Quick viewing(Text Mode)

ARCHIVED-Meridian Fall/Winter 2001

ARCHIVED-Meridian Fall/Winter 2001

IN THIS ISSUE THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT The Igloolik Oral History Project 1 John MacDonald Across , new emphasis is being tional knowledge to inform the larger Research Centre: placed on the importance and relevance of , especially southern researchers

FALL/WINTER 2001 Community-based Research traditional knowledge in the contem- (this point was based on a deeply felt in Northern 3 porary world. Increasingly, efforts are being sense that researchers in general, and made to record and document the knowl- biologists in particular, tended to be dis- Abandoned Mining Exploration Sites edge, life experiences, and family histories of missive of Inuit knowledge). in Nunavik 5 Inuit elders throughout Nunavut. A commu- During this meeting the question of pay- nity-based Oral History Project in Igloolik ment for interviews was addressed. Some Northwest 99 6 provides an example of successful ongoing elders felt they should be paid while others work in this important field. thought that they should pass on their New International Bathymetric Chart The Igloolik Oral History Project is a col- knowledge free of charge. In the end it was of the Ocean 7 laborative project run by the Inullariit Elders decided that a fee, or honorarium, should be Society of Igloolik in collaboration with the provided, not to pay for the knowledge Is Arctic Sea Rapidly Thinning? 8 Igloolik Research Centre. The project had its offered, but strictly to compensate the elder formal start in 1986 following a meeting of for the time spent on the interview. Life at a 3.5 Million-year-old Beaver Igloolik elders. At this meeting there was The project’s start coincided with the Pond in the Canadian Arctic Islands, general agreement on the importance of fieldwork of a researcher, Wim Rasing, who and the Modern Scene 11 embarking on a project to record and docu- was studying the administration of Cana- ment the traditional knowledge and oral dian justice in Igloolik, and who later pub- Horizon 14 history of the – the Inuit living lished his findings in a book, Too Many Peo- in the Northern area of Nunavut. ple. Rasing conducted a series of audiotaped What’s New 14 The project would have the following goals: interviews with Igloolik elders covering 1) language retention (the elders aspects of Inuit traditional law and social expressed great concern over the in- organization. These interviews – numbering creasing loss of language skills among around thirty – became the nucleus of the the younger generations, and felt that project’s collection that has now grown to recordings would show how Inuktitut include almost five hundred interviews. should be spoken); Additions to the collection derive from two 2) Create a record of how things were done principle sources: the project itself, and in the past, for the benefit of future gen- copies of taped interviews donated by visit- erations of Amitturmiut; ing researchers. 3) Create a record of Amitturmiut family Over the years, funding for the project histories; has come, piecemeal, from a wide variety 4) Record a body of accessible Inuit tradi- of sources including federal and territorial allows the elder to choose, from a number of options, the conditions under which the information given in the tape will be ac- cessed. And, finally, prior to the interview an identification number is assigned to the audiotape, a number that will be used subse- quently on the translations, transcripts and computer files deriving from the interview. Interview sessions usually last approxi- mately an hour. Apart from keeping the interview within the bounds of the agreed topic, or topics, very little structure is imposed on the session. A conversational flow is encouraged in which the elder res- ponds to a question fully before the next question is asked, usually based on some A draft page from the seal anatomy section of the point raised in the response just given. essarily involved a mix of interests which, Inullariit Elders Society visual dictionary,showing the Every effort is made to have the audiotape by and large, proved highly productive in anterior part of the seal after skinning. Photo: Inullariit translated into English as soon as possible Society. eliciting information which otherwise might after the interview. This ensures that points not have been considered had the choice in need of clarification, particularly those to government departments and agencies, of topic rested with a single or even a few do with archaic or specialized vocabulary, regional Inuit political and cultural organi- individuals. can be checked while the interview is still sations, charitable foundations, and private Major topics covered to date – some in fresh in the minds of both the interviewer donations. Unfortunately, there has been no greater depth than others – have included: and the elder. In the course of translation one source of sustaining funding and the personal and family histories; contact histo- specialized terms are noted and explained continuation of the project from year to year ry (including the introduction of Christian- fully, either in parentheses within the text, depends largely on the continuing success of ity); social change; dispute resolution and or as footnotes. Usually the interview is word- fund-raising efforts. It is estimated that the social control; child rearing, traditional processed concurrently with translation. “processing” of a single interview from the medicine and childbirth; spirituality and Over the years, Louis Tapardjuk and recording phase through translation, tran- ; hunting techniques; animal Leah Otak, both of Igloolik, have painstak- scription and word-processing, to dubbing behaviour and biology; skin preparation ingly translated most of the project’s inter- and archiving can cost upwards of $800.00 and sewing; tool making; sled and views. This has ensured not only a broad a tape. construction; shelter construction; local consistency in translation style but also a Igloolik Research Centre staff manage geography and place names; astronomy; growing ability on the part of these transla- the project on behalf of the Inullariit Elders -drift formation; weather conditions; tors to work confidently with the elders’ Society. Major administrative tasks include: navigation; and legends and myths. material. Regrettably, many younger trans- fund-raising, financial management, inter- Interviews are usually planned a day or lators have difficulty working with elders’ viewing, translation, transcribing, manage- two ahead of the actual interview session at interviews where they frequently encounter ment of the local collection, archiving, and which time the topic is agreed between the unfamiliar topics and vocabulary. This situ- the provision of access to project materials. elder and the interviewer. This gives the ation is unlikely to improve until there are From the outset it was decided to try to elder time to prepare, and to engage in some intensive training courses in place aimed cover as broad a range of topics as possible. recollection in advance of the interview. exclusively at the translation and interpreta- The choice of topics is determined variously Immediately prior to the interview a waiver tion of Inuit oral history documents. by the elders themselves, by the staff of the form is completed and signed by both the As resources and time permit, interviews Igloolik Research Centre, and, sometimes, elder and the interviewer. This ensures – or more often portions of interviews – are by visiting researchers. This approach nec- informed consent to the interview and

