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Maribeth S. Murray, Dept. of Anthropology & HARC Core Office, Center for Global Change, University of Alaska Fairbanks
What is Human Dimensions
Research?
A clear design for investigation of
the interactions and feedbacks
among the human and the
biophysical components of the
Arctic System.
Interdisciplinary - linking social
and biophysical sciences.
Situated in the context of
global/arctic environmental change.
Emerging Trends in HD Interdisciplinary Research
Focus on downscale interactions and feedbacks.
Describing and analyzing the role of institutions in causing and mitigating
arctic/global environmental problems and the role of arctic residents in
national and international arctic/global change policy development.
Study of fatality rates and links to arctic/global change including changes in
disease types, invasive infectious diseases, parasites etc.
Identifying and explaining the links among arctic change, industrial
development contaminant pathways, exposure rates, and human security.
Emerging/existing vulnerabilities in food-system security in the context of
Arctic change (farming, agriculture, subsistence, industrial).
Comparative global-scale analysis of the dimensions of climate change
impacts.
Human Dimensions Research is NOT
In fall 2006, researchers, students, tribal representatives and other
stakeholders gathered at the AAAS Arctic division annual meeting and in the
Alaskan community of Fort Yukon to compare data on climate change
impacts and feedbacks in rural Alaskan to those in rural Sudan, Kenya and
Nigeria. Pictured in top photo are: Pail Williams, Fort Yukon Alaska, Mey
Eltayeb Ahmed, Conflict Transformation and Environmental Changes,
University of Khartoum, Sudan, Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Centre for
Development and Environment, Institute of Geography, University of
Berne, Switzerland, Marie Rarieya, Dept of Science and Technology Studies,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Phillip Loring, Anthropology University of
Alaska Fairbanks, Henry Huntington, Huntington Consulting, Eagle River
Alaska. In the bottom photo are Marie Rarieya, Ben Stevens Council of
Athabascan Tribal Groups, Fort Yukon Alaska, and May Eltayeh. Photos
courtesy of Craig Fleener, CATG, Fort Yukon Alaska.
education
Outreach and Communication
research
Education
Community Participation
BUT these things can and should be
incorporated into HD and system research
initiatives.
outreach
participatio
n
Highest Priority Key Unknowns
Ways in which different human activities in the Arctic impact and
feedback to the biophysical components of the Arctic System.
Ways in which people in the Arctic respond to changes in Arctic
System components.
Ways in which Arctic System change impacts and feeds back to the
human component of the global system.
Ways in which different human activities outside the Arctic impact and
feed back to the Arctic system.
period of
high human
impact
(Impacts and Feedbacks)
Development
period of
low human
impact
Key Research Questions
How has and how does human
agency modify the present and
future state of the Arctic System?
cone of
possibilities
Summer sea ice extent
Time
Figure 5. From Huntington et al., 2007. Development vs.
time along with summer sea ice extent. The vertical dashed line
marks a transition from low potential human impact to high
potential human impact as sea ice decrease makes access
easier to the Arctic for example through the reliable opening
of the Northern Sea Route without icebreaker support.
How have and how will Arctic
peoples and institutions adapt to
variable environmental conditions,
to fluctuating resources, and to
changes in the political and
economic milieu? (Adaptations)
How do changes in the Arctic
System relate to and impact the
broader Global System?
(Teleconnections)
In the face of multi-dimensional
global changes, how will the
resilience of the Arctic system
change and what policies and
practices will lead to greater
resilience within the pan-arctic and
its subregions? (Resilience)
References Cited.
Allison, D. E. and R. J. Hobbs, 2004. Resilience, adaptive capacity, and the “Lock-in-trap” of the Western Australian Agricultural
Region. Ecology and Society 9(1): 3 [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociet.org/vol9/iss1/art3. Hamilton, L.C., P. Lyster, and O.
Otterstad, 2000. Social change, ecology, and climate in 20th century Greenland. Climatic Change 47(1/2): 193-211.HARC Science
Steering Committee, 2005. Designing the Human Dimension into an Arctic Observing Network. Arctic Research Consortium of the United
States, Fairbanks. Huntington, H.P., M. Boyle, G. E. Flowers, J.W. Weatherly, L.C. Hamilton, L. Hinzman, C. Gerlach, R. Zeluta, C.
Nicolson, and J. Overpeck, 2007. The influence of human activity in the Arctic on climate and climate impacts. Climatic Change, online
publication first, 3/16/07.
http://arctic.aaas.org/
Human Dimensions Data – What Is It?
Examples
of HD Data
Quantitative
Local,
Regional, & Global Scale
Community Location & Size
Qualitative
Multiple Temporal Scales
Daily
Local,
Regional, & Global Scales
Narratives
Seasonal
Community Composition
Annual
Life Histories
Decadal
Demographic Statistics
Vital Statistics
Multi-decadal
Health & Economic
Statistics
Millennial
Institutional & Political
Trends
Development Activities
Historical Accounts
Century
Perceptions & Beliefs
Institutional and Cultural Factors
“Time indexed framework of quantitative data provides a way to organize and reference
qualitative accounts” (HARC SSC 2005).
In system analysis the structure of the variables gives rise to the behavior of
the system (Allison and Hobbs 2004). Understanding impacts on and
feedbacks from the human dimension requires the integrated use of
qualitative and quantitative datasets. For example analyses of linkages
among the climate, marine, and human components might include variables
such as 1) area of productive fishing, 2) number of commercial fishing
vessels, 3) age of fisherman, 4) market price for fish, 5) quota limits, 6) local
systems of sea tenure (access to marine resources based on heredity or
other locally defined rules), 7) weather conditions at multiple spatial and
temporal scales, 8) measures of primary productivity, and 9)changes in
ocean temperature (for a similar example see Hamilton et al. 2000).
Primary Goals of HD Research in the Context of ARCSS
Data collection at multiple spatial scales.
Time series HD data (multiple time scales).
Standardization of methods and datasets.
Construction of multivariate time plots to integrate qualitative and quantitative
data across disciplines.
Socio-ecological hotspot mapping.
Integrated modeling to develop understanding of the behavior(s) of the human
component of the system and to explore the implications of behavioral change on
a system-wide scale.
http://www.alaskaseafood.org/flavor/aksalm2.htm