Alaskan coastal Indigenous communities face severe, urgent, and complex social and infrastructural challenges resulting from environmental changes. However, the magnitude and significance of impacts are unclear; as is how local communities will respond to resulting disruptions and disasters. The Pursuing Opportunities for Long-term Arctic Resilience for Infrastructure and Society (POLARIS) project investigates how interconnected environmental stressors and infrastructure disruptions are affecting coastal Arctic Alaskan communities and identifies the important assets (social, environmental, infrastructural, institutional) to help them adapt and become more resilient to climate-related changes. The POLARIS project has identified three convergent research pillars to help communities adapt: environmental hotspots of disruption to communities and infrastructure, food in complex adaptive systems, and migration and community relocation. Research will integrate the pillars where system responses and uncertainties will be predicted under several socio-environmental scenarios.
Guangqing Chi (PI), Davin Holen, Ann Tickamyer, Lance Howe, Chris Maio, Kathleen Halvorsen, Erica Smithwick, Kathleen Hill, Anne Jensen, Bronwen Powell, Todd Radenbaugh, Junjun Yin, and Qiujie Zheng