Integrative Science
In phase III of Alaska EPSCoR, the science components are integrated into one program addressing social-ecological systems in Alaska. Here the integrative component is described. Integration is EPSCoR’s central method and its ultimate goal. Only by drawing together people, information, and methodology from diverse disciplines will we be able to grasp the full story of the dramatic changes taking place in the Arctic.
Integration begins with EPSCoR faculty and students in the individual research components working together to link their research. They will use a variety of modeling approaches to examine past patterns of change; where appropriate, models based on historical patterns of change will be used to develop scenarios of future change. For example, models describing permafrost response to past climate change can be used to produce scenarios of future responses to projected climate warming, which then serve as input to model the effects of altered habitat on waterfowl and moose distribution and subsistence harvest.
To further integration, Alaska EPSCoR phase III researchers cluster in interdisciplinary, problem-based groups. Their research centers on climate change and rapid social change, which are the two major change agents affecting social-ecological sustainability in Alaska. They are encouraged to focus on three cross-cutting themes:
i) community use of ecosystem services;
ii) disturbance dynamics and
iii) social and ecological diversity.
The community use of ecosystem services is defined as the community use of resources provided by the local ecological system. An example is frozen rivers providing a transportation corridor in rural Alaskan villages. Sustainability of these natural resources is the critical issue. Their use is impacted both by global climate change and rapid social change such as globalization.
The disturbance dynamics theme focuses on the way changes are taking place in the social-ecological systems of Alaska. The emphasis is on the dynamics of change, and the premise is that this change is accelerating. For example, this group examines how changes such as increasing fire frequency affect social and physical processes in interior Alaska, how development affects permafrost dynamics, and how such changes are perceived by society.
The social and ecological diversity theme explores the cumulative effect of climate change and rapid social change on cultural, linguistic, and biological diversity. Movement and migration are critical topics, for both social and ecological systems.
Researchers, however, are not restricted to these themes, but rather are invited to submit proposals to integrate arctic science in new and inventive ways. Instead of pigeonholing researchers into specific research idioms, we will allocate development funding that will allow them to follow their own ideas.
Integration begins with EPSCoR faculty and students in the individual research components working together to link their research. They will use a variety of modeling approaches to examine past patterns of change; where appropriate, models based on historical patterns of change will be used to develop scenarios of future change. For example, models describing permafrost response to past climate change can be used to produce scenarios of future responses to projected climate warming, which then serve as input to model the effects of altered habitat on waterfowl and moose distribution and subsistence harvest.
To further integration, Alaska EPSCoR phase III researchers cluster in interdisciplinary, problem-based groups. Their research centers on climate change and rapid social change, which are the two major change agents affecting social-ecological sustainability in Alaska. They are encouraged to focus on three cross-cutting themes:
i) community use of ecosystem services;
ii) disturbance dynamics and
iii) social and ecological diversity.
The community use of ecosystem services is defined as the community use of resources provided by the local ecological system. An example is frozen rivers providing a transportation corridor in rural Alaskan villages. Sustainability of these natural resources is the critical issue. Their use is impacted both by global climate change and rapid social change such as globalization.
The disturbance dynamics theme focuses on the way changes are taking place in the social-ecological systems of Alaska. The emphasis is on the dynamics of change, and the premise is that this change is accelerating. For example, this group examines how changes such as increasing fire frequency affect social and physical processes in interior Alaska, how development affects permafrost dynamics, and how such changes are perceived by society.
The social and ecological diversity theme explores the cumulative effect of climate change and rapid social change on cultural, linguistic, and biological diversity. Movement and migration are critical topics, for both social and ecological systems.
Researchers, however, are not restricted to these themes, but rather are invited to submit proposals to integrate arctic science in new and inventive ways. Instead of pigeonholing researchers into specific research idioms, we will allocate development funding that will allow them to follow their own ideas.