Co-producing sea ice tools to improve situational awareness and crisis response in the Arctic
Abstract
The Arctic environment poses unique challenges to safe maritime operations, including hazards associated with harsh weather conditions and sea ice. Improving situational awareness and decision support are critical elements in supporting planning and emergency response to these emerging environmental marine hazards in the Arctic. Although some tools provide information on existing environmental conditions in the Arctic that can be used in decision making, there is a need to improve tools in manners that can better serve operators. Using a model of knowledge co-production, this project develops weather and sea ice forecasting tools for marine operators in the Arctic. Our process for tool development includes assessing the decision context of operators and responders (US Coast Guard, subsistence hunters, and local search and rescue), identifying three types of sea ice hazards from historical radar data (convergence, divergence, and anomalous motion), identifying and testing hazard notification formats and procedures among our project partners (NOAA's Arctic ERMA and National Weather Service) for the early warning system, optimizing the tool based on stakeholder feedback, and evaluation. This research is situated in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. Lessons learned are discussed for best practices for supporting knowledge co-production in the Arctic.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMGC41I1561K
- Keywords:
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- 0230 Impacts of climate change: human health;
- GEOHEALTHDE: 1616 Climate variability;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1622 Earth system modeling;
- GLOBAL CHANGEDE: 1630 Impacts of global change;
- GLOBAL CHANGE