arctic ecology tracking research cl imate
typology research station feeding clearings by infranet lab
Caribou Pivot Stations in the High Arctic Somerset Island/Prince of Wales Island, Nunavut
Species under Threat It is no secret that the Arctic is undergoing radical environmental changes. Nowhere are the effects of global warming more legible than in the fragile ecologies of the Canadian North, which have traditionally maintained local inhabitants in a delicate balance with species, and these species in balance with food sources. 1 A significant source of the Inuit diet remains to this day dependent on subsistence hunting of large mammals such as seal, walrus, and caribou. For this way of life to remain sustainable there must be large enough numbers of these animals accessible to the hunters. A species of significant concern in this regard is the Peary caribou ( Rangifer tarandus pearyi ), which in 1991 was officially recognised as endangered. Although many mainland caribou species and individual herds are thriving and enjoy large populations (in some cases numbering over 500,000 individuals), the Peary caribou have declined precipitously in recent decades, from 40,000 in 1961 to a mere 700 in 2009. 2 Inhabiting the Boothia Peninsula complex (Prince of Wales, Somerset and Russell Islands), Peary caribou spend a portion of their year off the mainland moving between arctic islands. For close to nine months each year frozen Arctic Ocean waters connect this complex of islands to the nearby Boothia Peninsula which extends from the mainland and allows caribou to make crossings between and among islands. The fate of this species is tied to both the wellbeing of the Inuit, who rely on it for food and profit, and to the success of the island environment they inhabit, where they play an integral role in the arctic food web. Although the exact cause of the demise of the Peary caribou is uncertain, there has been substantial research indicating the critical role played by two factors: increased climate variability and overhunting. 3 The Peary caribou’s decline has corresponded to a period when the Canadian Arctic has registered both a significant number of thaw days in the autumn and winter, and an increase in the frequency of heavy precipitation events. These changes, compounded by increasing mean temperatures are seriously disrupting the migration and foraging activities of the Peary caribou. Without intervention, the changing global climate responsible for increased climate variability in the Arctic will surely only further reduce the remaining population of this endangered species.
For Arctic-island caribou, migration, foraging and their biological cycle are all linked to the yearly progression of the seasons. The most critical and challenging time for the survival of the caribou is the transition between freeze and thaw at the beginning of spring. The thaw makes accessible abundant forage that the wintering caribou have been eagerly awaiting and is tied to the calving of baby caribou. However, the thaw also severs the connections between islands as the sea ice recedes. The timing, then, of the northward migration of the caribou from the mainland to the arctic islands is critical. The caribou must cross before ice melts, but not too soon as to be ahead of the melting forage. Increased climate variability has a negative impact on both of these time-sensitive activities. Firstly, the break-up of sea ice is accelerated, disrupting migration routes and forcing the caribou to cross earlier . Secondly, forage is made increasingly unavailable to the caribou as a result of increased temperature fluctuations and freezing rain, which combine to producing a thin layer of ice over the landscape preventing caribou from accessing their food until later in the season. Coupling Stakeholders There are fifteen research stations dispersed across the Canadian North, with twenty-five more proposed. The overwhelming majority of these stations in the Arctic are designed as singular hermetic monoliths whose primary intention is data collection for scientists while combating extreme environmental conditions. With an anticipated $85 million allocated to the construction of new Arctic Research Infrastructure across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, the opportunity exists to question the design of research stations and their potential agency within the environment. The Caribou Pivot Station is a proposal for a new research station typology in which the station itself creates a micro-climate or oasis by deflecting and clearing snow and ice to reveal a fresh forage field. The stations are strategically located at key points along caribou migration routes. The building mass is inflected toward prevailing winds, while additional snow screens and ice-clearing pivot gantries manage snow fall for deflection, insulation, collection or concealment. Revisiting the logic of centre-pivot irrigators that extend cultivation in arid areas, the station gantries act as rakes by clearing snow and cracking ice layers as they form in the spring, allowing caribou access to forage when it is most critically needed.
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