Connecting Indigenous Knowledge to Landscape Process Research, Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska

将土著知识与景观过程研究联系起来，阿拉斯加北极沿海平原

• 批准号: 0548846
• 负责人: Wendy Eisner
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Cincinnati Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0548846&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Connecting; Indigenous; Knowledge; Landscape; Process

Thaw lakes cover about 20% of the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. Another 26% is scarred by basins that form when lakes drain, and these drained thaw lake basins are sites for preferential carbon accumulation as plant biomass. Anticipated regional warming would likely mobilize sequestered soil organic carbon, resulting in the emission of greenhouse gases. To date, our understanding of the processes leading to thaw lake formation, expansion, and drainage in Alaska is limited because models are specific to the flat, young Outer (seaward) Coastal Plain comprising 1/3 of the region. Further, spatial and temporal analysis of lake dynamics is largely restricted to the period since 1948, when aerial photographs first became available across large regions of the Coastal Plain. To fill in these gaps, we will interview Inupiaq elders and community members from the villages of Atqasuk and Barrow. The objective of these interviews is to obtain accounts of lake formation, expansion and drainage that have occurred within living or oral memory, and extend the record back several generations. This project represents a systematic effort to collect data on thaw lake dynamics in order to understand the basic geomorphic processes influencing landscape evolution on the Arctic Coastal Plain. We will use indigenous knowledge (IK) to identify the type and frequency of place-based processes and will include the identification of those lakes that have formed, enlarged or drained during the past several generations. We will then verify these accounts using a suite of analytical methods, and map the spatiotemporal patterns, thus enabling us to assess the viability of processes identified by IK holders to explain lake dynamics. In this way we hope to modify the standard thaw-lake cycle model to include local processes and expanded spatial extent. The study area includes the Outer and Inner Coastal Plains; surfaces of different age, surficial deposits, relief, ground ice content, and lake morphology.This project will broaden the participation of Inupiaq elders from Barrow and Atqasuk by incorporating traditional knowledge of landscape processes. By bringing indigenous knowledge to the forefront of this investigation, we can bridge the practical, cultural, and epistemological gaps between different methods of obtaining knowledge about the Arctic environment. By working with the community to survey, verify and catalog sites relevant to Inupiaq culture, we will preserve oral traditions and local histories of importance to the Inupiaq community. The development of the web-based GIS and linkages to the existent Barrow Area Information Database - Internet Map Server will strengthen communication between scientists and community members and provide a valuable tool for improving education and outreach opportunities for the communities of Barrow and Atqasuk.

解冻湖覆盖了阿拉斯加北极沿岸平原约 20% 的面积。 另外 26% 的湖泊因湖泊排水时形成的盆地而受损，而这些排水的解冻湖盆是植物生物量优先碳积累的场所。 预期的区域变暖可能会动员土壤中的有机碳，导致温室气体的排放。 迄今为止，我们对阿拉斯加融湖形成、扩张和排水过程的了解还很有限，因为模型是针对占该地区 1/3 的平坦、年轻的外（向海）沿海平原的。 此外，湖泊动态的空间和时间分析在很大程度上局限于 1948 年以来的时期，当时航空照片首次出现在沿海平原的大片地区。为了填补这些空白，我们将采访来自阿特卡苏克村和巴罗村的因努皮克族长老和社区成员。 这些访谈的目的是获取生活或口头记忆中发生的湖泊形成、扩张和排水的记录，并将记录追溯到几代人之前。 该项目代表了收集解冻湖动态数据的系统性努力，以了解影响北极沿海平原景观演变的基本地貌过程。 我们将利用本土知识（IK）来识别基于地方的过程的类型和频率，并将包括识别在过去几代人中形成、扩大或排水的湖泊。 然后，我们将使用一套分析方法验证这些账户，并绘制时空模式图，从而使我们能够评估 IK 持有者确定的解释湖泊动态过程的可行性。通过这种方式，我们希望修改标准的融湖循环模型，以包括局部过程和扩展的空间范围。研究区域包括外沿海平原和内沿海平原；不同年龄的地表、地表沉积物、地形、地面冰含量和湖泊形态。该项目将通过融入景观过程的传统知识，扩大巴罗和阿特卡苏克因努皮克长老的参与。通过将本土知识带到本次调查的前沿，我们可以弥合获取北极环境知识的不同方法之间的实践、文化和认识论差距。通过与社区合作，调查、核实和编录与因努皮克文化相关的遗址，我们将保存对因努皮克社区重要的口述传统和当地历史。 基于网络的地理信息系统的开发以及与现有巴罗地区信息数据库（互联网地图服务器）的链接将加强科学家和社区成员之间的沟通，并为改善巴罗和阿特卡苏克社区的教育和推广机会提供宝贵的工具。