2 transcribed into in prepa- years. Generally, in keeping with the elders’ date. In addition, work is well underway on ration for eventual publication. This, for wishes that their knowledge should be used compiling a visual dictionary, using digital instance, is the case with some seventy as widely as possible, unlimited access is technology. The first volume of the dictionary hours of interviews contributed to the pro- usually permitted. Some restrictions, howev- focuses on animal anatomy and biology. ject by the late Noah Piugaattuk. Numerous er, have evolved to govern the collection’s While the project is ongoing, unfortu- portions of his interviews, selected, sorted access by academic researchers, the main nately its scope is being reduced each year and compiled thematically, have been tran- one being that while the researchers are by the passing of elders. About half of the scribed into syllabics, and, along with their able to consult the entire corpus they may original thirty contributors have died since English translations form the basis of a cur- only copy portions of it directly relevant to the project’s inception in 1986. Nevertheless, rent book project that will portray the life their specific area of study. Material from the the interviews continue and, increasingly, experiences and knowledge of Piugaattuk. project used in academic publications re- younger elders are offering to record their From the beginning of the project it was quires citation of the elders’ name, together own unique perspectives and experiences for

FALL/WINTERR 2001 decided to deposit copies of all audiotapes, with the interview number. Acknowledge- the benefit of future generations of Igluling- translations, and transcriptions with the ment of the Igloolik Inullariit Elders Society miut and others. Prince of Wales Heritage Centre in Yel- and the Igloolik Research Centre is also lowknife. All original materials are kept in required. John MacDonald is co-ordinator of the Igloolik at the Igloolik Research Centre. There is a growing emphasis on getting Igloolik Research Centre. When Nunavut establishes its own archives the material more widely circulated and, to The Inullariit Society won the 1998 the project’s materials currently held at the this end, consideration is being given to pro- Northern Science award for its oral histo- Prince of Wales Heritage Centre will be ducing a CD-ROM of selected, edited, inter- ry work (see Meridian, Spring/ transferred to the Nunavut archives. views representative of the entire collection to 2000). The interview collection is accessed in three ways: by listening to the Inuktitut audiotapes, by reading the translations or NUNAVIK RESEARCH CENTRE: transcripts, or by viewing the files on a com- COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH puter monitor. The latter method is pre- IN ferred when searching for information on a specific topic. Using various word-search Experienced Inuit hunters can easily identify vik Inuit the assurance that the food they eat is programs it is possible to locate quickly all animals that are unfit to eat – most of the free of Trichinella nativa, the microscopic references to a given topic occurring in the time. But even the most observant cannot nematode that causes trichinellosis. entire collection. Having done this, the user spot evidence of the microscopic pathogens Trichinellosis outbreaks are rare, but has the choice of referring to the audiotapes that infect some game. Since 1992 Kuujju- when it strikes the disease is serious and identified in the search, reading the selected aq’s Nunavik Research Centre, operated by may affect a relatively large number of peo- interview printouts, or simply browsing the , has been offering Nuna- ple. In 1987, 41 residents contracted appropriate files on-screen. trichinellosis after eating , and suf- The interviews are widely and increas- fered the typical symptoms: muscle pain, ingly used within Igloolik and beyond. Edu- diarrhoea, vomiting, and swelling. Trichi- cators and researchers, particularly those nella infect about 25% of northeast Hudson engaged in linguistic, social, and biological Bay walrus, and while cooking destroys the

