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Climate change is already occurring in the Arctic and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment recently concluded that future climate change could be devastating for Inuit. This paper characterises vulnerability to climate change in two Inuit communities in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, focusing on the resource harvesting sector. In both communities, Inuit have demonstrated significant adaptability in the face of current changes in climatic conditions. This adaptability is facilitated by traditional Inuit knowledge, strong social networks, flexibility in resource use, and institutional support. Changing Inuit livelihoods, however, have undermined certain aspects of adaptive capacity and have resulted in emerging vulnerabilities. Global and regional climate projections indicate that climatic conditions which currently pose risks are expected to be negatively affected by future climate change. These projections are not without precedent and analysis of current vulnerability and identification of adaptation constraints by Inuit in the two communities indicate the continued importance of traditional coping mechanisms. The ability to draw on these coping mechanisms in light of future climate change, however, will be unequal and the research indicates that young Inuit and those without access to economic resources, in particular, are vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea ice is influential in regulating energy exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere, and has figured prominently in scientific studies of climate change and climate feedbacks. However, sea ice is also a vital component of everyday life in Inuit communities of the circumpolar Arctic. Therefore, it is important to understand the links between the potential impacts of climate change on Arctic sea ice extent, distribution, and thickness as well as the related consequences for northern coastal populations. This paper explores the relationship between sea ice and climate change from both scientific and Inuit perspectives. Based on an overview of diverse literature the experiences, methods, and goals which differentiate local and scientific sea ice knowledge are examined. These efforts are considered essential background upon which to develop more accurate assessments of community vulnerability to climate, and resulting sea ice, change. Inuit and scientific perspectives may indeed be the ideal complement when investigating the links between sea ice and climate change, but effective and appropriate conceptual bridges need to be built between the two types of expertise. The complementary nature of these knowledge systems may only be realized, in a practical sense, if significant effort is expended to: (i) understand sea ice from both Inuit and scientific perspectives, along with their underlying differences; (ii) investigate common interests or concerns; (iii) establish meaningful and reciprocal research partnerships with Inuit communities; (iv) engage in, and improve, collaborative research methods; and, (v) maintain ongoing dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection, attribution and understanding of temperature changes in the high northern latitudes depend on constraining uncertainties and resolving apparent discrepancies in observational data sets. We quantitatively compare four of the most widely used data sets of surface air temperature (SAT), and present a newly produced SAT data set, called NansenSAT. The existing data sets are highly correlated ( r∼ 0.8–0.9), except for some ocean areas. The evolution of SAT anomalies indicates differences reaching 3 °C during the 1920s–1930s warming period for the polar region (60–90°N). Substantial errors in trends also result from spatial sampling limitations, especially during the early–20th-century. Maximum differences between the data sets reaching 0.64 °C/100 yr are found in 1900–1999 linear trends in July and October for 60–90°N. We produced a new SAT data set for the region north of 40°N for the period 1900–2000, using all available data and Objective Analysis methods. The new data set has been compared with existing SAT data. For the polar region, the magnitude of temperature-trend errors caused by sparse data coverage is about 0.5 °C/100 yr. The advantage of the new data set is its enhanced spatial coverage in high latitudes. The NansenSAT data set is available for the research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]