Incubator Grant: Partnership to Advance Prediction of Noise Impacts on Arctic Marine Wildlife

新北极航行（NNA）是NSF的十大创意之一。NNA项目解决快速变化的北极地区的趋同科学挑战。这项北极研究需要为国家、更大地区和地球仪的经济、安全和复原力提供信息。NNA授权从地方到国际规模的新的研究伙伴关系，使下一代北极研究人员多样化，加强正规和非正规教育的努力，并在适当的情况下整合知识的共同生产。该奖项通过支持具有明确潜力的规划活动来实现这一目标的一部分，以开发新颖，前沿的研究思路和方法来实现NNA目标。它整合了自然环境和社会系统的各个方面，解决了重要的社会挑战，创造了重要的教育机会，并在国际上与当地和原住民社区合作。人类活动引起的水下噪音对海洋野生动物构成威胁，是一个重大的全球环境问题。然而，海洋运输和能源生产等水下噪声源是全球经济的重要组成部分。在北极，海洋哺乳动物、鱼类和其他可能受到水下噪音影响的野生动物也为北极居民提供了宝贵的生存、文化和社区利益。预计北极沃茨的航运和工业发展将大幅增加，不同区域的噪声源和环境问题各不相同，因此越来越需要填补对噪声影响的理解和预测方面的空白。在北极沃茨，对水下噪音影响的研究尤其有限，因为那里的极端环境更加限制了对动物和栖息地的接触。然而，当地居民和因纽特人在生态系统、动物行为和季节性运动以及如何安全地接触和观察北极海洋环境中的野生动物方面拥有无与伦比的经验和专业知识。通过这项NNA孵化器赠款，我们将在两个北极地区发展合作伙伴关系，以当地和因纽特人的知识，领导力和专业知识为指导进行融合研究，以回答有关噪音对北极社会和自然系统至关重要的海洋哺乳动物和鱼类的影响问题。该项目的目标将通过利用加拿大北极地区两个地点现有的长期被动声学监测项目来实现。研究伙伴关系和合作框架将通过将美国锚定机构与努纳武特的当地猎人和捕兽者组织、努纳西亚武特的地区因纽特人政府以及一个专注于社区保护的非政府组织联系起来来共同发展。该项目将包括定期面对面会议、社区参与和简要后续行动以及综合阶段。所有产出都将是因努伊特人与北极以外的项目伙伴之间平等伙伴关系和合作的结果。每一阶段的活动都将通过地方、区域和国际合作者和参与者之间的共同指导进行。沿着噪音影响研究和长期监测的共同发展，将为传播和更广泛的影响活动制定具体计划。我们的目标是确保研究结果及时与资源管理者，决策者，社区成员和公众分享。这个项目的成功将产生额外的好处，即建立一个广泛的地方、区域和国际合作框架，重点是建立基于地方的、以社区为基础的研究，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估来支持的搜索.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. This Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, enhances efforts in formal and informal education, and integrates the co-production of knowledge where appropriate. This award fulfills part of that aim by supporting planning activities with clear potential to develop novel, leading edge research ideas and approaches to address NNA goals. It integrates aspects of the natural environment and social systems, and addresses important societal challenges, builds significant educational opportunities, and engages internationally and with local and Indigenous communities.Underwater noise caused by human activities poses a threat to marine wildlife and is a significant global environmental concern. However, sources of underwater noise, such as marine shipping and energy production, are vital components of the global economy. In the Arctic, marine mammals, fish, and other wildlife potentially impacted by underwater noise also provide invaluable subsistence, cultural, and community benefits to Arctic residents. Shipping and industrial development are projected to increase substantially in Arctic waters, with differing noise sources and environmental concerns across specific regions creating a growing need to fill gaps in understanding and prediction of noise impacts. Research on impacts of underwater noise is especially limited in Arctic waters where access to animals and habitat are more restricted by the extreme environment. However, local and Inuit residents possess incomparable experience and expertise about ecosystems, animal behavior and seasonal movements, and how to safely access and observe wildlife in the Arctic marine environment. Through this NNA-Incubator Grant, we will develop partnerships for convergent research guided by local and Inuit knowledge, leadership, and expertise in two Arctic regions to answer questions regarding impacts of noise on marine mammals and fish species vital to Arctic social and natural systems.The goals of this project will be accomplished by leveraging existing long-term passive acoustic monitoring projects in two locations in the Canadian Arctic. Research partnerships and a collaborative framework will be co-developed through connecting the US anchoring institution with a local hunters and trappers organization in Nunavut, the regional Inuit government in Nunatsiavut, and a Canadian-based nongovernmental organization focused on community-based conservation. The project will involve periodic in-person meetings, community engagement with summary follow-up, and a synthesis phase. All outputs will be the result of equal partnership and collaboration between Inuit and project partners from outside the Arctic. Activities at every stage will be carried out through co-mentorship between local, regional, and international collaborators and participants. Along with co-development of noise impacts research and long-term monitoring, specific plans will be developed for dissemination and broader impact activities. Our aim is to ensure that the results of the research are shared in a timely manner with resource managers, decision-makers, community members, and the public. The success of this project will yield the additional benefits of developing a broad local, regional, and international collaborative framework focused on building place-based, community-based research and long-term ecological monitoring applicable to other locations in the Arctic and beyond.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.