89. Ecosocial and Scientific Futures amidst Cryosphere Loss
Annikki Herranen-Tabibi, Harvard University;
Cryosphere loss - the retreat of frozen water across the Earth system - is increasingly recognized as a profound global threat. This two-part transdisciplinary panel examine futures being made amidst cryospheric collapse. "Part I: Ecosocial Futures" foregrounds community-driven future-making amidst planetary-scale transformation, including efforts to care for lands, waterways, and their more-than-human inhabitants; the significance of local, traditional, and Indigenous knowledge; and health and social effects, including psychosocial distress, impacts on subsistence livelihoods, and climate-induced migration (Bronen, 2010; Whyte, 2017; Cunsolo and Ellis, 2018). "Part 2: Scientific Futures" interrogates scientific understandings of cryosphere loss, including concerns over sea level rise, subsidence, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, pathogens, and biogeochemical risks (Yumashev et al, 2019; Aikio, 2019; Miner et al, 2021), alongside contestation surrounding scientific efforts to address cryosphere loss, including via geoengineering. References: Aikio, M. 2019. Statement to the UN FAO Expert Seminar on Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Peoples' Fisheries in the Arctic Region. Bronen, R. 2010. "Forced migration of Alaskan indigenous communities due to climate change." Environment, forced migration and social vulnerability. Cunsolo, A., and Ellis, N. R. 2018. 'Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss.' Nat.Clim.Chng., 8(4), 275-281. Miner, K.R., D'Andrilli, J., Mackelprang, R. et al. 2021. 'Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation.' Nat.Clim.Chng. 11, 809â??819. Yumashev, D. et al. 2019. Climate policy implications of nonlinear decline of Arctic land permafrost and other cryosphere elements. Nat.Comms. 10(1), pp.1-11. Whyte, Kyle. 2017. 'Indigenous Climate Change Studies: Indigenizing Futures, Decolonizing the Anthropocene.' Eng.Lang.Notes 55(1): 153-62.
