IN THIS ISSUE NEW IDEAS ABOUT SOVEREIGNTY AND SECURITY IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC Steven C. Bigras

New Ideas about Sovereignty and What are the implications of global warm- iticians and university students had gathered Security in the Canadian Arctic 1 ing for Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic? A to hear what the experts had to say about

SPRING/SUMMER 2002 recent international conference in Ottawa the warming trend in the Canadian Arctic, Bipolar Science: has provided much food for thought on this and what they predicted the results would A Canadian Contribution question. mean for country as a whole. to Earth System Science 2 “On Thinning Ice: Climate Change and Some scientific experts were telling us New Ideas about Sovereignty and Security in that the Arctic is experiencing a decrease in Northern Lake Sediment Fossils the Canadian Arctic” was mounted in Janu- the ice cover thickness and greater areas of Hold Clues to Climate Change 5 ary by the Canadian Arctic Resources Com- open water. If the present warming trend mittee, The Centre for Military and Strategic persists the Northwest Passage may soon Global Change: Studies at the University of Calgary, and the become a veritable expressway for commer- Much More than a Matter of Degrees 8 Canadian Polar Commission. The three cial shipping between Europe and Asia. national organizations brought together This type of scenario brought sovereignty Interview: Jean Briggs 12 some of the globe’s leading experts on cli- and security issues to the forefront. With the mate change, sovereignty and security. By possibility of increased commercial activity What’s New 15 inviting such notables to the conference the in the Arctic, a stronger government pres- organizers were hoping to fuel debate and ence is necessary to ensure that Canada’s Horizon 16 find answers to questions on the implica- sovereignty is upheld. As many of the secu- tions of global warming, and whether or rity experts were quick to point out, a not the changing ice regime would bring stronger presence may also be needed to challenges to Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. deal with such security threats as smuggling They were not disappointed. and illegal immigration, which may be The Norwegian ambassador kicked off increasingly attempted in what were once the event by welcoming arctic researchers inaccessible locations far from established and conference organizers at an evening border checkpoints. reception at his home. Then for the next two Health issues, lifestyle, and well-being of days the vast meeting chamber of the northerners need to be addressed as a result Government Conference Centre in Ottawa of increased commercial activity. There are echoed with the voices of some 30 invited also environmental issues – how to protect speakers and an audience of nearly 200. and regulate shipping to ensure our waters Ambassadors, academics, bureaucrats, con- do not suffer environmental damage, or sultants, military officers, researchers, pol- worse, an environmental catastrophe. There is a need to continually monitor water quali- Through their presentations panelists The conference concluded with a call for ty to maintain the survival and proliferation brought it to our attention that Canada is a action. Canada needs to step up its research of terrestrial and marine species. polar nation with no national polar research activities in the Arctic. If the Canadian gov- As the conference drew to a close, it strategy. Canada is seen by other nations as ernment does not do so – if it continues to became increasingly apparent that Canada a weak link in terms of its contributions to ignore the need to increase surveillance and needs to start strategizing to meet the poten- understanding of the arctic environment environmental monitoring programs – then tial challenges that climate change may and global climate change. For the last five the landscape that we fondly call the Cana- bring to bear on our arctic region. The years Canada has seen other nations mount dian Arctic may well undergo a drastic envi- instinctual Canadian response to seek the large-scale multinational interdisciplinary ronmental and geopolitical transformation. middle ground when dealing with a prob- research projects in our arctic regions (see lem of this magnitude will not serve the “Tundra Northwest 99”, Meridian, Fall / Steven C. Bigras is Executive Director of Canadian interest in this instance. What is Winter 2001). This conference has under- the Canadian Polar Commission. needed is a radical departure from the status scored the fact that Canada is ill-equipped to quo. respond to the many and varied challenges global warming may bring. We have gaps in our arctic knowledge base. We have relied on the twin factors of inaccessibility and iso- lation to deter commercial use of our arctic waters.

BIPOLAR SCIENCE: A CANADIAN CONTRIBUTION TO EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE Wayne Pollard

EARTH SYSTEM These scientific advances have been Canadians have a role to play in this SCIENCE matched by and to some extent stimulated process. Not only do we need to work hard During the past 40 years developments have by technological developments. Advances in as a nation to meet our environmental com- combined to reveal to us a new view of the satellite and manned spacecraft technologies mitments under the Kyoto Protocol; we also Earth as an integrated system of interact- have given us the first global view of the need to expand our scientific vision to ing components. We are just beginning to Earth from space. Recent advances in infor- include global questions that seek solutions understand the forcing mechanisms of the mation technology include the capacity to to problems that threaten everyone. We Earth’s climate system (solar fluctuation, model global systems and analyse the huge need to look beyond geographically limited changes in orbit, atmospheric composition, databases necessary to look at the Earth as problems and join with scientists from other ocean currents) and particularly the role of an integrated system. countries on global-scale research pro- the polar regions (the cryosphere). Also, Possibly the most important develop- grams. Furthermore, we need to take the after years of debate there is both wide- ment, beginning with the Rio Earth Summit lead on scientific initiatives in areas where spread consensus that human activities are in 1992 and culminating in the Kyoto Proto- Canadian scientists are internationally causing global climate change and clear col in 1997, is the decision to take responsi- recognised, like polar science. Canada evidence that these changes have already bility for human impacts on the Earth. Earth remains a world leader in polar science and begun. system science recognises the need to look at engineering despite decades of political whole Earth questions. Polar regions repre- myopia marked by cutbacks to northern sent one of the biggest unknowns in our research infrastructure and under-funding. attempt to understand the Earth system.