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION studies, consult them regularly, as do re- organisms, they can survive in raw or aged gional, national, and international media meat (igunaq). organizations. In Igloolik the tapes are cher- Before eating or distributing walrus meat ished by family members, and broadcast to the community Nunavik hunters send from time over the community radio. samples to the research centre, which Conditions relating to the access of the Michael Kwan (left) and Alix Gordon using acid to digest employs two biologists, a toxicologist, four a tissue sample that will be analysed for mercury in the project’s materials have evolved over the atomic absorption spectrometer. Photo: Nunavik Research Centre. 3 wildlife technicians, and a veterinarian. 1980s, the centre has a trace metal analyti- Under veterinary supervision technicians cal laboratory, the first of its kind in the perform a Canadian Food Inspection Agency Eastern Arctic. Two state-of-the-art atomic (CFIA) diagnostic procedure for trichinella absorption spectrometers perform electro- larvae and pass the results on to the hunter thermal and flame modes of metal analysis within a day of the sample’s arrival at the as well as cold vapour analysis for mercury. lab. Specially equipped for trace-level sample The research centre’s facilities include an preparation, the laboratory has a Class M3.5 analytical lab, a pathology lab, and a wet A swimming underwater at the Nastapoka clean bench, an ultra-pure water supply, lab, offering plenty of scope for a variety of River (Eastern ) where it has been tagged and a HEPA filter ventilation system. A full- research. In collaboration with CFIA, Health with a satellite transmitter,July 1999. This is a joint time analytic toxicologist manages the lab, , and the US Department of Agricul- project with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and and trains analytical assistants. A strict qual- the local Hunting Fishing and Trapping Association to ture (USDA), the centre has initiated epi- ity assurance program ensures high data measure the time belugas spend underwater (to correct demiological surveys on food-borne diseases population estimates done by aerial survey) and to quality. in the subsistence harvest. Researchers use a discover where the whales spend their time offshore. The centre also does wildlife population USDA agglutination test to detect anti-Toxo- Photo: Nunavik Research Centre. dynamics studies needed for wildlife man- plasma gondii antibodies in plasma of agement, and its biologists have many years wildlife and to investigate the sources of in gravel – allow air to circulate, preventing of experience conducting demographic stud- human toxoplasmosis, which can cause the clostridium spores from flowering. But ies on fish, mussels, waterfowl, and beluga. neurological disorders in newborns. incorrect aging in a sealed container like They collaborate with government scientists Centre staff are also working on botu- a plastic bag provides a perfect breeding from the south in migration studies, satellite lism, caused by the clostridium botulinum ground for the disease, especially if placed in tagging of beluga, and goose banding. Tech- neurotoxin, which thrives in anaerobic con- a heated house or outside in the sun. Clos- nicians at the centre determine the age of ditions. Standard Inuit methods of aging tridium is common in soil, and the centre is fish, shellfish, caribou, and marine mam- meat or oil – which include placing it under conducting research to determine whether mals – an important factor in predicting rocks in a cache or in a sealskin bag buried it is present at butchering sites, and also their future population status – by examin- to find out what environmental conditions ing layers of calcareous material deposited it thrives in. annually in thin sections of mammal teeth, The Nunavik Research Centre,showing the new section For studying contaminants in country in scales and otoliths (ear stones) of fish, added in 2000 (right) . The centre also houses a and umbo (hinges) of shellfish. The centre is cartography section that conducts land-use studies, food, a major concern of Inuit since the working with the Department of Fisheries creates GIS databases,and provides mapping services. Photo: Nunavik Research Centre. and Oceans, with Environment Canada on goose studies, and with the provincial gov- ernment on caribou and musk ox. Research centre scientists do in-house studies and provide environmental expertise on contract to organizations like the Kativik Regional Government. They undertake base- line studies for mining environmental im- pact monitoring, and stream enhancement to assist arctic char migration. They have also been involved with a local project to raise arctic char. The centre is very much a community- based facility. Hunters, highly observant and

4 constantly travelling over the land and sea improving life in their communities lies in For more information contact: Makivik Cor- ice, are its eyes and ears. If they report a using the best of Inuit knowledge alongside poration, Nunavik Research Centre, P.O. Box problem, researchers investigate. The centre the best of southern knowledge. The Nuna- 179, , QC JOM 1CO. Phone: (819) also relies on their assistance for sampling. vik Research Centre provides an excellent 964-2951, Fax: (819) 964-2230. E-mail: Many Inuit have said that the way to example of this principle in action. research @makivik.org.

ABANDONED MINING EXPLORATION SITES IN NUNAVIK Robert Lanari Mineral exploration fever in the 50s and 60s sites. In light of the need for systematic plan- number and approximate size of sites

FALL/WINTERR 2001 left its mark on many places in Nunavik. ning Kativik Regional Government, Makivik but not the quantity of material or level of Before 1976 companies were not required to Corporation, and Laval University estab- contamination. Determining the amount of clean up their exploration sites; when they lished a joint inventory project to find and waste requires on-site investigation. left, most abandoned everything – heavy identify abandoned mine exploration sites. Our Evaluation and Priorities Program equipment, buildings, fuel drums, and un- In 2000 the Kawawachikamach will evaluate 85 of these sites over the next used acid – marring Nunavik’s landscape Nation joined; and the project completed an two years. The Kativik Regional Govern- with a hodgepodge of litter, and contami- ment, Makivik, Laval University, the Kawa- nating the soil in many places. wachikamach Naskapi Nation, and Envi- In 1997, after requests from nearby com- ronment Canada created and partly finance munities, the Kativik Regional Government the program, the remainder coming from began cleaning up a few sites, assisted by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s funding from Indian and Northern Affairs Northern Ecosystem Initiative, and the Que- Canada. The project was interrupted in bec Ministry of Natural Resources. The pro- 1998, resumed in 1999, and halted again at gram will develop site characterizations for the end of that year. The communities twenty-five priority sites and will investigate turned to Makivik Corporation, which 60 more, ranking each according to poten- More than 600 abandoned mineral exploration sites like agreed to take over the project despite lim- tial environmental risk. In this context this one lie scattered across Nunavik. Photo: Robert ited resources. Site cleanup is now in Lanari. we will evaluate the potential of IKONOS progress. remote-sensing technology for inventory In summer when the debris is free of ice and characterization of mining and other exhaustive inventory of the entire and snow, workers travel to the sites by all- sites. north of the 55th parallel. terrain vehicle and move it to hilltops. They We hope these efforts will soon result, at Our project has successfully combined return in winter and transport it to the the very least, in the creation of a restora- indigenous traditional knowledge with the municipal dump by snowmobile. This tion program for significant sites. We believe scientific approach. We have integrated method costs less than using helicopters, this project constitutes a fundamental step information from interviews with key infor- and brings some economic benefit to the toward sustainable development in the mants in all villages with data from govern- community. region by reconciling mining exploration ment sources; and in a small part of the area Once work began the inadequacy of a with the exploitation of renewable resources CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION we are experimenting with high-resolution piecemeal approach to site restoration, for subsistence or tourism. remote sensing for identifying sites. working only when funding was available, The inventory has produced convincing soon became clear. Workers were discover- Robert Lanari is Project Director for the results, identifying 600 sites scattered across ing an astonishing amount of debris, and Makivik Corporation, which speaks for Inuit the area, mostly in the and Unga- the villages were reporting more and more regarding implementation of the James va troughs. Some are near villages, includ- Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. ing major sites near and on . The inventory shows the 5 TUNDRA NORTHWEST 99

