NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: marine ecosystem, sustainability, transdisciplinarity

Objective(s): Our aim is to identify local Arctic challenges and make them visible on a wider public scale. We are interested in contributing to a better understanding of the Arctic biome and environment, as well as the future challenges local and global communities are facing by climate-driven changes in the Arctic.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 6110. Our aim is to identify local Arctic challenges and make them visible on a wider public scale. We are interested in contributing to a better understanding of the Arctic biome and environment, as well as the future challenges local and global communities are facing by climate-driven changes in the Arctic. Research and teaching with a focus on social sciences are of interest for amplifying voices of Indigenous rights holders to a larger scientific and public audience. Our research evolves around: - Assessment of fish and zooplankton populations - Biodiversity assessment using physical sampling, morphological and molecular (environmental DNA) analyses - Biotechnology: exploring marine bioactive compounds - Understanding changes in sea ice thickness - Technology: safe and sustainable operations in remote areas with demanding weather conditions - Arctic Memoryscapes – documenting changes in Arctic coastal and underwater heritage - Information literacy by integrating Indigenous knowledge, experiential learning, and Extended Reality technologies - Ocean literacy: understanding and stewardship of marine environments through integrating diverse knowledge systems and emotional literacy - Documenting, revitalizing, and integrating management and conservation practices of Indigenous peoples - Creative futures thinking using experiential learning and worldbuilding through the course running on-board - International relations: interplay between the Arctic and Arctic local and Indigenous societies with global political, economic, security processes - Arctic linguistic landscapes Didactics: students’ perspectives on teaching and learning processes in collaborative interdisciplinary project work Epidemiology and impact of diet transitions in Indigenous populations Health studies: impact of onboard watch system on health and wellness of OOII participants There are a range of sensors mounted to the ship which will measure the occurrence of marine mammals, currents, weather patterns, ocean temperature, and ocean light conditions. A vessel flow through system will continuously collect water samples. At certain stations along the voyage, water and organism samples will be collected from the marine environment. For this, we will use Niskin bottles (water samples), towed nets and fishing rods (zooplankton and fish), and boxcorers (sediment extraction from the seafloor). Most of the social sciences will take place on board and involve studies with the cruise participants themselves and their experiences. Extended reality and artificial intelligence are some of the tools that will be used. Some researchers will conduct interviews with local communities. All results and data generated during the project will be made openly available. Marine data collected with the vessels sensors will be made publicly and globally available through NMDC (https://nmdc.no/en) following FAIR data principles within 12 months. We will actively communicate our activities on board through social media and the project websites (https://www.oneoceanexpedition.com/, https://en.uit.no/one-ocean). Preliminary results generated under way will be shared with the community at organized events during the planned stops on land (Cambridge Bay, Anchorage). The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: September 02 - October 04, 2025