2 Five themes are emerging as foci of cry- ospheric research:

The cryosphere as a major driver of the global climate – Research on the dynamics of the cryosphere contributes to our capacity to understand, monitor and predict the impacts of global change, in particular anthropogenic global warming. Climate change at the poles is forecast to be up to four times the global average and thus will provide early warning and validation of global and regional models. SPRING/SUMMER 2002 Palaeoclimate – In both polar regions ice, ocean and atmosphere coexist to form an intimately coupled system with a highly non-linear response to external forcing and complex internal variability. Large spatial and temporal variations exist with both short-term fluctuations and long-term trends. Meteorological records illustrate the degree of natural short-term variability in climate worldwide. However, there is a need to know in more detail how climate Photo: Courtesy Canadian Space Agency,2002. has changed both within the Holocene and POLAR SCIENCE on longer time scales. The polar regions AND THE of organisms and the structure and func- contain unique deep ice sheets which pro- CRYOSPHERE tioning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. vide potential records of climate change The Earth’s planetary properties and geo- Through atmospheric and ocean circulation through many glacial cycles, while lake and space relations combine to give our polar pathways (and biological migrations), the marine sediments provide complementary regions their extreme environmental char- cryosphere is linked to lower latitudes and is details for both longer and shorter periods. acter. Polar regions cover at least 20 percent a major driver and modulator of climate. Depletion of the stratospheric ozone and of our planet and play a fundamental role in The survival and welfare of northern popu- enhanced UV-B radiation at both poles – the physical, chemical and biological opera- lations are linked intimately to the cryos- The spatial and temporal dynamics of tion of the whole Earth system. The predom- pheric environment. An understanding of stratospheric ozone provide insights into inance of very low temperatures that char- the cryosphere is highly relevant to under- future change at lower latitudes as well as at acterise polar regions produce an integrated standing the global environment and under- the poles. environmental system called the cryosphere. pins resource utilisation and other activities The cryosphere is formed through the inti- in polar regions and at lower latitudes. It is Exobiology and biodiversity – The polar

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION mate and interactive linking of the atmos- therefore of significant strategic importance regions contain unique interconnected sys- phere, land, oceans and the overall climate to Canada. tems, and the pattern and variability of the setting. This physical system determines the environment are key determinants of their distribution of snow, glaciers, sea ice and structure. This applies to both terrestrial permafrost as well as the specialised biology ecosystems in which climate is the main

3 determinant and to marine ecosystems in In addition to the study of natural and CANADIAN POLAR which ocean thermohaline circulation pat- social science issues geographically limited AND terns determine the distribution and compo- to the Earth’s polar regions, polar science is BIPOLAR SCIENCE sition of food webs. The food webs of the also concerned with thematic and systemat- Even though only one percent of our popu- two ecosystems are more strongly intercon- ic investigation of the Earth’s polar environ- lation lives in the North, Canada is very nected than anywhere else in the world. The ments. Studies of polar regions are an essen- much a polar nation and this polar identity contrasting geographical isolation of the tial component of the understanding of the is a prominent part of the Canadian psyche. Arctic and Antarctic also provides a natural natural dynamics of the world system. Apart Permafrost and glaciers, the physical mani- laboratory to explore the relative impor- from Canada’s northern geography, Canadi- festations of cold climate that define the tance of biogeography and environment on an scientists are interested in the Earth’s North, affect more than 50 percent of Cana- ecosystem structure and dynamics. Changes polar regions for several reasons and as our da’s land area and 71 percent of its shoreline in the distribution and composition of ter- attention is being drawn to global-scale (Canada has more shoreline than any other restrial systems have feedback effects on cli- problems the polar regions are assuming country). It seems only natural that Canada mate through albedo and flux of greenhouse increasingly significant global scientific invest in polar science, and implicit in this gases. importance. Canada has a long and distin- should be support for bipolar science. Even guished history of polar science and contin- though the Arctic and the Antarctic are Geospace – The polar regions provide a pre- ues to make major contributions to the lumped together under the cryosphere label eminent platform for both ground-based understanding and exploration of polar and both have a significant impact on the and space-based research into geospace. regions. Canadians are involved in many Earth’s circulation and climate patterns,they Geospace is the outermost region of the polar science issues and are prominent in differ in many respects. Several Canadian Earth's environmental envelope. Storms in most, including: scientists and companies are involved in geospace triggered by solar activity can bipolar research activities in a variety of sci- the influence of polar regions on the interfere with modern navigation and com- global climate system; entific areas, including: remote sensing, munication systems, damage spacecraft, glaciology, permafrost and periglacial pro- climate change impacts in polar regions; disrupt terrestrial power systems and pose a cesses, geology, Quaternary palaeoclimatic stratospheric ozone depletion (seen first health hazard to humans working in space, in the Antarctic, it is now occurring in reconstruction, microbial ecology, sea ice or travelling in high flying aircraft. The im- the Arctic); dynamics, marine ecology, contaminants, pacts of space weather are global. ice drilling technology and fisheries, to thermohaline ocean circulation and polar dynamics; name a few. POLAR VS. BIPOLAR Comparison of polar regions through in- polar palaeoclimatic records (ice cores The terms polar and bipolar are used to and sedimentary records); tegrated bipolar studies offers opportunities characterise both science and programs for interchange of expertise and knowledge the polar upper atmosphere as a window whose central focus is defined geographi- on space weather processes; between polar regions. A primary vehicle cally or environmentally as polar in nature. for interchange within Canada is the Arctic- polar organisms’ and ecosystems’ unique The programmatic context of these terms is adaptation to extreme environments; Antarctic Exchange Program. Run by Nat- well developed in countries like the United ural Resources Canada’s Polar Continental polar ocean productivity (supports major States and Great Britain where Polar and fisheries); Shelf Project, which is the primary science Bipolar Programs are identified explicitly in logistics agency in the Canadian Arctic, the the importance of the cryosphere as political agendas and research funding pro- reservoir of 80 percent of the Earth’s Arctic-Antarctic Exchange Program pro- grams. Canada lags behind these countries fresh water. vides support to foreign partners in by failing to recognise and prioritise the What is Bipolar Science and how does it exchange for Antarctic support for Canadian strategic importance of polar science at both differ from Polar Science? Bipolar science is scientists. It has supported two to three pro- the funding and political levels. a sub-discipline of polar science concerned jects each year since 1997. with the integrated study of both polar envi- In the foreseeable future Canadian sci- ronments as part of the whole Earth system. ence interest in both the Antarctic and the It involves comparative analysis of processes Arctic will be driven by the following key and patterns from both polar environments. requirements: 4 to provide the basic scientific knowledge with a high profile presence in the Arctic vant scientific activity supports the political of the cryosphere that underpins the and Antarctic through quality science, and diplomatic requirements of the Canadi- understanding of the global environment supported by a modern infrastructure an government in respect of its international and all activities carried out in Polar and logistic capability. obligations and legal requirements, among regions; Science underpins all polar activities them the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention to utilise the opportunities provided by ranging from the identification, exploita- for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Polar regions as a unique laboratory to tion, transportation, conservation and man- Living Resources, and the Arctic Environ- address questions of global importance agement of economic resources to environ- mental Protection Strategy. and relevance; mental management, and land claims and to respond to the needs of industry, gov- settlement. It is central to assessing and miti- Wayne Pollard is Chair of the Canadian ernment and other users, and in particu- gating impacts on the vulnerable polar envi- Committee for Antarctic Research. lar to provide the Canadian Government ronment. Furthermore, high-level and rele- SPRING/SUMMER 2002