What happens when foreign scientists covered most of the costs of Tun- working on global environmental issues dra Northwest 99, including the substantial require information from the Canadian Arc- bill for using the vessel and its equipment, tic – information that Canadian researchers while Canada contributed expertise crucial on shoestring budgets can’t provide? The to the expedition’s success. Scientists from Tundra Northwest 99 expedition provides an Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment example of how foreign countries with well- Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and funded arctic science programs can take the Canadian universities worked with Swedish lead in conducting priority arctic research in researchers to supplement and improve the (left),Assistant Deputy Minister of Science at Fisheries and Oceans Canada,presenting a painting – Canada. design of the programs, and to choose the “Icebreakers”,by Christopher Walker – to Swedish In the summer of 1999 the expedition’s sampling locations. Some participated in the Ambassador Lennart Alvin at the Canada-Sweden Arctic Swedish and Canadian researchers made a expedition itself. Science Workshop held in Winnipeg in May. Photo: two-way trip though Canada’s Arctic waters The scientific programme included five Fisheries and Oceans Canada. on the CGS Louis S. St-Laurent to gather main themes: interactions between plants, ecological data. Using the icebreaker as a herbivores, and predators; biodiversity in base for boat and helicopter excursions the arctic tundra; migratory birds in the arc- interactions between plants, herbivores, and ashore, they gathered ecological data to tic environment; freshwater ecosystems in predators. The relatively few species in the compare with information from a similar the High Arctic; and climatic change and arctic make it ideal for this kind of research. project in , the 1994 Swedish-Russian pollution in the arctic tundra. Tundra biodiversity studies examined a Tundra Ecology Expedition. Terrestrial community studies looked at wide variety of organisms on the same spot

Axel Heiberg Island Ringnes Island Ellesmere Island MAGNETIC Bay Fiord Prudhoe Bay

ALASKA Banks Resolute Devon Island Island

Tuktoyaktuk

Victoria Nuuk Island Igloolik

Iqaluit NORTHWEST NUNAVUT TERRITORIES

QUEBEC

6 at the same time using a standardized sam- through international research networks, sentations by two Canadian authors, Elaine pling technique, thereby making a unique their findings will become part of the cur- Dewar (Bones) and Wayne Grady (The contribution to the discipline. rent body of international change Quiet Limit of the World), and a cultural Bird studies aimed at a comprehensive knowledge. evening featuring a performance by the investigation and analysis of migration ecol- The Tundra Northwest 99 Expedition Winnipeg Symphony of Breaking the Ice, ogy in high arctic Canada and . Be- also recognized that understanding the Arc- and Between Sky and Sea, two movements cause the arctic is in some ways an extreme tic’s importance to humanity - and commu- from Arktis Arktis!. environment for migrating birds, this kind nicating that importance to the public - Tundra Northwest 99 was an imagina- of research helps in understanding the demands a collaboration of different view- tive and ambitious project, an excellent stresses on migratory birds in general. points and means of expression. Invited example of international scientific coopera- Lake ecosystem studies tested new theo- along was one of Sweden’s foremost com- tion, and a credit to those who planned it. ries, developed in temperate , in posers, Karin Rehnqvist. Ms Rehnqvist drew Canadian scientists need the resources to be

FALL/WINTERR 2001 arctic lakes. inspiration from the trip for a major new able to mount expeditions of this quality in Studies relating to and orchestral work entitled Arktis Arktis!, our own arctic. Then we can invite foreign pollution emphasized the role of arctic which orchestras have performed in Swe- scientists along – instead of relying on our bioindicators as “early warning systems” den and Scotland. well-funded guests to take the initiative and and of the arctic as a global sink for pollu- This past May the Canada-Sweden Arctic foot the bill. tants. Because many of the expedition’s Science Workshop, held in co-operation climate change scientists work together with the and the , presented some of the expedition’s findings. It also included pre-

NEW INTERNATIONAL BATHYMETRIC CHART OF THE H.R. Jackson and R. Macnab

After twenty years a new International The new bathymetric data provide an Through Article 76, the Law of the Sea Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean updated description of the major features of authorizes wide-margin coastal states to (IBCAO) has been produced. All five coastal the Arctic Ocean including the Lomonosov exercise sovereign rights beyond the nor- states that border the Arctic Ocean partici- and Alpha ridges and the Chukchi Plateau. mal 200 nautical mile limit. Bathymetric pated in making the map as well as , The East Siberian and Laptev seas are in- and geological criteria provide the basis Germany and Sweden. This group con- cised by paleo-river channels only tens of for defining the outer limits of extended structed a digital database containing all metres deep. The information contained in jurisdiction. This requires well-docu- data north of 64 degrees. Data coverage in this improved representation of the seafloor mented assembly and analysis of a wide the older map at lower latitudes tended to be is expected to advance our understanding of range of information in a manner con- fairly good where ice cover was not a hin- the geological framework and the ocean cir- sistent with the reporting requirements of drance but at higher latitudes where ice was culation by providing constraints for geo- the UN Commission on the Limits of the

