Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut
ABSTRACT This study examines how climatic extremes during winter 2010–2011 affected the traditional food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut. This winter was anomalous throughout the Canadian Arctic, and manifested itself locally by warmer temperatures and decreased ice coverage. Drawing upon in-depth interv...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247414000151 2024-03-03T08:42:12+00:00 Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut Statham, Sara Ford, James Berrang-Ford, Lea Lardeau, Marie-Pierre Gough, William Siewierski, Rick 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247414000151 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247414000151 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 51, issue 3, page 301-317 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2014 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247414000151 2024-02-08T08:37:27Z ABSTRACT This study examines how climatic extremes during winter 2010–2011 affected the traditional food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut. This winter was anomalous throughout the Canadian Arctic, and manifested itself locally by warmer temperatures and decreased ice coverage. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with hunters (n = 25), a fixed question survey with public housing residents (n = 100), as well as analysis of remotely sensed sea-ice charts and temperature data from the Iqaluit weather station, this work identifies and characterises the extreme climatic conditions experienced, their subsequent effects on Iqaluit's traditional food system, and coping strategies used for dealing with food-related stresses. The results show increased environmental stress on the traditional food system compared to previous years. Freeze up occurred 59 days later than the average for the 1982–2010 period, while mean annual temperatures were 4.9ºC higher than the climatological mean, which negatively impacted hunters’ harvests and residents’ food supplies. Coping strategies alleviated some stresses, but adaptability was limited for financially insecure households reliant on income support. The study shows that when challenging socioeconomic conditions, such as those associated with public housing, are coupled with significant environmental stress, such as experienced during that winter, the vulnerability of the traditional food system is exacerbated. We suggest that winter 2010–2011 can be used as an analogue for exploring future food system vulnerabilities, with climate models projecting similar conditions in the coming decades. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic inuit Iqaluit Nunavut Polar Record Sea ice Cambridge University Press Arctic Nunavut Polar Record 51 3 301 317 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Statham, Sara Ford, James Berrang-Ford, Lea Lardeau, Marie-Pierre Gough, William Siewierski, Rick Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
ABSTRACT This study examines how climatic extremes during winter 2010–2011 affected the traditional food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut. This winter was anomalous throughout the Canadian Arctic, and manifested itself locally by warmer temperatures and decreased ice coverage. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with hunters (n = 25), a fixed question survey with public housing residents (n = 100), as well as analysis of remotely sensed sea-ice charts and temperature data from the Iqaluit weather station, this work identifies and characterises the extreme climatic conditions experienced, their subsequent effects on Iqaluit's traditional food system, and coping strategies used for dealing with food-related stresses. The results show increased environmental stress on the traditional food system compared to previous years. Freeze up occurred 59 days later than the average for the 1982–2010 period, while mean annual temperatures were 4.9ºC higher than the climatological mean, which negatively impacted hunters’ harvests and residents’ food supplies. Coping strategies alleviated some stresses, but adaptability was limited for financially insecure households reliant on income support. The study shows that when challenging socioeconomic conditions, such as those associated with public housing, are coupled with significant environmental stress, such as experienced during that winter, the vulnerability of the traditional food system is exacerbated. We suggest that winter 2010–2011 can be used as an analogue for exploring future food system vulnerabilities, with climate models projecting similar conditions in the coming decades. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Statham, Sara Ford, James Berrang-Ford, Lea Lardeau, Marie-Pierre Gough, William Siewierski, Rick |
author_facet |
Statham, Sara Ford, James Berrang-Ford, Lea Lardeau, Marie-Pierre Gough, William Siewierski, Rick |
author_sort |
Statham, Sara |
title |
Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut |
title_short |
Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut |
title_full |
Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut |
title_fullStr |
Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut |
title_full_unstemmed |
Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, Nunavut |
title_sort |
anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional inuit food system in iqaluit, nunavut |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247414000151 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247414000151 |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut |
genre |
Arctic inuit Iqaluit Nunavut Polar Record Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic inuit Iqaluit Nunavut Polar Record Sea ice |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 51, issue 3, page 301-317 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247414000151 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
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51 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
301 |
op_container_end_page |
317 |
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1792497656740708352 |