NORTHERN LAKE SEDIMENT FOSSILS HOLD CLUES TO CLIMATE CHANGE Marie-Andrée Fallu The northern regions of Canada have sen- sitive ecosystems that can be affected by seemingly small climate changes. Minor climate modifications could bring drastic changes to terrestrial and aquatic ecosys- tems, impacting on the inhabitants of these regions. We can use these ecosystems as powerful tools for determining natural Fossil diatoms (top) and chironomid (bottom) from response of past aquatic and terrestrial Oksana lake. Photo: Marie-Andrée Fallu. ecosystems to climate changes; and if we understand their dynamics we can predict the effects of future climate changes. Climate change has transformed innu- merable lakes in northern Canada since the glaciers receded (6,000 to 9,000 years ago in central and northern Québec). Recent human activities that degrade the ozone layer and add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are accentuating natural cli- matic fluctuations – potentially altering aquatic communities by modifying the

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION moisture regime, and by changing water transparency, thereby changing the pene- tration of visible and UV light in lakes.

5 ecosystem evolution there; and so my work The objectives of this study are: there will fill an important gap. 1) to reconstruct a detailed chronology of How do we learn more about past aquat- the environmental and climatic change ic communities? To find clues we look at evi- impacts on aquatic conditions at three dence that lies buried in the mud at the bot- sites at different latitudes and in different Kangiqsualujjuaq tom of northern lakes. Using a long tube- ecoclimatic zones; shaped coring device we collect a column 2) to develop a spatial-temporal image of of lake sediment, which has been laid down postglacial environmental changes in the year by year over millennia and constitutes Québec-Labrador region using radiocar- the individual record of each lake’s life and bon dating; and times. By identifying the microorganisms 3) to compare the synchronicity of several (or microfossils) preserved in the sediment indicators (diatoms, chironomids, and record, and understanding the environ- pollen) in order to assess differences Schefferville ments where these species live today, we can between the aquatic and terrestrial or- make inferences about the environment in ganisms’ responses to climate changes. which they lived in the past. Once we obtain the results we will use LABRADOR For this research, I decided to use two them to predict the direct impact of human- different indicators: diatoms and chirono- derived stresses on the ecosystem – and mids. My colleagues are using different indi- hence, on human life. cators such as pollen and organic matter We have collected sediment cores repre- content to ensure a complete picture of the senting the complete postglacial sedimenta- QUEBEC´ past environments. ry sequence from three lakes. Lake K2 Diatoms are unicellular algae protected (informal name; 58°44'05"N, 65°56'03"W) Sept-îles by a silica wall that resists decomposition, is located in Nunavik, near Kangiqsualuj- allowing the tiny organism to lie preserved juaq. The second site, Oksana (informal for millennia in lake sediment. The silica name; 54°49'N; 66°50'W) lies near Schef- wall consists of many ornaments, which we ferville. Researchers George A. King and But exactly how do these communities use to identify the species. In the northern Herb E. Wright (Limnological Research Cen- change – and how much do they change? Québec-Labrador region, freshwater dia- ter, University of Minnesota) provided the Through paleolimnology – the study of past toms are good indicators of water alkali- last core, extracted from Lac au Sable (51° aquatic ecosystem evolution – we can come nity, water colour, and dissolved organic 24'N, 66°13'W), about 130 km north of to understand the long term impacts of cli- matter (DOM) concentrations (produced Sept-Iles. We used standard techniques to mate changes. when plants and animals decompose). process the samples, and identified and Studying past natural fluctuation can Chironomids, also called non-biting counted diatoms and chironomids at a mag- help us understand the evolution of ecosys- midges, are flies (Diptera) sensitive to sum- nification of 1000X and 40X respectively. tems and their response to environmental mer water temperature. They begin life as We have recently studied the environ- change. Learning about these past aquatic aquatic larvae with a chitinous head capsule mental conditions in which the species live communities not only provides a spatial and that resists decomposition. Variations in the and presented them as a tool to quantitative- temporal profile of their evolution, it also structure of this capsule allow us to identify ly infer past environmental variables, based gives us information on the environment in different species groups from their fossil on the fossil assemblages. We applied these which the lakes developed. Few such studies remains. For both indicators, different tools, called inference models, for the first exist for the northern Québec-Labrador species are associated with different envi- time in this region. They helped to recon- region, and we know little about aquatic ronmental conditions, for instance warm struct directly (chironomids – water tem- versus cool temperatures, or clear versus perature) and indirectly (diatoms – DOM turbid waters. Changes in species will there- concentrations, water alkalinity, and water fore suggest a change in the environment over time. 6 colour) climatic changes and their effects on expect pollen results could show a slight the drainage basin and on the terrestrial and delay in assemblage changes compared aquatic communities. We also analysed with the chironomids, which are directly pollen and sediment organic matter. influenced by water temperature, but shifts Through radiocarbon dating we can in pollen could be synchronous with dia- establish a good chronology for each core. toms, which are indirectly influenced. We We used accelerator mass spectrometry car- will obtain more radiocarbon dates to en- bon 14 dating to determine the timing of sure reliable temporal reconstructions of events revealed by the fossil records. We past environmental changes. now have the basal (oldest) dates for all Other researchers are conducting similar three lakes, representing the formation of studies across northern Canada. Together, the lake basins. The southernmost lake, Lac these will undoubtedly lead to a better au Sable, is the oldest – about 7,000 years understanding of the impacts of past climate SPRING/SUMMER 2002 old. Next is K2, formed more than 6,100 changes on northern ecosystems – and of years ago. Oksana, which lies within the what the future may hold for Canada’s area of a residual ice sheet that persisted northern environment. until about 6,000 years ago is slightly more than 5,600 years old. Acknowledgements The study is ongoing, but preliminary This project is supported by funding from results from lakes K2 and Oksana are inter- the Canadian Polar Commission Scholarship esting. We found that diatom and chirono- (Association of Canadian Universities for mid assemblages were influenced when Northern Studies), the Jennifer Robinson vegetation (determined through pollen Scholarship (Arctic Institute of North Ameri- analysis) first invaded each lake catch- ca), Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs ment. Vegetation needed a warmer climate et l’Aide à la Recherche (FCAR), and Fonda- in order to establish itself and increase in tion Desjardins Scholarship to M.-A. Fallu, density, and the chironomid-based temper- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research ature reconstructions do indicate climate Field work at Oksana Lake (Schefferville) showing Council (NSERC) of Canada research grants, warming. Vegetation growing in the catch- Dr. Reinhard Pienitz,Dr. Ian R. Walker,and Marie-Andrée by the Northern Scientific Training Program ment led to higher inputs of DOM to the Fallu extracting a sediment core. Photo: Marie-Andrée (Ministry of Indian Affairs and Northern lake, modifying the lake water optical envi- Fallu. Development) grants provided to Reinhard ronment (DOM can cause strong water Pienitz, and by NSERC and Okanagan Uni- colour, protecting organisms from UV radi- temperature reconstructions based on chi- versity College (OUC) research grants pro- ation). Diatoms were sensitive to these ronomids and by DOM reconstructions vided to Ian R. Walker. Logistical support changes especially during the lakes’ early based on diatoms. Although this may seem was offered by Centre d’études nordiques development. contradictory to the global warming sce- (Laval University), OUC, and Simon Fraser The results also indicated a tendency nario, studies of 20th century temperatures University. towards climate cooling over the last 3,500 have shown that the Québec-Labrador years, a trend that has been accelerating region is presently undergoing a cooling Marie Andrée Fallu, winner of the 2001