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION more prevalent, major features were not physical and oceanographic modelling. It Continental Shelf. well delineated. New data from recent ice- will also be useful to coastal states in defin- breaker and submarine cruises were merged ing the outer juridical boundaries of their H.R. Jackson and R. Macnab are physi- with older soundings. These came from continental shelves by providing a common cal oceanographers with Geological Sur- newly declassified bathymetric data collect- description of the bathymetric features that vey of Canada, Atlantic. ed from US and British submarines and the impinge upon implementation of Article 76 public archives of a number of national data of the Law of the Sea. centres.

7 IS ARCTIC RAPIDLY Only very recently have satellites been THINNING? able to monitor ice thickness. Most thickness Adapted from an abstract by Greg Holloway and Tessa Sou data, apart from information from isolated stations, has come from U.S. and British Global warming focuses attention on the sealing logs provide a long baseline for military submarine sonar measurements of Arctic as an “early warning system” where assessing climate trends, but they generally sea ice draft. Though they cover more area environmental changes may happen more report only on a loosely defined sea ice than records from isolated stations, these quickly than further south. Some, like “edge”. Satellites have provided nearly pan- observations are still few and far between, shrinking and melting , Arctic coverage year-round since 1978. and it is difficult to infer total ice volume are fairly easy to track. But others, like Passive microwave imagery allows us to from such limited data. To help estimate changes to sea ice, are more difficult. Unlike measure the amount of ice in a given unit of total volume and therefore average thick- glaciers and permafrost, sea ice moves sea surface, and from there we can calculate ness, we use numerical ice-ocean modelling. around. total ice cover. Satellites can monitor ice Historical records from whaling and motion fields and permit climate trend WALKING ON THIN ICE? assessments of total areal extent. But deter- Scientists have used satellite observations to Figure 1 mining the thickness of the ice – and there- estimate that from 1979 to 1999 Arctic sea Changed ice thickness latter minus earlier submarine fore its total volume – is a greater challenge. periods,showing 29 submarine evaluation locations. ice cover has been decreasing at nearly 3%

Difference in ice thickness 1993,96,97,less 1958,60,62,70,76

10 1 29 5 4 3 2 6 7 28 9 12 8 10 11 16 17 20 13 19 0 14 15 21 22 26 18 23 25 27 24

–10

Y Ice X –15 0 15 thickness (m) –3.0 –1.8 –0.6 0.6 1.8 3.0

8 per decade. Coming up with a figure for autumns of 1958, 1960, 1962, 1970 and 1976, OR BLOWING thickness change over wide areas of the Arc- when compared with subsequent cruises IN THE WIND? tic has been more difficult. Estimates from during 1993, 1996 and 1997, showed stun- In our study we used a numerical ocean-ice- submarines and moored sonars – near the ning changes to arctic ice. Over all the re- snow model to try formulating a freshwater North Pole, in the southern Beaufort Sea, gions sampled, thicknesses had decreased and heat budget for the arctic ocean-ice- along a transect from Strait to the markedly from the earlier to the later peri- snow system. Then we forced the model – Pole, and along a transect from the Alaska od. From the 29 locations where records that is, we accounted for the mechanisms Beaufort to the Pole – are regionally limited. could be compared, the ice was on average that drive wind, weather, and the move- They suggest differing results, from no sig- 42% thinner, far beyond a 3% reduction per ment of water – with atmospheric data nificant trends at the Pole or along the Alas- decade. from 1948 through 1999. The results fell ka Beaufort to the Pole transect, to substan- What could cause such rapid loss of ice within the estimated 3% ice cover loss per tial thinning along the Fram Strait transect. volume? The Rothrock study postulated that decade.

FALL/WINTERR 2001 In 1999 a broader arctic basin study by either changing winds were blowing more This was nothing like the rapid thinning Drew Rothrock of the University of Wash- ice down to the Atlantic, or warmer condi- the submarines reported. We checked for ington captured media attention. Data tions were causing less growth or more shortcomings in the model and errors in from US military submarine cruises from melt, or both – or perhaps that both winds forcing data: we sent “virtual submarines” to and temperature were involved. the locations and the times (corrected to Figure 2 Septembers) of the actual submarine cruises. Difference of 8-month-average windstress,later period minus earlier.

