Old Meets New at the Cross of the Continents: Providing Climate Services in Western Alaska and the Bering Strait Region

Abstract:

Western Alaska and the Bering Strait region are experiencing exceptionally rapid climate and environmental change that is already impacting the lives and livelihoods of residents and others in the region. However, typical agency climate data and outlook products at the sub-seasonal to seasonal scale fail to address the needs and interests of communities at the Crossroads of Asia and North America. This information has historically been targeted at contemporary mid-latitude, Western societal needs and delivered primarily through communications channels that are either non-existent or inadequate to the task in rural Alaska. This presentation will give several examples of ways that the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy are working with peoples in the region to provide timely information on environmental information that communities and tribes have identified as important using communications methods that are practical for the realities of information flow in the region.