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION recently. This cooling is shown by water trend. Canadian Polar Commission Scholar- In the near future, analyses of pollen and ship (see Meridian Fall/Winter 2001) is a sediment organic matter content will pro- Ph.D. candidate in Geography at Laval vide further paleobotanical information nec- University. essary for comparing the evolution of the terrestrial and aquatic environments. We

7 GLOBAL CHANGE: MUCH MORE THAN A MATTER OF DEGREES Hadi Dowlatabadi

Concern about global climate change has Rain at the right time leads to blossoms that difference around the freezing point of water occupied many environmentalists, scientists grow into fruit, and at the wrong time it dictates the difference between rain and and politicians for the past decade. They leads to fruit that rot on the branch. snow. The former will flow along the land- exhort us to fear runaway anthropogenic Most importantly, small changes near scape right away, while the latter may stay climate change and to mind our p’s and q’s different phases of water make a huge dif- put for centuries. The impacts of climate in using fossil fuels and emitting other ference. A slight change in humidity makes change are also context-specific and thresh- greenhouse gases. clear air turn cloudy; more moisture still old-sensitive. A small climate change where I have studied climate change for about and clouds turn to rain. A small temperature the same length of time. I believe that it is Photo: GNWT,RWED. just one of many challenges we face, and am convinced that a singular focus on cli- mate change will be counterproductive. In what follows, I will offer my views on four misconceptions about climate change and then suggest their implications for sci- ence and policy. These misconceptions are: that what matters is the magnitude of climate change; that climate change is the only thing we should be worrying about; that any climate change is bad and to be avoided; and that public mobilization will eliminate climate change.

THE MAGNITUDE OF IMPACTS MATTERS, NOT THE CLIMATE CHANGE Many people talk about global warming, but climate change is much more than a change in the world’s annually averaged tempera- ture. The average annual temperatures of Boston and Vancouver are the same, but the two cities can hardly be thought of as hav- ing the same climate. While clouds, precipi- tation, seasons and winds are all very important to life on earth, what really mat- ters is the synchrony of these changing vari- ables (i.e., weather) and the pulse of life.

