Arctic inhabitants are taking research into their own hands. Rather than letting scientists determine what needs to be studied, Inuit communities in Canada are determining what questions they need answered and seeking researchers who can help them.Von PoLAR Voices

Coastlines everywhere are hit by waves and storms from rising seas that can eat away at the shoreline, but Arctic coasts once frozen in place by permafrost are especially susceptible to coastal erosion as temperatures rise and permafrost thaws. Increased erosion is threatening some coastal communities, forcing long-standing communities to consider …

Sea ice is rapidly decreasing due to accelerated warming in the Arctic. Animals, subsistence hunters, and researchers who rely on the frozen surface are adapting to less ice while trying to preserve their livelihoods.Von PoLAR Voices

Many glaciers in the Kluane Region are fed by a massive reservoir of snow and ice that sits on top of the St. Elias Mountains. Glaciologists are studying how global warming is affecting the physical characteristics and behavior of these glaciers as they retreat further up mountain slopes.Von PoLAR Voices

Frozen soils (or permafrost) in the Arctic are thawing, destabilizing the ground surface and damaging buildings and roads. Although infrastructure is crumbling, scientists are more concerned with the potential for runaway global warming as preserved plant material in the soils starts to break down into carbon dioxide. Global climate action plans ar…

As the Arctic warms, the limits of where trees can grow are slowly shifting up mountains and further north. Researchers at the Kluane Lake Research Station in Yukon, Canada are trying to determine the range of environmental conditions that control the position of the tree line and ultimately forecast the position of the tree line in the future.…

Dr. Heidi Swanson is an assistant professor and university research chair at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. She studies the response of aquatic food webs to climate change and the accumulation of mercury in Arctic lakes. Her lab, the Swanson Lab Group, travels to ecosystems as far west as the North Slope in Alaska and as far east as…

Dr. Craig Gerlach is the Academic Coordinator for Sustainability at the University of Calgary and a professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology. Prior to joining the University of Calgary, Gerlach spent twenty years as a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he conducted research on food systems in northern aborigina…

Norma Kassi is co-founder and Director of Indigenous Collaboration at the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research. Over the last 30 years, she has worked on issues related to contaminants, food security, climate change, wildlife protection, youth engagement and building community capacity. Kassi is Vuntut Gwitchin, which means People of the La…

Norma Kassi is co-founder and Director of Indigenous Collaboration at the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research. Over the last 30 years, she has worked on issues related to contaminants, food security, climate change, wildlife protection, youth engagement and building community capacity. Kassi is Vuntut Gwitchin, which means People of the La…

Dr. Ted Schuur is currently a professor of ecosystem ecology at Northern Arizona University and oversees the Ecosystem Dynamics Research Lab. While Polar Voices was conducting interviews, the Schuur lab was located at the University of Florida but has since moved to Northern Arizona University as part of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society…

Dr. Ted Schuur is currently a professor of ecosystem ecology at Northern Arizona University and oversees the Ecosystem Dynamics Research Lab. While Polar Voices was conducting interviews, the Schuur lab was located at the University of Florida but has since moved to Northern Arizona University as part of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society…

Dr. Ted Schuur is currently a professor of ecosystem ecology at Northern Arizona University and oversees the Ecosystem Dynamics Research Lab. While Polar Voices was conducting interviews, the Schuur lab was located at the University of Florida but has since moved to Northern Arizona University as part of the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society…

Dr. Margareta Johansson is a researcher in the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystems Science at Lund University as well as executive secretary at INTERACT—a consortium of circum-Arctic researchers and field stations. She studies permafrost in subarctic Sweden and manipulates snow conditions to determine how the land will respond to change…

Dr. Mike Flannigan is a professor with the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta and the Director of the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire Science located at the University of Alberta. He received his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Manitoba, his Master of Science in Atmospheric Science from Colora…