Difference of 8-month windstress,1993,96,97,minus 1958,60,62,70,76

10

0 CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION

–10

Y

X –15 0 15 ➔ Max.0523753 dyne/cm2

9 Figure 1 shows the differences in average years of the submarine cruises. Twelve per- TIMING IS thickness of the later three cruises from cent volume loss, while less than 45%, is not EVERYTHING those of the five earlier cruises, and the 29 a valid representation of even a modest We can use the model to continuously moni- locations identified in the Rothrock study trend. tor ice thickness at the 29 locations from from which difference statistics were com- Wind patterns over large areas are con- Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a time-series of puted. At these 29 locations, total ice volume stantly changing and rearranging the Arctic thickness averaged over those 29 locations. loss is 45%, consistent with published results. ice pack. Figure 2 shows windstress differ- Circles mark the times of the five early cruis- But over the entire arctic, total loss is near ences between the years of the later subma- es and the three later cruises. Let’s hypothe- 12%. rine cruises and the earlier ones. Windstress size that the five early cruises each occurred While details of the thinning pattern dif- is averaged over the first eight months of one year earlier (September 1957, 1959, fer from observation, the overall picture each year, the time of submarine observa- 1961, 1969, and 1975) and the three later suggests a simple explanation: rather than tion. Averaging over other periods (only cruises each one year later (September 1994, either melting or export, the apparent ice winter months, for instance) produces qual- 1997, and 1998). This spreads out the base- loss was only a shift of ice within the Arctic itatively similar pictures. The pattern in Fig- line for detecting change. What would the – a shift that the submarines’ sampling pat- ure 2, like the pattern in Figure 1, is robust; result have been? The submarine surveys tern missed. different procedures might change only the would have shown no change at all to According to the model, wind blowing details. average Arctic ice thickness. And so the more ice out of the Arctic accounted for 9% To completely explain the changes in actual results from the actual submarine of the 12% ice loss, while thermodynamics Figure 1 we would have to get into the com- surveys appear to be a fluke of timing – cou- (less growth or more melt) accounted for plex physics of the model – but generally, pled with a natural mode of Arctic sea ice 3%. On a cautionary note, these numerical this is what is happening: differences in variability. values are quite specific to the particular windstress mean that winds blow the differ- Everywhere on the planet the environ- ence in ice along and to the right, expelling ment is changing constantly. Scientists have ice from the more central Arctic and driving limited ability to sample all those changes, Figure 3 it into Canadian waters. and inferring too much from sparse data Timeseries of ice thickness averaged over 29 submarine can be misleading. But we can refine our sample locations. inferences with numerical ice-ocean model- ling and by analysing the effect on ice of 4.5 atmospheric processes, especially wind pat- terns. When we used these techniques we 4 found that sea ice did not rapidly diminish; instead, it moved. 3.5 Observations to date, together with

3 model physics, imply only that the loss of sea ice volume is not inconsistent with the 2.5 3% per decade loss of ice area calculated from three decades of satellite observations. 2 That’s a modest rate – and it’s within the Thickness (m) range of natural variability. 1.5 Greg Holloway and Tessa Sou are physi- 1 cal oceanographers at the Institute of

0.5 Ocean Sciences, in Sidney, B.C., Canada.

0 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Average over 29 submarine test locations

10 LIFE AT A 3.5 MILLION-YEAR-OLD BEAVER POND IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC ISLANDS AND THE MODERN SCENE C.R. Harington

Fishes, frogs, birds, shrews, rabbits, small droppings of this animal have been recov- The face of the exposure discloses masses beaver, other rodents, a forerunner of the ered, allowing us to determine in part what of mossy peat with sandy partings, freshwa- black bear, several weasel-like carnivores they were feeding on. ter mollusc shells (at least five species (including the first Eurasian badger from Many other fossils have been found at including Gyraulus albus, perhaps the first , and an ancestral wolver- the site, and help to indicate the kind of North American record of this European ine), a three-toed horse (the most northerly environment that existed in the vicinity 3.5 species), insect remains (including attractive million years ago when the Arctic was iridescent beetle-wing covers), beaver-cut FALL/WINTERR 2001 much warmer than present, but when it sticks, rooted tree trunks probably not more ELLESMERE was gradually cooling towards the last ice than 3 metres tall, and a few boulders and AXEL ISLAND HEIBERG age (Pleistocene) which began about 2 mil- ISLAND lion years ago. The warming of climate about this time (3 million years ago) in- Bay Fiord volved increased transport of heat north- ward by the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic ✪ Drift. Sea ice must have been substantially reduced or absent in large parts of the Arctic Ocean during this interval. The warm cli- Strathcona Fiord fossil site,Ellesmere Island. mate could have been caused by elevated C02 levels, which would have increased sea- record of horses in the world), and a primi- surface temperatures globally, or enhanced tive deerlet, like the small living Asian musk ocean circulation – leading to increased deer, occupied boreal- margin habitat temperatures mainly in polar . July near what is now Strathcona Fiord on Elles- temperature was up to 5°C warmer than mere Island during the Pliocene (about 5 to present at the beaver pond site. However, a specimen of a tundra-adapted ground beetle 2 million years ago). The Pliocene beaver-pond environment would have The fossil site preserves remains of an Carabus truncaticollis suggests that the looked somewhat like this burned-over larch forest -- ancient beaver pond occupied by a small climate was not much warmer than the pre- typical of the boreal forest at the headwaters of the beaver Dipoides, one of the most common sent forest tree line. It is interesting that this Phillipova River in northeastern . Photo: R. Harington. members of the fauna. We know that this site could be considered an analogue for a beaver (about two-thirds the size of the liv- similar level of global warming forecast for ing beaver, Castor canadensis, and ances- the Arctic by the end of the 21st century. rocks – as well as the bones which are tral to the giant beaver Castoroides ohioen- sometimes pressed between the layers of sis, that died out at the end of the last glacia- peat. tion some 10,000 years ago) lived at the site The deposit contains some of the oldest CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION because a large part of a skeleton was Arctic siliceous microfossils known. Several found, and it has left many beaver-cut sticks freshwater diatoms (minute algae) indi- and saplings. Indeed, an ancient feeding-pile cating water no more than 3 metres deep has been noted during the excavation, are present. Some of the diatoms lived on although no lodge or dam has been located mosses and larger aquatic plants. They also yet. Another of the commonest fossils at the Beaver-pond site at about 1000 feet above sea-level, indicate a shift from alkaline to more acidic site represents the rabbit Hypolagus: even with the head of Strathcona Fiord in the background. conditions later in the history of the pond. Photo: R. Harington. 11 Table 1 Preliminary list of vertebrate taxa represented from a Pliocene beaver-pond site at Strathcona Fiord, Nunavut, Canada