8 the system is close to a crucial threshold can combined negative impacts of these changes As if such massive changes were not lead to monumental impacts. A centimetre that we need to prevent or ameliorate. A enough, the Arctic region is undergoing more or less rain per year in Vancouver will focus on climate change alone is guaranteed massive changes in many other dimensions. not have any discernible impact, but the to be less than productive in solving the The more recent introduction of modern same change in rainfall in the Kalahari problems being faced around the world. One transportation, communication and nav- desert defines the difference between life and of the challenges we face is that “solutions” igation technologies has had tremendous death. to one stress can exacerbate another or even impact on fishing and hunting efficiency When we think about climate change as rekindle a dormant problem. We need a sys- and on ecology. Sociologically, severe physi- a global policy problem we tend to forget tematic analysis of these multiple stresses cal hardships may belong to the past, but that different parts of the world will be expe- together with their “solutions” in order to that welcome loss is marred by psycholo- riencing very different levels of climate proceed in an informed and productive way gical hardships associated with needing change. Polar regions are expected to expe- rather than staggering like a drunkard from to find a new way of life as integration into rience the greatest changes. We often forget one hot-button issue to the next. a foreign culture and economy proceeds SPRING/SUMMER 2002 that the impacts will also be very different. The impacts of changes are more diffi- apace. The rapidly growing population is Climate change in Toronto may mean less cult to understand and predict when many posing its own challenges. In experiencing snow shoveling as well as a higher summer are in progress simultaneously. They are so much change, the Arctic is a microcosm energy bill as use of air conditioning in- more challenging still when the systems are of the rest of the world, but it is moving creases. The impact of the same “global cli- near a threshold (e.g., freezing point of ahead in double time. Climate as well as mate change” in a low-lying coastal region water, edge of a recession, brink of a revolu- social and technical changes are all pro- or island may be permanent inundation. A tion). Furthermore, both social and ecologi- ceeding there at a pace that is faster due simple matter of shifts in energy expenses cal systems are complex communities with to geography of the region, the available for one person cannot be compared to the constituent components that are at different resources, and the socio-political changes. loss of homeland for another. distances from thresholds. The vulnerable Predicting what will happen to these vul- One of the most difficult aspects of chal- subpopulations in each are teetering on the nerable components of the world around us lenges like climate change lies in establish- edge of viability. These are highly sensitive is among the most difficult challenges in sci- ing a balance between the economic well- to small changes in external variables. ence. Protecting their future and steering being of some people versus the rights of The Arctic is projected to experience the them clear of danger is among the most dif- others, including of course whatever “rights” largest change in temperature anywhere on ficult of all political challenges. we accord the innocent by-standers caught earth. This temperature change will shift the up in the action – nature. familiar patterns of the ice-water boundary. CHANGE IS Current snow and ice routes will grow too PERCEIVED TO BE BAD BECAUSE WE WE NEED TO dangerous to cross. How this will affect bio- ARE GOOD AT WORRY ABOUT A logical patterns – where animals will find MULTIPLICITY OF ADAPTING! water, where plankton will grow and fish GLOBAL CHANGES, For a long time I have wondered why there NOT JUST CLIMATE find food, which familiar creatures will sur- is so much focus on the negative impacts of Climate change is not the only challenge we vive and which foreign creatures will join climate and other global change phenome- are facing. In much of the world, Arctic the new ecosystem of the arctic – is hard to na. What seems strange is that it is consid- Canada being no exception, we are facing project. Our understanding of how such ered bad everywhere on earth, irrespective tremendous demographic, social, political, ecosystems evolve is not sufficiently well of the local climate today. I wondered why CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION technological, economic and environmental developed to make anything but educated our imaginations have been so fertile in con- changes – all at the same time. In many guesses. However, where life is finely tuned juring up images of disaster and so bereft of locations, most if not all are outpacing cli- to old patterns of hunting and fishing, the mate change. The impacts of many are new ecology will not only make it difficult to greater than climate change now, and this traverse old routes across ice-fields, it is also will likely remain so for decades. It is the likely to make many of these routes obsolete in purpose.

9 visions of Elysium. After all, some places impacts; but if we believe the world is Mobility has been the key to survival in nearer to the poles may enjoy the climate of changing and we are cognizant of its speed the arctic. Those who could not respond to their neighbours nearer to the equator in the and direction, we can adapt apace. Further- the imperative of hunting – following the near future. These neighbours don’t seem to more, if for historic reasons we have failed “footprints” of their prey – perished. But as be complaining now, so what is the worry? to fully adapt to prevailing conditions in the seasons change, the diet of the Inuit changes I respect the beliefs of those who argue past, change may provide the opportunity to also. The Inuit do not follow footprints so that our climate is perfect as it is because be better off in the future. It is imperative to much as know where to look for seal, cari- God has made it so, but I have always help the public recognize that change is bou, fish, and walrus. This comes from their thought that there has to be more to this afoot and help them utilize their great pow- knowledge of ecosystem dynamics, rather than religion. Finally, I had an epiphany. ers of adaptation. than seeking prey in a particular geographic The fact that we are expecting and studying Archaeologists have found evidence of location. When climate change shifts specif- negative impacts of change wherever we encampments far further north in the arctic ic ecological processes, they are able to live, regardless of current climate, is a re- than where Inuit live today. These are relics know where that shift has taken their prey. flection of our amazing powers of adapta- of times when the climate was warmer. It Anticipating the new patterns of the ecosys- tion. Wherever we find ourselves, given time is difficult to know if the rates of climate tem and incorporating this information into to grow familiar with the prevailing condi- change in the past led to widespread fam- a revised pattern of life is how this lifestyle tions, we shape our lives, environment and ines or hardship. The Dorset people disap- grew to be so desirable. tastes to better enjoy our circumstances. peared during the Medieval Warm Period The key to success in the process of adap- (AD 1000–1300), but the attribution of that tation is the pace of change: having enough event to climate change’s impact on local time, and knowledge, to react appropriately. ecology is controversial. So much else – e.g., If we think the world is not changing but in immigration from Alaska and Europe – was reality it is, that change will have negative going on at that time. Photo: GNWT,RWED.

10 HELPING THE they have on denuded hillsides and overde- 4) We should communicate more clearly to PUBLIC DEVELOP veloped shorelines is entirely of our making. the public that climate change, and REALISTIC If we develop realistic expectations about the many other changes, have both natural EXPECTATIONS IS changes afoot, and realize what leads to loss and anthropogenic components and are CRITICAL TO ADAPTING TO of life, property and nature, we will be better not amenable to “control” in the manner IMPACTS positioned to adapt successfully. that we so successfully employed for I believe the most important determinant of Unfortunately, environmental activists chemicals that we had synthesized and impacts is our expectations. Whether we have steadfastly held on to the idea that by later found to be undesirable in nature consider climate change a natural or an refusing to endorse adaptation, they will be (e.g., CFCs, PCBs, and POPs). anthropogenic process makes a great deal of able to secure a stronger plan of action to More generally, as we try to address the difference to our acceptance of its conse- limit climate change. Their efforts are well challenge of prospering socio-economically quences. A drought half a century ago intentioned, but costly in our capacity to and protecting the environment while fac- cope with the coming changes. There can be ing multiple interacting processes, we need

