In the late 18th century explorers and scientists started venturing into the Arctic in a heroic and sometimes deadly effort to understand and unveil the secrets of the unforgiving and mysterious polar region of the high north. Despite that the Arctic was already populated mattered less for the first wave of polar researchers and explorations who nevertheless, brought back valuable knowledge. Today the focus in Arctic science and discourse has changed to one which includes the peoples and societies, and their interaction with the world beyond.
The image of a static Arctic - heralded first by explorers - prevailed for a long time, but today the eyes of the World see the Arctic very differently. Few, if any, other places on Earth are currently experiencing the kind of dramatic change witnessed in the Arctic. According to model forecasts, these changes are likely to have profound implications on biophysical and human systems, and will accelerate in the decades to come.
“The New Arctic” highlights how, and in what parts, the natural and political system is being transformed. We’re talking about a region where demography, culture, and political and economic systems are increasingly diverse, although many common interests and aspects remain; and with the new Arctic now firmly placed in a global context. Settlements range from small, predominantly indigenous communities, to large industrial cities, and all have a link to the surrounding environment, be it glaciers or vegetation or the ocean itself.
“The New Arctic” contributes to our further understanding of the changing Arctic. It offers a range of perspectives, which reflect the deep insight of a variety of scientific scholars across many disciplines bringing a wide range of expertise. The book speaks to a broad audience, including policy-makers, students and scientific colleagues.
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Contents: 1 Paths to the New Arctic by Birgitta Evengård, Øyvind Paasche, and Joan Nymand Larsen 2 Indigenous Peoples in the New Arctic by Gail Fondahl, Viktoriya Filippova, and Liza Mack 3 Pioneering Nation: New Narratives About Greenland and Greenlanders Launched Through Arts and Branding by Kirsten Thisted 4 Perpetual Adaption? Challanges for the Sami and Reindeer Husbandry in Sweden by Peter Sköld 5 On Past, Present and Future Arctic Expeditions by Peder Roberts and Lize-Marié van der Watt 6 Arctopias: The Arctic as No Place and New Place in Fiction by Heidi Hansson 7 The Fleeting Glaciers of the Arctic by Øyvind Paasche and Jostein Bakke 8 Arctic Carbon Cycle: Patterns, Impacts and Possible Changes by Are Olsen, Leif G. Anderson, and Christoph Heinze 9 Arctic Vegetation Cover: Patterns, Processes and Expected Change by Bruce C. Forbes 10 Human Development in the New Arctic by Joan Nymand Larsen and Andrey Petrov 11 Issues in Arctic Tourism by Dieter K. Müller 12 The Arctic Economy in a Global Context by Joan Nymand Larsen and Lee Huskey 13 Globalization of the “Arctic” by E. Carina H. Keskitalo and Mark Nuttall 14 Race to Resources in the Arctic: Have We Progressed in Our Understanding of What Takes Place in the Arctic? By Timo Koivurova 15 Comparing the Health of Circumpolar Populations: Patterns, Determinants, and Systems by Kue Young and Susan Chatwood 16 Food Security or Food Sovereignty: What Is the Main Issue in the Arctic? By Lena Maria Nilsson and Birgitta Evengård 17 Water Information and Water Security in the Arctic by Arvid Bring, Jerker Jarsjö, and Georgia Destouni 18 Infectious Disease in the Arctic: A Panorama in Transition by Alan Parkinson, Anders Koch, and Birgitta Evengård 19 Environmental Health in the Changing Arctic by Arja Rautio 20 Scientific Cooperation Throughout the Arctic: The INTERACT Experience by Terry V. Callaghan, Margareta Johansson, Yana Pchelintseva, and Sergey N. Kirpotin 21 The Assessed Arctic: How Monitoring Can Be Silently Normative by Nina Wormbs 22 The Challenge of Governance in the Arctic: Now and in the Future by Douglas C. Nord 23 New Knowledge a Pathway to Responsible Development of the Arctic by Gunnel Gustafsson and Marianne Røgeberg 24 Cryo-History: Narratives of Ice and the Emerging Arctic Humanities by Sverker Sörlin