Planning: Measuring Wind Direction Change on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge

这一规划奖为一个参与性项目奠定了基础，该项目将评估气候变化对白令海一个岛屿上普遍风向的影响。对风向的观测和解释是白令海峡地区传统生态知识的组成部分。对于土著圣劳伦斯岛民来说，风向与陆地寻路和海冰航行有关。尽管关于圣劳伦斯风向的科学数据很少，但居民们掌握了风型知识，并在建造避难所时考虑到了盛行风向。这项工作询问最近风向是否发生了变化，并将测试在没有仪器的情况下是否可以重建风向。该规划奖支持前往圣劳伦斯岛与萨沃加居民发展合作关系，并对土著关于风向的知识进行初步评估。PI将评估学生对风向的兴趣和知识水平，同时培训当地学生进行定性研究方法。在当地协调员的协助下，将在该村举行两个焦点小组。这些焦点小组将包括熟悉认路和风向条件的长老和猎人。如果规划活动被证明是成功的，PI计划制定一个标准的研究提案，以探索是否可以通过研究结构方向和草层方向并辅之以土著知识来重建风向。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This planning award lays the foundation for a participatory project to assess climate change impacts on prevailing wind direction on a Bering Sea island. Observation and interpretation of wind direction are components of traditional ecological knowledge in the Bering Strait region. For Indigenous St. Lawrence Islanders, wind direction is relevant to terrestrial wayfinding and sea ice navigation. Although there is little scientific data on prevailing wind direction on St. Lawrence, residents possess knowledge of wind patterns and construct shelters with prevailing winds in mind. This work asks whether wind direction has changed recently and will test whether wind direction can be reconstructed in the absence of instrumentation. This planning award supports travel to St. Lawrence Island to develop collaborative relationships with Savoonga residents and to conduct initial assessment of Indigenous knowledge about wind direction. The PI will assess level of interest in and knowledge of wind direction while training a local student on qualitative research methods. Two focus groups will be held in the village, facilitated by a local coordinator. These focus groups will include elders and hunters knowledgeable about wayfinding and wind conditions. Should planning activities prove successful, the PI plans to develop a standard research proposal to explore whether wind direction can be reconstructed through study of structure orientation and grass lay direction complemented by Indigenous knowledge.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.