning information to the two communities in Greenland and develop a method that can be applied to other communities around the Arctic.
The international research team, composed of glaciologists, oceanographers, marine ecosystem scientists, and social scientists, will use available data and hold discussions with community members to identify the relevant socioecological system components and linkages for two glacial fjord systems, one in Northwest Greenland and one in Southeast Greenland. This systems understanding will be combined with glacier and local climate (ocean and atmosphere) projections to determine how climate projections can be optimally utilized for sustainable planning and adaptation. This research will involve synthesis of existing information and co-production of knowledge with the two communities. A final workshop involving Greenland Government officials and other Arctic organizations will be used to develop a framework that can be applied throughout the Arctic.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
In this NNA planning project, in consultation with Greenlandic scientists and community members, we identified strategies to study how large scale climate variability impacts the social-physical-ecological system comprised of the glacier, fjord, coastal region, marine ecosystem, and local inhabitants for two Greenlandic communities, Qaanaaq and Tasiilaq. Each community is located next to a large glacial fjord where the glacier/fjord/marine ecosystem interaction supports a rich, productive marine ecosystem which, in turn, provides natural resources to the communities. This includes fisheries and marine mammal subsistence species.
Our primary outcomes included several accomplishments. We identified key contacts and potential collaborators in Nuuk, organized and cancelled (due to COVID-19) a workshop at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources in Nuuk originally planned for March 2020, collected historical physical and biological data and model output for SE and NE Greenland (focusing on the region around the two communities), made contact with a range of Greenlandic organizations and potential collaborators, and held weekly virtual meetings to discuss analysis, project progress, and plan a future follow-up proposal.
The ultimate goal of the project was to define the team and scope for a follow-up proposal with Greenlandic partners to understand how climate projections can be optimally utilized for sustainable planning and adaptation by identifying stakeholders and their needs. A key element of this effort was understanding how communities have been impacted and responded to changes in climate over different timescales in the past century. We focused on engaging with local Greenland communities and Greenland entities to examine this and determine common areas of interest and concern pertaining to climate change in the coastal environment.
COVID-19 restricted our ability to travel to Greenland or hold in-person meetings with potential partners. This shifted all of our interactions to online which in some cases made for additional challenges. In addition, both our original Greenland partners had to take leave due to serious medical reasons. As such we worked through online meetings to identify and engage new Greenlandic partners in the project which we have done successfully.
Last Modified: 12/10/2020
Modified by: Kristin L Laidre
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
