Integrating Scientific Perpectives to Understand Problems of Changing Environmental and Human Conditions in the Polar Regions

NANCY DOUBLEDAY; DARIO TROMBOTTO; O. HUMLUM; C. JONASSON; N. MATSUOKA; J. MURTON; F.E. NELSON; J. VANDENBERGHE; T. VLASSOVA; X. YANG

Las Vegas, USA

Congreso; AAG Meeting; 2009

Association of American Geographers (AAG)

During International Polar Year diverse scientific inquiries have taken place and are producing data from physical and environmental sciences, and social, economic and cultural studies that document the nature and magnitude of change occurring in the Polar Regions, and the ways in which human societies are adapting to these changing conditions. The Commission on Cold Region Environments seeks to contribute to better understanding of complex processes of environmental change and adaptation through integration of information from multiple sources, including social-economic-cultural research, and environmental and physical science, to produce new approaches and new knowledge. This mission recognizes the significance of understanding and addressing the challenges of change in cold region environments through multi- and interdisciplinary methods, requiring integration of knowledge from the many traditions of geographical science, including environmental and human sciences. Examples from cold region environments are reported here using the integrated science framework of the Cold Region Environments Commission of the IGU to emphasize linkages between changes reported by physical and environmental sciences and socio-economic and cultural factors influencing changes in cold region environments.