News | Study of Environmental Arctic Change

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The Belém Agenda at COP30: Justice, Transition, Action

13 November 2025

One of SEARCH’s graduate research fellows at Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Imane Darkaoui is on-site participating in COP30. After a logistically challenging journey from Monterey, California, to Belém, Brazil, earlier this week, Amany’s first report from COP30 has arrived. _____ The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the annual meeting for all the parties…

Understanding COP: The World’s Climate Summit and Why COP30 Matters

7 November 2025

What Is COP? COP is the “Conference of the Parties,” an annual United Nations summit where world leaders, diplomats, scientists, and other stakeholders gather to address climate change issues. The “Parties” refer to the 198 countries (plus the European Union) that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty adopted…

‘People First’ and Other Reflections from Arctic Encounter Symposium 2024

7 May 2024

Slushy sidewalks, falling flakes, and brisk breezes indicate April’s late-winter tendrils are yet to relinquish Anchorage from their grasps. None of it freezes folks in their footsteps. Over 1,000 people from many corners of the globe have traveled to Alaska’s metropolis for the 10th anniversary Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES), North America’s largest Arctic policy and…

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

Braiding Science, Community, and Policy

15 February 2024

“If you’re someone who values a safe and healthy planet where people, ecosystems, plants, and polar bears can all thrive, then I have good news for you,” writes SEARCH Research & Program Management Fellow, Alex Shahbazi. “The message from the earth science community is clear. They have the solutions. They can say what can be…

The Impact of Climate Change on Alaska Natives

26 January 2024

The disproportionate climate vulnerability of Alaska Native communities was the feature story of a recent issue of the Journal of Environmental Health. Co-written by SEARCH Executive Committee member & Human Well Being team co-chair Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer, the article highlights the need for urgent action to address the climate threats, consequences, and inequities facing Indigenous…

How SEARCH Engages Community: Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

26 January 2024

Merle Apassingok is a whaling boat co-captain, a commissioned pastor for Gambell Presbyterian Church, and until recently, a Bering Air agent in Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. As a SEARCH researcher, Merle shares Yupik knowledge of the Arctic environment with his SEARCH colleagues, and he shares the collaborative work of SEARCH with his community.…

Scientists’ Perspectives towards Achieving Net Zero

6 January 2024

Achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions is core to mitigating climate change, the most important and urgent issue of our time. Despite many countries’ international commitments to reach net zero by 2050, these targets face major challenges. Brendan Kelly—SEARCH’s Principal Investigator & Science Director—and colleagues from NASA, Scripps, and Binghamton University co-convened a panel of…

Sharing Our Process through the Power of Posters

6 January 2024

Several SEARCH team members recently presented a poster at AGU23 highlighting our work synthesizing knowledge of—and solutions for—Arctic environmental change. Spearheaded by SEARCH co-PI Marika Holland, our boots on the ground took the form of Brendan Kelly, Athena Copenhaver, George Kling, and Alex Shahbazi. To say that folks perusing the poster session were interested in…

Advancing Three-Eyed Seeing at AGU23

6 January 2024

Wide open science was the theme of this year’s American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco, and SEARCH took the opportunity to lead dozens of scientists in a lively discussion of research that includes diverse disciplines, perspectives, and knowledge systems. More than 55 researchers–from scientists and decision makers to philosophers and physicians–engaged with nine…

SEARCH @ AGU23

4 December 2023

One of the country’s (if not the world’s) largest scientific gatherings is happening in just one week, and SEARCH is thrilled to once again be attending. The American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) 2023 fall meeting—aptly abbreviated as AGU23—will see over 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries descend on San Francisco for a week of presentations, meetings,…

Savoonga Community Leader Soon to Co-Chair SEARCH Team

28 November 2023

Change is in the air for SEARCH as winter rolls in near the close of 2023. Bryan Rookok, Jr.—SEARCH co-production team member and community leader from Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island—will be taking up the mantle of co-chair of our International Cooperation & Economic Decisionmaking (IC-ED) co-production team. As an already integral team member, Bryan will…

Join SEARCH as a Postdoctoral Fellow

3 November 2023

Are you a well trained research scientist looking to strengthen and diversify your skills? Are you interested in contributing to a complex collaboration synthesizing and communicating the consequences for people of environmental changes across the Arctic? Are you committed to rolling up your sleeves, exemplifying your belief that no job is too small, and contributing…

NIUGTAQ : Fractured Edge

31 October 2023

SEARCH Human Well Being team co-chairs Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer and Dr. Jamie Donatuto co-produced an art piece that is now currently on display at the Surge: Mapping Transition, Displacement, and Agency in Times of Climate Change exhibit at the Museum of Northwest Art. Titled “Niugtaq : Fractured Edge,” images of the piece and its write-up…