Food Storage in Permafrost and Seasonally Frozen Ground in Chukotka and Alaska Communities

Food cellars, otherwise referred to as ice or meat cellars, (lednik in Russian, k’aetyran in Chukchi, siġļuaq in Iñupiaq, and siqlugaq in Yupik) are a natural form of refrigeration in permafrost or seasonally frozen ground used to preserve, age, and ferment foods harvested for subsistence, including marine mammals, birds, fish, and plants. Indigenous peoples throughout the Arctic have constructed cellars in frozen ground for millennia. This paper focuses on cellars in Russian and American coastal and island communities of the Bering Strait, the region otherwise known as Beringia. This area has a unique, culturally rich, and politically dynamic history. Many traditions associated with cellars are threatened in Chukchi communities in Russia because of the impacts of climate change, relocation, dietary changes, and industrial development. However, even with warmer temperatures, cellars still provide a means to age and ferment food stuffs following traditional methods. In cooperation with local stakeholders, we measured internal temperatures of 18 cellars in 13 communities throughout the Bering Strait region and northern Alaska. Though cellars are widely used in permafrost regions, their structure, usage, and maintenance methods differ and exhibit influences of local climates, traditions, and economic activities. Monitoring internal temperatures and recording structural descriptions of cellars is important in the face of climate change to better understand the variety and resilience of living adaptations in different cold regions.Les caves à denrées, aussi connues sous le nom de caves à glace ou de caves à viande (lednik en russe, k’aetyran en tchouktche, siġļuaq en iñupiaq, et siqlugaq en yupik) constituent une forme de réfrigération naturelle dans le pergélisol ou dans le gélisol saisonnier permettant de conserver, de maturer et de fermenter les denrées récoltées à des fins de subsistance, dont les mammifères marins, les oiseaux, les poissons et les plantes. Cela fait des millénaires que les peuples autochtones de l’Arctique construisent des caves dans le gélisol. Cet article porte sur les caves se trouvant dans les localités côtières et insulaires russes et américaines du détroit de Béring, région qui porte également le nom de Béringie. L’histoire de cette région est unique, culturellement riche et politiquement dynamique. De nombreuses traditions liées aux caves des localités tchouktches de la Russie sont menacées en raison des incidences du changement climatique, de la délocalisation, du changement des régimes alimentaires et de l’expansion industrielle. Cependant, malgré les températures plus élevées, les caves constituent toujours un moyen de maturer et de fermenter les denrées alimentaires selon les méthodes traditionnelles. En collaboration avec les parties prenantes de la région, nous avons mesuré les températures internes de 18 caves situées dans 13 localités de la région du détroit de Béring et du nord de l’Alaska. Bien que les caves soient courantes dans les régions de pergélisol, leur structure, leur usage et les méthodes d’entretien diffèrent, et elles sont à l’image des influences des traditions, des activités économiques et des climats locaux. La surveillance des températures internes et l’enregistrement des descriptions structurales des caves revêtent de l’importance à la lumière du changement climatique, car elles permettent de mieux comprendre la variété et la résilience des adaptations de vie dans différentes régions froides.называемые иногда мясными ямами (лéдник по-русски, к’этыран по-чукотски, Siġļuaq или Siqlugaq по-эскимосски), обустроены как в вечномёрзлых породах, так и в сезонноталом слое и являются естественной формой заморозки для сохранения, выдержки и ферментации пищевых продуктов, добытых для пропитания: мясо морских млекопитающих, дичь, рыба, растения и др. Коренные жители Арктики обустраивали хранилища в мерзлоте на протяжении тысячелетий. Данная статья посвящена подземным хранилищам в российских и американских поселениях на берегах Берингова пролива – региона, также называемого Берингией. Эта территория имеет уникальную, богатую культурой и политически динамичную историю. Многие традиции, связанные с хранилищами в поселениях Чукотки, находятся под угрозой исчезновения из-за климатических изменений, миграции жителей, изменений в рационе и промышленного освоения территории. Однако даже при повышении температуры воздуха в хранилищах по-прежнему можно выдерживать и ферментировать пищу традиционными способами. При сотрудничестве с местным населением мы измерили температуры внутреннего воздуха в 18 лéдниках в 13 поселениях в регионе Берингова пролива и на севере Аляски. Несмотря на широкое использование таких хранилищ в криолитозоне, их структура, использование и методы обслуживания различаются под влиянием климатических условий, традиций и особенностей промысла. Мониторинг внутренней температуры воздуха в лéдниках и описание их конструкций важны в контексте изменения климата для лучшего понимания разнообразия и эффективности различных способов адаптации к жизни в холодных регионах