Class Pisces – small perch-like fish – new genus and species Class Amphibia – frog? Class Aves – unidentified birds Class Mammalia Family Soricidae – Arctisorex polaris – new genus and species of shrew Family Leporidae – Hypolagus cf. H. vetus – hare-like lagomorph Order Rodentia – ground squirrel-sized rodent Family Castoridae – Dipoides cf. D. intermedius – small beaver Family Muridae – cf. Baranomys sp. – extinct mouse Family Ursidae – Ursus abstrusus – primitive black bear Family Mustelidae – Plesiogulo sp. – wolverine-like mammal cf. Mustela sp. – small weasel (?) Martes cf. M. pennanti – fisher-like mammal Martes cf. M. americana – marten-like mammal A 3.5 million-year-old larch cone,showing the excellent Meles sp. – Eurasian badger, probably related to a northern preservation of some of the fossils. Photo: J.V. Matthews. Chinese Pliocene species Family Equidae – “hipparion,” probably related to a northern Chinese Pliocene that must be like the ancient beaver-pond species – three-toed horse environment. At least 10 species of mosses Family Moschidae – Blastomeryx (Parablastomeryx) sp. – “deerlet” and 34 species of vascular plants are known from the beaver-pond site. The vascular plants are dominated by wetland species parts of plants ( . seeds, leaves and fruit- e.g (e.g. Carex diandra, Scirpus sp., Scheu- ing bodies) indicate that a boreal-forest chzeria sp. and Menyanthes sp.). The margin environment with standing water abundance of larch needles, short shoots and extensive grassy patches (microwear on and cones indicates that the pond was sur- the deerlet’s teeth show that it was mainly a rounded by an open larch forest. grazer, and remember the phytoliths men- The plant fossils suggest that the beaver tioned earlier) surrounded the pond. Larch deposit is slightly older than an approxi- (Larix sp., sometimes called tamarack) is Overhead view of a beaver-cut stick projecting from the mately 3.1 million-year-old site on Meighen deposits. Photo: R. Harington. the only conifer identified from wood in the Island (380 kilometres northwest of Strath- pond deposits. Alder and birch seem to have cona Fiord) and a good deal older than the 2 been the only other trees growing near the million-year-old fossil site at Kap Køben- Microscopic bits of freshwater sponges are pond. Some of the wood is charred as a havn on the northern coast of Greenland, known from the pond (e.g. Spongilla is result of forest fires (indeed, a study of char- where only two vertebrate fossils have been presently found in the Nuuk area of Green- coal from the site, now underway at Car- found (Hypolagus and the modern hare, land, and another of its species occurred in leton University, may indicate the incidence Lepus). West Greenland during the last 500 years). of such fires), and has bark beetle grooves In fact, no other recorded sites of this age Also, siliceous plates of amoeba, cysts of and galls. Perhaps this kind of boreal-forest with comparable faunas are known. The golden brown algae, and phytoliths (silica habitat is best exemplified by that in north- site is unique. However, it shares a few ele- bodies apparently originating from grasses eastern Siberia, where larch, rather than ments with the similar-aged Hagerman and found in the upper part of the deposit) spruce is dominant. I recall a scene of burnt- fauna from Idaho (about 43°N compared to are known from the site. over larch saplings in a marshy area near about 78.5°N for the beaver-pond site), Studies of microscopic pollen and larger the source of the Phillipova River in Siberia 12 such as the beaver Dipoides, the rabbit 2001 specialist in paleo-environments. She is cur- Hypolagus, and the bear Ursus abstrusus. CANADIAN POLAR rently studying freshwater diatoms (micro- The hipparion (three-toed horse), badger COMMISSION scopic algae) and chironomides (insects SCHOLARSHIP and some plants indicate a source in north- whose larvae develop at lake bottoms) in WINNER eastern . Nunavik and Labrador lake sediments for The 2001 Canadian Polar Commission At present, the beaver-pond site is a clues to the effects of climate change. We Scholarship ($10,000) has been awarded to stiff, daily 300-metre climb above our camp congratulate Ms Fallu and wish her all the Marie-Andrée Fallu, a PhD candidate in site near the shore of Strathcona Fiord. The best in her research. geography at Laval University. Ms Fallu is a fossils are collected under weather condi- tions varying from baking hot (rare) to bliz- zards (more common), and boxes of matrix margin are clearly marked raised beaches impede walking). Sometimes herds of musk- are packed down to camp each day after indicating a rapid rise of land during the last oxen and rarely, small bands of pale grey FALL/WINTERR 2001 work for eventual shipment to our labora- few thousand years. Peary caribou may be seen. Snow geese feed tory near , where samples can be Well-preserved remains of sea shells, on the ponds behind the moraine, and low, carefully screened and examined micro- marine mammals (such as seal limb bones fast-flying oldsquaw and eider ducks whistle scopically. However, most of the fossils are and tusks) and rust-coloured pum- over the camp, while long-tailed jaegers and excavated by trowel at the site. ice – drifted over the sea following volcanic glaucous gulls circle overhead, looking for The high-terrace sands and gravels con- eruptions in Iceland – characterize the prey. Turnstones and red knots, the most taining organic remains, such as the beaver- ancient beaches. On some of the beaches are common shorebirds, often nest locally. pond deposit, occur in many places in west- lichen-covered tent rings, caches and traps The boreal-forest margin environment of central Ellesmere Island. These deposits of paleoeskimos. Farther in the same direc- the ancient beaver pond stands in marked accumulated on ancient valley floors and tion lies the gleaming Ellesmere Island ice contrast to the stark tundra landscape now broad alluvial around mountains that cap, scalloped by glaciers, with occasional surrounding the fossil site, and may provide originated earlier in the Tertiary period (65 nunataks (mountain tops surrounded by useful clues to changes that may occur in to 2 million years ago). The deposits, now ice) looking like the horns of a viking hel- our Arctic Islands should recent predictions several hundred metres above sea level and met. Plants are generally sparse on the of rapid global warming come true. deeply cut by fiords and modern stream val- regional tundra – mainly arctic avens, pur- leys, are not geologically deformed. The ple saxifrage, and grassy tussocks (which C.R. Harington, beaver-pond is underlain by about 12 metres Curator of Quaternary Zoology Emeritus, of fine sand but largely covered by slumped Left mandible with teeth of a small extinct beaver Canadian Museum of (Research sediment to bedrock (shale and sandstone of (Dipoides). Photo: R. Harington. Division) the mid-Tertiary Eureka Sound Formation). It is interesting to look down from the fossil site and see the Eureka Sound coal deposits with massive stumps of dawn redwoods (Metasequoia) across a gully to the south. The site is overlain by nearly 6 metres of sand and 12 metres of loose pebble gravel capped by boulders. Massive boulders can