SPRING/SUMMER 2002 would have been considered a rare event, to be endured. A drought today is immediately little doubt that we will continue to increase systematic approaches to understanding attributed to climate change – even when it the atmospheric concentration of green- what is going on and how to proceed. The is almost impossible to scientifically show house gases for many decades and that even approach I have benefited from using to that it is so. When a drought was considered if the current accords were fully implement- address this challenge is Integrated Assess- an act of God, we reflected on our own ac- ed the change in that trend would be hardly ment. It is a methodology for characterizing tions and – all but saints amongst us being noticeable. This hard-nosed pursuit of a the problems we face and the available solu- sinners – saw some justice in being tested. greenhouse gas emissions mitigation agenda tions realistically. It can be used to identify Making the drought a man-made calamity is leading to inadequate preparedness for the unknowns (and hence fruits of research) changes how we endure it. We blame the adaptation and hence greater hardship. that are critical to making better policy deci- drivers of gas-guzzling SUVs, and uncaring sions. It can be used to communicate the industrialists. Our capacity to cope with the WHAT CAN complex and interactive nature of the chal- SCIENTISTS DO situation and move on is diminished. lenges at hand, as well as develop priorities TO HELP? Humans have changed the face of the for response. The foregoing has four implications for sci- earth since their beginning. Their actions entific activity. have constantly reshaped their local envi- CONCLUSION 1) We should focus a great deal more effort ronments. Now, their “local” environments As a scientist I wear two hats: one that spurs on understanding the impacts of global are growing to encompass the whole earth. me on to develop a basic understanding of change processes, especially for “vulner- It is clear that human actions are leading to the world around me, another that reigns able populations” or where systems are significant changes on a global scale, but me in to focus and bound my query to the close to phase transitions. not all global changes are due to human information needed to understand and solve 2) We should break down the disciplinary actions. Thinking they are is a reflection of public policy questions. The fruits of these approach to problems of global change, megalomania. two pursuits are not the same. One is basic acknowledging that there are multi- It is important to realize that some global science, and has scientific merit and in- ple simultaneous processes ongoing. change phenomena are not amenable to trinsic value. The other is applied science, Through reorganizing our scientific complete human control. The Kyoto Accord whose value lies in its ability to solve a real approach to the study and communica- for control of greenhouse gases will not world problem. tion of global change, we can hope to CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION have a discernible impact on trends in cli- The Arctic’s pure science agenda may be influence the political responses that are mate change. We cannot blame the extreme far less than one could hope for, especially taking shape. climate events in the past two decades on given the vast territory of Canada and the 3) We should employ our skills in the scien- anthropogenic interference. Storms are part importance of that region for monitoring tific method to learn more effectively of nature. While our actions may change about “what works” in numerous natural their pattern and frequency, the impacts experiments being conducted all the time.

11 and developing a basic understanding of cli- making a project successful while protecting Hadi Dowlatabadi is holder of a Canada mate change dynamics. However, the peo- the environment. Research Chair at the Sustainable Devel- ple of the circumpolar north do not need Experience with nature’s variability and opment Research Institute and the Liu fundamental breakthroughs in glaciology or extremes give us numerous opportunities to Centre for the Study of Global Issues, Uni- ocean currents to solve many of the chal- test new strategies and learn what succeeds versity of British Columbia (UBC). He is lenges they face today and will be facing in and what fails. This is the prerequisite to also a University Fellow at Resources for the decades ahead. They need better under- moving forward more surefootedly. Without the Future, Washington DC. standing of impacts, processes, and dynam- systematic evaluations of the past and pre- He is grateful for the assistance of ics of systems close to thresholds. They need sent problems and solutions, the lessons of Susan Rowley, Curator of Public Archae- better understanding of how various devel- these experiments will be lost – and we will ology at the UBC Museum of Anthropology opment initiatives interact. They need an be groping in the dark towards an unknown and Assistant Professor in the Depart- evaluation of how useful “impact assess- future. ment of Anthropology and Sociology at ments” are, and what factors are critical to UBC, in drafting this article.

INTERVIEW: JEAN BRIGGS

Kindly describe your dictionary project. I’m making a dictionary of the Utkuhik- salingmiut dialect, which has never been recorded before. In fact there is no published lexicon of any Central Arctic dialect – so I’m helping to fill in that gap. The dictionary will be bilingual and will include a list of the post-bases, the word parts. Inuktitut is a polysynthetic language: each word consists of a series of word parts, each with its own meaning, which add up to express an idea. This dictionary is needed partly because Nunavut is trying to rescue as much as pos- sible of Inuit heritage. They are training translators and interpreters and trying to collect enough of a corpus of old Inuit think- ing to invent words for new technologies – law, medicine, computers, whatever – and so they need to know how people talk. Lin- guists need the dictionary too, in order to Jean Briggs. Photo: Chris Hammond,MUN Gazette. understand more about the history of Inukti- Jean Briggs of Memorial University is tut and how it has changed over time. well known for her pioneering work in danger of disappearing as it gives way to What is your source of words for the psychological anthropology. With support other dialects spoken in Gjoa Haven and dictionary? from the Social Sciences and Humanities Baker Lake, where Utkuhiksalingmiut I collected about 10,000 words when I Research Council she is currently work- Inuit now live, and to English. Jean Briggs was living with the Utkuhuksalingmiut in ing on a dictionary of the Utkuhiksaling- spoke with Meridian editor John Bennett. the 1960s and early 1970s, and I’ve learned miut dialect of Inuktitut. The dialect is in Here are some excerpts from that interview. 12 others along the way in the process of When I had to write this keynote paper, checking the original collection. I was not and was casting about for what to say about thinking of making a dictionary in the a dictionary, I began to look at how the 1960s; I was learning to speak, and that’s Utkuhiksalingmiut had taught me. I discov- quite a different process. I gave a keynote ered how very much they had personalized Gjoa Haven address at the International Arctic Social and contextualized their definitions and Sciences Association conference at Laval last taught me in a way that drew me in, social- spring on this topic of how I learned, and ly and emotionally, to what I was learning. what it means to know a word, and what That’s a very essential part of how I learned, a dictionary can be about. The collected although I didn’t know it at the time. keynote talks will be published by Laval Uni- Can you communicate this way of versity. The paper tells you in considerable Chantrey learning in a dictionary? When people detail how I learned; I had to begin from Inlet SPRING/SUMMER 2002 use a dictionary they read the scratch. When I arrived in Chantrey Inlet I definition of the word and it stops knew only about six words: yes, no, have there, doesn’t it? some tea, I don’t know, have some more tea, Well, that’s the way we use a dictionary, NUNAVUT thank you – that’s it. but there are, I hope, going to be all different I lucked out – I found myself living with kinds of users. I’m suggesting in the keynote a group of people several of whom were that users like young Inuit who have an Back River extremely inventive language teachers. In interest in keeping hold to some degree of fact I’m using their techniques now in Inuit ways of thinking and in getting a vivid teaching introductory Inuktitut to northern sense of what Inuit life was like should take native teachers. Allaq and Inutsiaq (these the words they find in the dictionary and go are their pseudonyms from my first book, and ask an elder: ”What does this mean?”. Never in Anger) were the best of all. Inut- That way, I suspect they’ll get definitions siaq was endlessly creative. He would act out that are more like what Allaq is giving me – things with Allaq as his stooge, if a stooge which will be a much richer use of the dic- was necessary. He would say, “huliˇrunga?” tionary than normal. Baker Lake (what am I doing?) and I’d say, “aatsuuk” (I don’t know), and then he would say, How do you determine the correct “pihuktunga”, “nalaˇrunga” (I’m walking, meaning of a word? I’m falling, and so on). I would repeat it and Here’s a simple one. There’s the word he would correct me, over and over, until qiaˇruq in my corpus [ˇr sounds like r in finally he said, “yes”, when he shouldn’t Canadian English]. I say the word and ask this case she recognizes the word qiaˇruq, have said yes – he was exhausted! Allaq, “is that right?” (I’m free-translating and it’s an Utkuhiksalingmiutitut word. Eventually I began to take the initiative; I the exchange between Allaq and I). She So I say, reading from my printout, “Can wrote down and asked for definitions or says, “yes”, and I say, “what does it mean?” you use that word for the sound that musk- explanations of as many as possible of the She makes the sound of a person crying. I oxen make? Somebody told me that was words I didn’t understand. And I stored write down, “cry”, knowing already that the what muskoxen say”, and she looks a little

CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION them with the speaker’s name and the date word means “cry”. Sometimes she’ll ask, nonplussed. She says, “Who told you that?” on three-by-five slips of paper divided in “who taught you that word?” if she doesn’t and I say, “Well, your father”. She says, “I quarters – in empty tobacco tins that they recognise it. I’ll tell her, and if she thinks think he was probably just trying to make were throwing away. well of the person who taught me the word you understand another word, because she’ll say, “okay”, and if not she’ll say, “well, muskoxen miaguqtut” (which means I think that’s a Natsilik word”, or, “I think howl; miaguqtuq is usually used for dogs). that person didn’t really speak very good Utkuhiksalingmiutitut”, or whatever. But in 13 She says, “I don’t think muskoxen really Seals?” trying to find out if it refers to all horned larks with us”. But you don’t need to qiaˇrut; my father was just trying to make mammals, to all land mammals, only to include that word because it’s all pre- you understand miaguqtut, because he large game animals, or only to muskoxen – dictable; you can construct the meaning of knows that you know the word qiaˇruq”. so this takes some time. I make one-hour the whole by adding up the meanings of the This is one of the reasons why I value her tapes of these interactions with Utkuhiksal- individual parts: little horned larks + hunt + enormously, because another informant ingmiutitut speakers in Gjoa Haven or Baker together + want + not + they-us + even + might just say, “no”. Allaq knows what I’m Lake, and transcribe them when I get home. they said (or, it was said). after and she helps me, and sometimes if I I now have over 500 one-hour tapes, and it On the other hand, in a word like qari- don’t ask the right questions she tells me. takes at least half a day to transcribe one tauˇraq, when you add up the postbases you She probes, and shows me how to probe. side of one of these tapes. And so you begin get “resembles a brain”, but the word actual- In this case I wouldn’t ask if there were a to see how the 10,000 word corpus increases ly means “computer”; so you have to put it in transitive form because it is pretty obvious to 28,000 – and also how much time the the dictionary. But it’s not always easy to that there isn’t – you can’t say, “I cry it” whole process takes! decide whether a word is predictable or not, (except perhaps in Shakespearean English), because in some cases, in order to build a How do you decide which words to but if it’s a word that might have a transitive word correctly, you would have to know an include? form, I put a transitive pronoun on the word awful lot about the postbases in it, their This is an important point because the and I ask, “Can you say such and such?” meanings, and the conditions that govern dictionary won’t contain anywhere near the We check the form, we check the gloss their presence. All these decisions will be total number of words I’ve recorded. As I (the definition), she gives me additional made with my Inuktitut linguist co-investi- was learning to speak the language, I col- words, and we check their forms and their gator, Alana Johns, at the University of lected words with all kinds of postbases in glosses; and then, if I’m not sure, I say, “Can Toronto. them, which you don’t need to have in the you use this word in some other context?” If Alana and I agree that we should include dictionary if the words are going to add up there’s a context in my 1968 printout, I ask sample sentences. Steve Jacobson, at the predictably. For instance, my favourite Inuk- her about that, and she says yes or no. Then titut word, which I got from Duncan Pryde I invent other contexts, trying to find the years and years ago, was qupannuaqpaar- limits of the domain in which the word can yuaqhiuqatigiyumangngittaatigutluun- be used. If she says a word can be used for “I like to think of an Inuktitut word as a train with the niinnguuq, which means, “they said they muskoxen, then I ask, “Can you use it for base being the engine,the post-bases being the cars,and didn’t even want to come hunting little the pronoun being the caboose. The dictionary will have dogs? Can you use it for foxes? Wolves? a list of the ‘cars’ as well as the ‘engines’,analysed and with examples.”

Qupannuaqpaaryuaq

hiu qatigi yuma ngngit taatigut lunnii nguuq

little horned lark hunt together want not they-us even they say (pronoun) (or it was said) BASE POSTBASES