A pan-Arctic initiative on the spatial and temporal dynamics of Arctic coasts

Permafrost coasts make up roughly one third of all coasts worldwide. Their erosion leads to the release of previously locked organic carbon, changes in ecosystems and the destruction of cultural heritage, infrastructure and whole communities. Since rapid environmental changes lead to an intensification of Arctic coastal dynamics, it is of great importance to adequately quantify current and future coastal changes. However, the remoteness of the Arctic and scarcity of data limit our understanding of coastal dynamics at a pan-Arctic scale and prohibit us from getting a complete picture of the diversity of impacts on the human and natural environment. In a joint effort of the EU project NUNATARYUK and the NSF project PerCS-Net, we seek to close this knowledge gap by collecting and analyzing all accessible high-resolution shoreline position data for the Arctic coastline. These datasets include geographical coordinates combined with coastal positions derived from archived data, surveying data, air and space born remote sensing products, or LiDAR products. The compilation of this unique dataset will enable us to reach unprecedented data coverage and will allow us a first insight into the magnitude and trends of shoreline changes on a pan-Arctic scale with locally highly resolved temporal and spatial changes in shoreline dynamics. By comparing consistently derived shoreline change data from all over the Arctic we expect that the trajectory of coastal change in the Arctic becomes evident. A synthesis of some initial results will be presented in the 2020 Arctic Report Card on Arctic Coastal Dynamics. This initiative is an ongoing effort – new data contributions are welcome

Stable isotopes (δ¹⁸О) in surface water and snowpatches of the northeast coast of Chukotka

The relation of the stable oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) was measured in surface water and snowpatches of the northeast coast of Chukotka collected in 1987 and 2017. Data is compiled from Vasil'chuck 1992 (vol.1 & vol.2) and Vasil'chuk et al. 2021

Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene winter air temperatures in Kotelny Island: reconstructions using stable isotopes of ice wedges

Late Pleistocene and Holocene winter air temperatures in Kotelny Island, northeastern Russian Arctic, have been reconstructed using oxygen isotope compositions of ice wedges and correlated with evidence of Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate variations inferred from pollen data. The δ18О values range exceeds 6 ‰ in Late Pleistocene ice wedges but is only 1.5 ‰ in the Holocene ones (-30.6 ‰ to -24.0 ‰ against -23.1 ‰ to -21.6 ‰, respectively). The Late Pleistocene mean January air temperatures in Kotelny Island were 10-12 °С lower than the respective present temperature. On the other hand, mean winter temperatures in cold substages during the Karga interstadial were colder than those during the Sartan glacial event. The Late Pleistocene-Holocene climate history included several warm intervals when air temperatures were high enough to maintain the existence of low canopy tree patches in Kotelny Island. Mean January air temperatures in the early Holocene were only 1.0-1.5 °С lower than now. The early Holocene vegetation conditions were favorable for prolific growth of shrubs and fast peat accumulation

Use of Reduced Graphene Oxide to Modify Melamine and Polyurethane for the Removal of Organic and Oil Wastes

Methods for obtaining efficient sorption materials based on highly porous melamine and polyurethane matrices modified with reduced graphene oxide were developed. These materials are promising for solving environmental problems such as water pollution with organic products by sorption treatment. Reduced graphene oxides (rGOs) were synthesized from graphene oxide suspensions using potassium hydroxide, ascorbic acid or hydrazine hydrate. Composites with obtained rGO and melamine and polyurethane foam were produced for further characterization. The composites demonstrate high sorption of organic pollutants (oil, diesel fuel and gasoline) and low sorption of water. The composites were comprehensively analyzed by physicochemical techniques (SEM, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis) to elucidate the mechanism of sorption

Stable isotope composition (δ¹⁸О, δ²H and dexc) of massive ice bodies, Eastern Chukotka

Massive ice (MI) bodies exposed in floodplain and terraces at 7 sites have been studied from 1985 to 2020. In recent research stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of massive ice bodies on the extreme North-Eastern Chukotka (near Lavrentiya settlement and Koolen' lake) have been studied in detail. It was concluded that studied massive ice bodies have intrasedimental origin and most likely are dated back to the Late Pleistocene age. Mean δ18O values range from –18.5 ‰ to –15 ‰ whereas mean δ2H values range from –146‰ to –128 ‰ that is higher than expected for the Late Pleistocene ice bodies in this region, which most likely resulted from isotopic fractionation during freezing of water-saturated sediments in a closed system when forming ice isotopically enriched compared with initial water. The analysis of co-isotope ratios for massive ice shows that initial water is mainly of meteoric origin (precipitation, water of lakes and taliks)