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION slide or roll downhill – another hazard of our excavation. Looking eastward from the site, you can see the near-perfect arc of an end moraine just behind our camp. It is easy to imagine the massive snout of the that left these high mounds of rubble just before it melted back some 8,000 years ago. On its

13 HORIZON

Indigenous Peoples and Forest Remote Sensing & Resource Impacts of POPs (persistent Management in Fennoscandia and Management in Nearshore and organic pollutants) and Mercury on Canada Inland Waters Arctic Environments and Humans: 10–12 October, 2001 22–24 October, 2001 Arctic Monitoring and Assessment International Conference Wolfville, , Canada Program Conference and Workshop Jokkmokk, Sweden www.waterobserver.org/workshop-10-2001/ 21–24 January, 2002 www.sapmi.se/forestconference index.html Polar Environmental Centre Lisbeth Blind Conference: On Thinning Ice – Tromsø, Conference Coordinator Climate Change and New Ideas AMAP Conference Phone: 46-971-320-25 about Sovereignty and Security in Polar Environmental Centre Fax: 46-971-320-37 the Canadian Arctic NO-9296 Tromsø, Norway E-mail:[email protected]; and Canadian Arctic Resources Committee and Phone: 47-777-502-10 Geoff Quaile the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies Fax: 47-777-502-01 Grand Council of the at the University of Calgary E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 1-613-761-1655 25–26 January, 2002, Ottawa www.nilu.no/web/amapconf/ Fax: 1-613-761-1388 Melissa Douglas E-mail: [email protected] Canadian Arctic Resources Committee 13th Inuit Studies Conference Tel.: 1-613-759-4284, ext. 247 1–3 August, 2002 Alliance for Marine Remote Sensing [email protected] Anchorage, Alaska Workshop:

WHAT’S NEW

NEW MEMBER Education, Community and Transportation the Commission, or on-line at www. APPOINTED Services and Finance. He and his wife Ofelia polarcom.gc.ca/pdf/indicators_report_en.pdf. The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Ondrade have three children. Mr. McDonald Development, Robert Nault, has named has worked as a private businessman since ANTARCTIC former Government Leader Piers retiring from politics last year. SUBGLACIAL LAKE McDonald to the Board of the Canadian AND DEEP ICE WORKSHOP Polar Commission. INDICATORS The Antarctic Subglacial Lake and Deep Ice Piers McDonald was Yukon government OF CANADIAN Workshop report (July 2001) is available in leader between fall 1996 and spring of 2000. POLAR KNOWLEDGE print from the Commission, or on-line at He spent 18 years as a Member of the Leg- “Indicators of Canadian Polar Knowledge www.polarcom.gc.ca/pdf/workshop_en.pdf. islative Assembly and served as Minister of 1999” (June 2001) is available in print from

Canadian Polar Commission BOARD OF DIRECTORS Suite 1710,Constitution Square Wayne Adams is published by the Canadian Polar Commission. Material 360 Albert Street Richard Binder may be used with appropriate attribution. Ottawa, Julie Cruikshank K1R 7X7 Jean Dupuis © 2001 Canadian Polar Commission Piers McDonald Tel.: (613) 943-8605 Peter Johnson (vice-chair) Toll-free: 1-888-POLAR01 Mike Robinson (chair) Fax: (613) 943-8607 E-mail: [email protected] www.polarcom.gc.ca

14

Top View