Showing 1 - 4 of 4 Items

Date: 2015-01-01

Creator: Charles E. Umbanhowar, Philip Camill, Mark B. Edlund, Christoph Geiss, Patrick, Henneghan, Kendra Passow

Access: Open access

To better understand aquatic-terrestrial linkages in the sub-Arctic, and specifically the relative importance of landscape position versus land cover, we surveyed lakes, soils, land cover, and lake/basin characteristics in a 14000 km region of acidic forest-tundra landscape near northern Manitoba, Canada (59.56°N, 97.72°W) in 2009. We analyzed 39 different biological, chemical, and physical variables for lakes and soils. We used a remote-sensing-based classification to determine that the landscape was 21% water, 46% peat-forming lowland, and 24.9% open tundra, and we assigned lake order to all lakes based on the order of the outlet stream for each lake. Lakes were oligotrophic to mesotrophic (median total phosphorus: TP = 11.8 μg L ), N-limited (median dissolved inorganic nitrogen: TP = 1.6), acidic (median pH 5.7), and had moderate amounts of dissolved organic carbon (median DOC = 5.2 mg L ). We identified 2 principle groups of variables represented by DOC and conductivity/ cations, respectively, that captured major axes of lake variation. DOC, 2 measures of DOC quality (a /a [a proxy for molecular weight and aromaticity] and specific ultraviolet absorbance), and Fe and were significantly correlated with percent cover of lowland forest, but conductivity/cations were not correlated with variation in land cover. Soils were generally acidic (pH 2.7-4.4) and nutrient-poor, and wetland soils contained more carbon and higher concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and other cations than upland open tundra. Landscape position of lakes (measured as lake order) did not capture systematic differences in land cover or lake biogeochemistry. Our results highlight the importance of lowland export of DOC to lakes and further suggest the need for additional regional studies of aquatic-terrestrial connections in Arctic and sub-Arctic landscapes. 2 -1 -1 250 365

Date: 2014-05-01

Creator: Graham Harper Edwards

Access: Open access

Morainal and lacustrine sediments in Linnédalen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, record the fluctuations of a glacier in a currently unglaciated mountain cirque during the Little Ice Age (LIA). This study attempts to reconstruct Late Holocene glacial activity within this cirque from geochemical, physical, and visual stratigraphic variation of the Linnévatnet lacustrine sediment record. A 57 cm lacustrine sediment core (D10.5) from Linnévatnet was analyzed at a high-resolution for variations in X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)-measured elemental composition, spectral reflectance, and magnetic susceptibility. The visual stratigraphy was observed at a microscopic scale. An age-depth model for D10.5 is developed by extrapolating sedimentation rates from dated horizons, measured by 239+240Pu radionuclide fallout dating and chemostratigraphic enrichment of atmospheric anthropogenic pollutants. Visual stratigraphy of the sediment record indicates two periods of cirque glacier sediment delivery to Linnévatnet during the LIA (1329-1363 CE, 1816 CE-Present) and a third period of sediment delivery during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; 984-1082 CE). During non-glacial periods, stratigraphic variation in XRF-measured Ti and K appear to be associated with fluctuations in North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-regulated precipitation. Within the LIA glacial intervals, decadal-scale variations in sediment Ti and K geochemistry may result from advance and retreat of the cirque glacier ice-margin or fluctuations in precipitation. Stratigraphic variation in Fe content indicates complex erosional and hydrological processes associated with MCA precipitation and glacial meltwater. Stratigraphic and geochemical variations in the lacustrine record of Linnévatnet indicate that both cirque glacier activity and sediment transport in Linnédalen are more sensitive to climatological change than previously thought.

Date: 2020-11-01

Creator: Maria S. Tysiachniouk, Laura A. Henry, Svetlana A. Tulaeva, Leah S. Horowitz

Access: Open access

The paper examines interactions of oil companies and reindeer herders in the tundra of the Russian Arctic. We focus on governance arrangements that have an impact on the sustainability of oil production and reindeer herding. We analyze a shift in benefit-sharing arrangements between oil companies and Indigenous Nenets reindeer herders in Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), Russia, as an evolution of the herders’ rights, defined as the intertwined co-production of legal processes, ideologies, and power relations. Semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis demonstrate that in NAO, benefit-sharing shifted from paternalism (dependent on herders’ negotiation skills) to company-centered social responsibility (formalized compensation rules). This shift was enabled by the adoption of a formal methodology for calculating income lost due to extractive projects and facilitated by the regional government’s efforts to develop reindeer-herding. While laws per se did not change, herders’ ability to access compensation and markets increased. This paper shows that even when ideologies of indigeneity are not influential, the use of existing laws and convergence of the government’s and Indigenous groups’ economic interests may shift legal processes and power relations toward greater rights for Indigenous groups.

Date: 2021-01-01

Creator: Aine Healey Lawlor

Access: Open access

This paper seeks to evaluate the evolution and future of Indigenous rights in extractive industry on a global scale and uses the Arctic both to explore the complexity of these rights and to provide paths forward in advancing Indigenous self-determination. Indigenous rights lack a strong international foundation and are often dependent upon local and domestic regimes, yet this reality is currently shifting. The state of extraction internationally, particularly in the Arctic, is also facing major uncertainty in the coming decades as demand continues to rise. Indigenous rights and the rules governing extractive industry intersect because much of the world’s remaining mineral resources are on or near Indigenous territories and Indigenous communities are disproportionately impacted by the environmental degradation and socio-cultural consequences of extractive development. The Arctic is arguably the most important setting for the world’s future resource needs and is also home to many Indigenous peoples who operate in complex legal, political, and social webs. This paper argues that as a result of these dynamics, the Arctic offers opportunities to advance forms of non-traditional sovereignty and to promote recognition of Indigenous self-determination through diffusion and international norm development. This paper proposes a multi-faceted approach to further promote Indigenous rights on the international level which involves using the Arctic Council as a platform for diffusion, the US ratification of UNDRIP, the creation of standards and guidelines for transnational corporations in development projects, and investment in Indigenous communities to support Indigenous empowerment, advocacy, and voices.