News | Study of Environmental Arctic Change

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SEARCH’s Arctic Answers published in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

22 September 2021

To promote an understanding of the science underlying climate change impacts in the Arctic, the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (AAAR), published by the University of Colorado Boulder, is teaming up with SEARCH to release a series of short articles called “Arctic Answers.”

SEARCH Highlights: How we're working together to share what we know

Interacting Climate Drivers Are Reshaping Alaska’s Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta

7 October 2025

The Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska is one of the world’s most important wetlands for migratory birds and home to the largest Indigenous population in the U.S. Arctic. New research shows that sea-level rise, sea-ice loss, stronger storms, erosion, and permafrost thaw are working together in unexpected ways—driving rapid, landscape-scale transformations across the delta.…

Where have the salmon gone and what can be done?

17 July 2025

SEARCH has published a new peer-reviewed policy brief in Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (AAAR), emphasizing the escalating food security crisis in Yukon River communities of Alaska and Canada where decades of salmon decline have intersected with management systems ill-equipped for today’s environmental and social realities. The article, “Food security crisis in the Yukon River…

Reading Group Explores Global “Must-Haves”

20 December 2024

SEARCH’s reading group has re-invigorated its sessions, kicking off with a vibrant discussion of the paper “Accelerating Transformations for a Just, Sustainable Future: 10 Must Haves” on November 26th. Conceptualized by The Earth League and participants of the Global Futures Conference, this paper outlines a framework for bridging the gap between global pledges and actionable…

Hunters’ Access to Walrus in the Changing Arctic

5 September 2024

For Indigenous communities in the Western Arctic’s Bering and Chukchi seas, Pacific walrus stand as integral components to cultural and nutritional well being. As sea ice conditions continue to change, however, these communities’ access to walrus is challenged. A new Arctic Answers policy brief written by a diverse group of SEARCH researchers was published this…

From the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico

20 August 2024

Building on decades of marine ecology and environmental leadership experience, SEARCH co-Principal Investigator Francis Wiese is starting a new position as Senior Scholar at the National Academies of Sciences (NAS). Alongside his existing work co-leading SEARCH’s International Cooperation and Economic Decision-Making team, Francis will be helping frame and implement a vision and strategy for the…

Turning the Tide for Imperiled Arctic Biodiversity

31 July 2024

The Arctic hosts an intricate web of biodiversity. Seals, walruses, and whales roam the frigid ocean waves. Bears, moose, and a variety of plants and fungi sprawl through boreal forest while snowy owls, foxes, and caribou make the grasses and flowers of the tundra their home. Yet, with climate change and human activities making the…

A Dazzling Display of Indigenous Fashion

17 May 2024

Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer’s designs dazzled a crowd of cheering hundreds during April’s Far North Fashion Show in Anchorage. An annual showpiece of the Arctic Encounter Symposium, the event features Alaska Native models and designers from across the state. Jackie—SEARCH Co-Principal Investigator and Director of Climate Initiatives at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium—is a pillar…

Rising Arctic Flames

7 May 2024

Nine diverse voices spoke to the increasing severity of Arctic and boreal wildland fire at the 10th anniversary Arctic Encounter Symposium last week. In a session convened by SEARCH Research & Program Management Fellow Alex Shahbazi and Co-Principal Investigator Francis Wiese, these voices presented three-minute lightning lenses on northern wildfire topics including human health, global…

A Science Symposium in the Middle of the Bering Sea

20 March 2024

SEARCH recently participated in a unique sharing of science in the middle of a wintery Bering Sea. In the midst of high winds and blizzards, several ARC NAV colleagues traveled to Gambell, Alaska—a Yupik village on St. Lawrence Island—to host a community science symposium. Originally proposed by the ARC NAV team’s research consultant in the community, the…

Walruses, Subsistence, and Three-Eyed Seeing

22 February 2024

SEARCH presented its ongoing examination into walrus accessibility in the Bering and Chukchi seas to the Eskimo Walrus Commission (EWC) in December 2023. A collaboration between academic, Indigenous, and policy researchers, the project aims to better understand and respond to  the impacts of environmental change on hunters’ access to walruses across western Alaska and eastern…