14 Alaska Native Language Centre at the Uni- resistance and conflict generated by an greedy and demanding”, they say, “Well, versity of Alaska, Fairbanks, made a very almost active refusal to move. You might that’s the way you were when you wanted fine Yupik dictionary that includes sentences even see the rock as a metaphor for the per- to go fishing when Pala didn’t want to take (Steven A. Jacobson, Yup’ik Eskimo Dictio- son who refuses to get out of the house that you”. And this is Allaq talking about an nary, Alaska Native Language Center, Uni- is now too big for the needs of his shrunken event that happened 34 years ago. versity of Alaska, Fairbanks, 1984), and so household. I also learned, by implication, How do you see this work in the has Rose Jeddore in Labrador. We intend to that there’s a housing shortage in Salu- context of your nearly 40-year use their dictionaries as a kind of model for moni’s community. And I suspected that relationship with Inuit? Is the notion ours. perhaps Salumoni felt under a little pressure of giving something back part of it? to move. In fact, the next year when I went Can you use a word to give an Yes, I do see it as giving something back he was in a different house. example of how someone might use back. And I also see it as an opportunity to So you see how the dictionary can fit into the dictionary? maintain my relationships with my family, life. You also see how primitive your under- SPRING/SUMMER 2002 Let me give you an example from my whom I love – especially Allaq, who is my standing would be if you didn’t put the word keynote. Imagine that the word I’m asking major informant and collaborator on the in context – if you kept the dictionary as about is in the dictionary. The word is qa’n- dictionary, and her daughters, who appear somehow in a box by itself. gulaittuq. The definition in the dictionary is as small children in Never in Anger; and I’m fascinated by the language; I learn “he doesn’t move” – but that’s only the tip of there are kin in Baker Lake, too, who moved more about it every day, not only about its the iceberg! there from Chantrey years ago. It keeps me structure, which is fascinating in itself – the When I asked Salumoni (a pseudonym), in that social world, to a small degree. And I domains of words, for instance, like pilak an Utkuhiksalingmiut man, “What does am happy that the Utkuhiksalingmiut who [which in Utkuhiksalingmiutitut, though qa’ngulaittuq mean?”, he said: “Qa’ngu- are helping me with the dictionary express not every dialect, means to flense a sea laittuq – either a possession or a house – gratitude. I feel grateful, myself, when they mammal, cutting between the blubber I’ve had this house for a long time. I ac- make public statements about how much and the meat, and has also come to mean quired it when there were lots of people (I I’m helping, on the radio and in church and surgery], but also about Utkuhiksalingmiut think he probably meant in his household). that sort of thing. Working on the dictio- thinking and life, because of the contextual If it’s wanted – if somebody other than me nary, I can feel that I’m doing something ways in which Utkuhiksalingmiut explain wants it – he could say, ‘Salumoni qa’ngu- that they understand and want. words to me. If I say, “What does katsun- laittuq – even though I very much want gaittuq mean?” they don’t say, “It means that house’. That’s qa’ngulaittuq.” So I asked, “You qa’ngulait- because you stay here all the time?” (We’re speaking Inuktitut: qa’ngulaittutit tamaaniinnaugavit?) WHAT’S NEW Salumoni replies: “Yes, because I stay here POLAR RESEARCH all the time qa’ngulaittunga. Or a rock: If CANADIAN POLAR RESEARCHER’S FORUM I’m trying to lift it up (and he dramatizes DIRECTORY The Polar Commission has also developed straining unsuccessfully to lift something) The Canadian Polar Information Network the Polar Research Forum, an online com- qa’ngulaittuq, the rock”. I ask, “The rock Researcher’s Directory, a searchable data- munications centre for the Canadian polar qa’ngulaittuq?” Salumoni says, ”Yes, qa’n- base of specialists in Canadian polar knowl- research community. The Forum enables gulaittuq”. CANADIAN POLAR COMMISSION edge, is now operational. The Canadian easy and rapid exchange of information and Now as I say, in the dictionary the reader Polar Commission invites you to visit the ideas. Researchers may create their own will find “it won’t move”. But Salumoni Directory at www.polarcom.gc.ca. interactive discussion groups and post items communicates that entirely through his of interest on the Forum’s bulletin boards. examples. He doesn’t ever give me a syn- The Polar Commission invites you to try onym – but he gives me the emotional this useful tool (www.polarcom.gc.ca). flavour of the use of the word; and I get a sense from what he tells me that there’s

15 HORIZON

Arctic Science Summit Week 2002 The 19th Polar Libraries Colloquy 17th International Diatom 21–27 April 2002 17–21 June 2002 Symposium Groningen, The Netherlands Copenhagen, Denmark 23–31 August 2002 www.let.rug.nl/assw Contact: Vibeke Sloth Jakobsen Ottawa, Canada Contact: K. I. M. van Dam Danish Polar Center Library Michel Poulin Arctic Centre Groningen Strandgade 100 H Chair, IDS2002 Research Division University of Groningen 1401 Copenhagen K Canadian Museum of Nature P O Box 716 Denmark P.O. Box 3443, Station D 9700 AS Groningen Tel.: 45-3288-0100 or 45-3288-0106 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6P4, Canada The Netherlands Fax: 45-3288-0101 Tel: (613) 566-4788 or (613) 364-4033 Tel.: 31-50-3635817 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: (613) 364-4022 Fax: 31-50-3634900 www.dpc.dk/plc E-mail: [email protected]. E-mail: [email protected] www.nature.ca/ids2002/ids2002_e.cfm. 13th Inuit Studies Conference Congress of the Canadian 1–3 August 2002 Second Northern Research Forum Meteorological and Oceanographic Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A. 18–21 September 2002 Society: Gordon L. Pullar Great Novgorod, Russia The Northern Environment Director, Department of Alaska Native Northern Research Forum Secretariat 22–25 May 2002 & Rural Development University of Akureyri & Rimouski, Quebec, Canada 2221 E. Northern Lights Blvd. Stefansson Arctic Institute scmo-cmos-2002.osl.gc.ca/ Suite 213 Nordurslod Anchorage, Alaska 99508 IS-600 Akureyri U.S.A. Iceland Tel.: (907) 279-2706 Tel.: 354-463-0504 Fax: (907) 279-2716 Fax: 354-463-0589 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.uaf.edu/uafrural/ISC/ Second AMAP International Symposium on Environmental Pollution in the Arctic 1–4 October 2002 Rovaniemi, Finland www.amap.no/news/symp2-1an-nopics.pdf.

Canadian Polar Commission BOARD OF DIRECTORS is published by the Canadian Polar Commission. Material Suite 1710,Constitution Square Wayne Adams may be used with appropriate attribution. 360 Albert Street Richard Binder Ottawa,Ontario Julie Cruikshank ISSN 1492-6245 K1R 7X7 Jean Dupuis © 2002 Canadian Polar Commission Piers McDonald Tel.: (613) 943-8605 Peter Johnson (vice-chair) Toll-free: 1-888-POLAR01 Mike Robinson (chair) Editor: John Bennett Fax: (613) 943-8607 Translation: Suzanne Rebetez E-mail: [email protected] Design: Eiko Emori Inc. www.polarcom.gc.ca

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