whaling trail mapping
New maps available: ice trails used by Utqiaġvik whalers
Similar to previous years, we are excited to share ice trail maps used by Utqiaġvik whalers, including a map of ice thickness along the trails. Josh Jones (AAOKH) and Matt Drukenmiller (NSIDC) have taken the lead on this mapping effort, with support from Craig George, Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok, and several team members from the UAF Sea Ice group.
Best wishes for the rest of the whaling season, and quyanaqpak to Utqiaġvik whalers, the North Slope Borough, and UIC Science for their additional support of this effort!
Photo by AAOKH Observer Billy Adams, who shared on 20 April 2022: “conditions have Read full story
Read about our latest work in the new Winter 2021 AAOKH Newsletter!
The latest AAOKH News is headed to mailbox holders in AAOKH communities – read it here first!
The Winter 2021 newsletter highlights:
- key observations over the past summer and fall, including evidence of killer whales in the Beaufort Sea
- recent weather and climate patterns
- perspectives from Billy Adams in Utqiagvik, in the Observer’s Corner section
- student updates, including opportunities to participate in a survey about changes in fish that supports Elizabeth Mik’aq Lindley’s student research
- updates on monitoring at spotted seal haulouts, trail mapping of Utqiagvik spring whaling trails, and AAOKH’s support of a new project led by the Native
We’re hiring! New Post Doctoral Position!
The Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub (AAOKH) at the International Arctic Research Center and University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) seeks a Post Doctoral Fellow interested in applied transdisciplinary data science. We are searching for early career researchers interested in collaborative approaches to improve the relevance and usefulness of community-based environmental observations across coastal Arctic Alaska. AAOKH is a sustained and year-round community-based monitoring network established in 2016, following on a predecessor program called the Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network that was founded in 2007. A foundational goal is to develop partnerships with residents of Arctic Alaska to facilitate knowledge Read full story
Learn more about AAOKH via the virtual 2021 Alaska Marine Science Symposium
The virtual Alaska Marine Science Symposium is happening online this week. Each day features panel discussions and keynote events broadcast live at their conference site and over social media, including facebook live.
Thursday’s focus is the Arctic region. Panel discussions on each day include Indigenous perspectives from the region or representation from Indigenous-led organizations. AAOKH is sharing two presentations at the conference: an overview pre-recorded presentation about our project and a poster summarizing the long-term whaling trail mapping near Utqiaġvik.
Full panel Read full story
Winter 2020 AAOKH Newsletter published online and in the mail!
We’re excited to share the latest edition of the AAOKH newsletter, which should also soon be arriving in the mailboxes of AAOKH communities!
Learn more about summer-fall observations and environmental conditions, new student and staff additions to our team, perspectives from our observers, and other great features.
Read it online here!
AAOKH presents info about Utqiaġvik ice trail mapping project at AGU conference
AAOKH’s Joshua Jones leads the presentation of a virtual poster at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall 2020 Meeting, online Dec. 1-17.
This poster describes AAOKH’s ice trail mapping project, which involves co-observing sea ice at Utqiaġvik in collaboration with Matthew Druckenmiller at the National Snow & Ice Data Center, and Craig George at the North Slope Borough. The ice trail surveys improve safety of whalers & provide a record of local shorefast ice conditions.
The full poster, for those registered for the meeting, can be viewed here: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm20/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/765453 Read full story
Slideshow of up-to-date Utqiaġvik area observations, satellite images, and trails
We are working hard to keep Utqiaġvik satellite imagery updated at this slideshow website. We will post the latest AAOKH observations, MODIS and SAR imagery as well as comparisons of ice cover to previous years. Trails are being mapped, and will be added – note trails may change or be incomplete as the season changes.
We’re sending our best for a safe and successful whaling season! Read full story
AAOKH contributes article to ARCUS Witness Community Highlights
Alaska Arctic communities are the “first responders” to experience and detect changes in the environment given their deep connections to place and integral reliance on traditional resources. Here’s how we are working together to track changes: a story we provided to ARCUS for the Witness Community Highlights series.
Quyanaqpak and Taikuu to our authors: Donna D.W. Hauser (UAF); Joshua Jones (UAF); Robert (Bobby) Puya Schaeffer, AAOKH Observer, Kotzebue, Alaska; Billy Adams, AAOKH Observer, Utqiaġvik, Alaska; Matthew L. Druckenmiller (University of Colorado Boulder); Roberta Tuurraq Glenn (graduate student in Geography at UAF); Elena Bautista Sparrow (UAF); and Hajo Eicken (UAF). Read full story
Latest AAOKH newsletter out now!
We are excited to share our latest newsletter! This Spring 2020 edition features key observations and shares first hand experiences from AAOKH observers about how this winter compared to past winters. Don’t miss the new visualization of AAOKH activities to see how all the pieces fit together to better understand the changing seasonal cycle in the Arctic and impacts to the Indigenous way of life.
This newsletter also addresses how coronavirus may impact AAOKH activities and introduces a new AAOKH project testing various camera systems to study ice seals.
The newsletter will soon be arriving in mailboxes in AAOKH communities, Read full story
AAOKH presentation at the Alaska Forum on the Environment
We were thrilled to have a full room at our Alaska Forum on the Environment 2020 presentation! A copy of our presentation can be downloaded here (sorry the videos and animations don’t play in this version – contact us for copies).
It was a pleasure and privilege to share observations and information about AAOKH. Taikuu and quyanaqpak!! Graduate student Roberta Glenn made the room stop with her Iñupiaq introduction and then told us about her upcoming coastal erosion monitoring research, Kotzebue Observer Bobby Schaeffer made clear the “unheard of” ice and ocean conditions in his region during 2019, UAF climatologist Read full story