Class & Field Notes
on the web:
Arctic Data Center
Zotero
Past Issues
Do Urban Heat Islands exist in the Arctic?
An urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas due to human modification of the land. Prior studies in Utqiaġvik conducted in 2001-2002 and 2004-2006 found a minimally significant heat island effects in summer and a more prominent effect (~2 °C) in winter.
To understand the dynamics of urban heating at fine spatio-temporal scales, we established a network of micrometeorological sensor arrays. Keep reading
The UVA team goes to Fairbanks for the Navigating the New Arctic Community Meeting The UVA Arctic Research Center team had the opportunity to share our research findings with national and international colleagues at the Navigating the New Arctic Annual Community Meeting in Fairbanks on September 15-17. We were also able to spend time with some of our Utqiaġvik collaborators who were in town for the meeting. Keep reading
NSF Project wraps up by sharing back While our Utqiaġvik research continues through the UVA Environmental Institute’s SNOWPAC project, we capped off our NSF-funded Utqiaġvik Sensor Array project with a week of meetings and presentations to share research findings and design strategies with community partners in Utqiaġvik. Our visit coincided with the Arctic ACTION Workshop, where we presented a keynote talk, participated on several panels, and hosted a community dinner. Keep reading
For the NNA UtqiaġvikSensor Array project, Co-PI Caitlin Wylie and postdoc Hannah Bradley have focused their social science research on observing and analyzing the developing collaboration between our academic colleagues and our community partners, asking “How can scientists and communities best work toward common goals?” Keep reading
Snow and ice: Tracking infrastructure impact in Arctic aquatic systems (Part II)
From 30 September to 7 October, Utqiaġvik, Alaska, greeted us with a surprise: about 3 inches of shorefast ice on our study sites. At the same time last year, these shores were only lightly iced even later in October, so this early, solid ice cover was not what we expected. Our targets were the same three water bodies, now in their early winter mode: Imikpuk Lake, Middle Salt Lagoon, and Isatkoak Lagoon. Keep reading
Water, water, everywhere: Tracking infrastructure impact in Arctic aquatic systems (Part I) For their summer sampling campaign, the aquatic team walked the shores of three of Utqiaġvik’s large water bodies to gather key water quality parameters that will help us understand the chemical signatures of seasonal rhythms, human activity, and permafrost dynamics. Keep reading
Finding air quality hotspots to inform dust mitigation in UtqiaġvikAnother UVA|ARC team traveled to Utqiaġvik this spring to deploy “BigDot” particulate matter (PM) sensors in areas deemed to be potential or observed hotspots for dust, and therefore, for poor air quality. Eighteen sensors were deployed across the city. Keep reading
In mid-May, social scientists Hannah Bradley and Cheri Johnson traveled to Utqiaġvik alongside our colleagues from the Environmental Science and Architecture departments to continue our social studies of how science works. Watching scientists do science is just one aspect of our research, and it's great to be in the field and lend a hand or hold a ladder. Our social science observations covered two aspects of our research...
Keep reading
Here, Howard Epstein and Matthew Jull work on the sensor base station at Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital, while UVA social scientists observe. Our ASNA partners generously lent us the ladder! (Credit: Hannah Bradley)
Snow, Pixels, and Probes: Ground-Truthing in UtqiaġvikOver a week in May, the team
collected over 900 snow depth and density measurements spanning open tundra, built environments, and zones affected by wind redistribution in Utqiaġvik. Keep reading
Sensor Reset Maintaining the Utqiaġvik Sensor Array includes routine tasks like changing batteries and replacing sensors that have stopped communicating. We have also been working to make the network more robust. The UVA|ARC team is investigating what types and numbers of sensors to install to enhance the Utqiaġvik Sensor Array over the next year. Keep reading
Design and the Built Environment of the ArcticEdited by Leena Cho and Matthew Jull
Eleven new and original contributions from leading and emerging scholars and practitioners on the Arctic at the nexus of unprecedented socio-environmental transformations.
ISBN 978-1-032-66770-6