Page 31 - Canadian Geographic

Sea change THE POLAR BLOG

INUIT HUNTERS AND SCIENTISTS ARE COLLABORATING TO Hunters Peter Kattuk (left) and Daniel
RECORD ALARMING SHIFTS IN HUDSON BAY SEA ICE Qavvik, part of a research collective recording
environmental changes on Hudson Bay,
BY JOHN BENNETT search for belugas near Sanikiluaq, Nunavut.
I Kuujjuarapik, Umiujaq and Inukjuak, in “Seals, which normally fl oat when killed
INUIT HUNTERS from eastern Hudson Bay
in seawater and can be retrieved, were
Arctic Quebec, and Sanikiluaq, on
are working with scientists to document the
Nunavut’s Belcher Islands.
changing environment. Keen observers
less buoyant in water with reduced salin-
ity, and began sinking out of reach.”
who travel widely on the bay year-round, the
“Our goal,” she says, “is to understand
hunters fi rst noted unusual changes in the
Hunters’ more recent observations of
sea ice in the 1970s, when massive hydro- the cumulative impacts of hydro and cli- the changing climate include thinner ice
mate change on the sea ice and water,
electric projects on Quebec rivers altered and their effects on wildlife and on Inuit and reduced sea ice area, cooler summers
the flow of fresh water into James and land use, lives and livelihoods.” and warmer winters, and higher and less
Hudson bays. By the 1990s, they were shar- Before the hydroelectric projects, the predictable winds. “People say that 15 or 20
ing observations related to the changing greatest fl ow of fresh water into James Bay years ago, winds of 150 km/h or more
climate. Megan Sheremata, a PhD student (and then north into Hudson Bay) occurred would occur only in the fall,” says
in the department of physical and environ- during the spring melt. When the dams Sheremata. “Now you can have windstorms
mental sciences at the University of Toronto began operating, the maximum fl ow moved at any time of year. That’s a concern for
Scarborough and recipient of the 2017 Polar to mid-winter, when demand for electricity hunters travelling by snowmobile or boat
Knowledge Canada Scholarship, is helping in Southern Canada and the northeastern and for communities, where high winds can
to document that knowledge. United States is highest, and more water is damage buildings and services.”
Sheremata’s research is part of a broad directed through the generating stations. The hunters’ knowledge complements
collaboration that includes hunters, scien- “Hunters immediately noticed the ice the physical sciences used to monitor salin-
tists and the Arctic Eider Society, which was more brittle [freshwater ice is less ity and sea ice in eastern Hudson Bay, says
works with communities on Hudson Bay flexible than saltwater ice], and some Sheremata. “Together, we can understand
on sea ice research and education. So far, described seeing it literally break behind what these changes mean for the land, sea
JOEL HEATH/ARCTIC EIDER SOCIETY This is the latest in a blog series on polar issues and research (cangeo.ca/blog/polarblog) presented
their snowmobiles,” says Sheremata.
she has interviewed nearly 40 experts from
and wildlife that Inuit depend on.”

by Canadian Geographic and Polar Knowledge Canada, a Government of Canada agency with a mandate
to advance Canada’s knowledge of the Arctic and strengthen Canadian leadership in polar science and
technology. Learn more at canada.ca/en/polar-knowledge.

CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC 31