Mapping coastal exposure to climate risks in Alaska’s North Slope: a collaborative, community-based assessment

The rapidly changing Arctic is driving demand for readily usable climate research to address the myriad of challenges and opportunities that are emerging in the region. While the demand is forcing scientist-stakeholder collaborations to enhance usability, scholarship on methods to effectively engage local community stakeholders in the effort is lacking. The need for effective collaboration with local communities has been voiced in the context of efforts to coordinate the pan-Arctic observing network to address stakeholder needs. This dissertation addresses this need by mapping coastal exposure to climate risks in collaboration with Alaska’s North Slope Borough and its residents. Using a collaborative web mapping research design, this dissertation investigates three questions: 1) Why is coastal exposure to climate risks a problem for North Slope communities, 2) What is the land use manager usability perspective of the web map, and 3) How does the web map link to the Arctic observing network? The study identifies coastal exposure risks using community mapping workshops organized in three North Slope municipalities in spring 2016. Collectively, through their subsistence land uses, the three communities observe coastal risks across the study area, which covers coastlines of the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska (NPR-A) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The coastal exposure web map created for the study was used to assess land use manager usability perspectives in an interactive workshop. Following a live demonstration of the web map, workshop participants discussed its saliency, legitimacy, and credibility. The study then explores web map links to the Arctic observing network by comparing the web map process and product with the structure of the network, which was defined using select reports on its design and activities. Main findings include coastal exposure risks associated with Alaska Native industrial and subsistence land uses across the study area, well beyond the small stretches of local municipality coastlines that are the usual focus of related efforts. Land use manager usability perspectives suggest that the web map is salient for the borough’s land use decision-making process, credible enough to be used as a screening tool, and legitimacy would be enhanced by including local stakeholders who observe coastal risks where hydrocarbon development is currently concentrated between the NPR-A and ANWR. Concerning links to the Arctic observing network, the web map process links via the ecosystem services approach to observing network design, the web map product links to ongoing observing activities such as sea ice monitoring, and both process and product link to societal benefit areas that address community resilience. Study implications include the need to account for coastal exposure risks identified in this study in efforts to monitor coastal risks on the North Slope, potential use of the web map for land use decision support, and the need to focus on community needs in approaches to engage local communities in the Arctic observing network. Collectively, the findings of this study establish the groundwork for coproduction of knowledge to address coastal exposure risks on the North Slope using the Arctic observing network.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Michael Brian Brad