News archive

In the last 10 months PhD candidate Laurien de Korte has participated in the The Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership (ARCADE) program. 

Check out the ARCADE program: https://ams.hi.is/en/projects/arcade/ 

Our most recent paper from the Climate Change Adaptation research group is finally published, in the journal Climate Risk Management! A collaboration between Leikny Bakke Lie, Vilde Lysgaard, and Are K. Sydnes, we focus on the anticipation of climate risk in Norwegian municipalities through a systematic literature review combined with empirical findings from an Arctic context.

Abstract:

Climate change is increasingly being coupled to extreme weather and climate events, with an observed increase in intensity and occurrence of climate-related events. Norway is no exception. Though generally considered quite resilient to climate risk, with favorable conditions for adapting on a national level, studies point to regional and local differences. Applying a mixed methods approach we combine a literature review on climate adaptation in Norwegian municipalities showing patterns and trends, with a small-N case study allowing for an in-depth exploration of four Arctic municipalities, where warming occurs faster. We investigate how Norwegian municipalities observe, identify, and prepare for climate-related hazards, by applying the anticipation stage of resilience as an analytical approach. Findings demonstrate how municipal anticipatory capabilities largely rely on external expertise to gather information and/or reduce uncertainty. Experience and familiar hazards form the basis for preparing for future risk. This leaves municipalities running the risk of adapting to present risks while neglecting future developments in vulnerability and exposure to weather and climate events. Climate adaptation has been embedded in the existing processes for risk management, applying statutory risk- and vulnerability assessments as the primary tool for identifying climate risk. We find that this framing leaves a significant imprint on the municipal adaptation efforts. Based on our findings we recommend that municipalities look to strengthen in-house competency on climate adaptation and implement the use of distinct climate risk assessments to better capture long-term risk and identify local adaptation needs and measures.

For the full article, please follow this link: Anticipating climate risk in Norwegian municipalities

- Leikny

Last week, Tromsø was host to the world’s largest conference on snow science – the International Snow Science Workshop, ISSW 2024. The idea of the conference is to uphold an interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and experience, where researchers, practitioners, recreationalists, and other stakeholders meet over a jam-packed program containing all things snow and avalanche!

The program covered everything from snow mechanics, modeling, instrumentation and detection, to decision-making, forecasting, education and learning, with snow and avalanches as the common denominator. Our favorite parts of the program were of course the session on avalanches and snow in a changing climate, as well as risk communication and risk management. Several presentations put focus on some avalanche challenges that very much relates to a changing climate, such as slush flow and glide snow avalanches, and the challenges relating to prediction and management of such events.

Feeling humble to be among so many highly competent and dedicated professionals within the field of snow science, it was a valuable learning experience and made for many good discussions on topics relating to climate change adaptation. We also participated in the poster session with a small contribution to NGI’s poster on Northern Norway Avalanche Surveillance program.

If you want to read more about the conference you can have a look at their website: ISSW2024. The next ISSW will be in 2026 in Whistler. And if you are interested in hearing a bit more about the topics from this years ISSW, you can check out CARE UiT Center for avalanche research and education, they have published several podcasts talking about the conference and interviewing several of this year’s presenters: Skredpodden.

- Leikny

A letter from the 3rd Summer School of The International Association for Engineering Geology (IAEG), in Aosta Valley, Italy.

This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to join the 3rd Summer School of IAEG (The International Association for Engineering Geology), hosted by the University of Aosta. Located in Aosta, in the breathtaking landscape of the northern Italian alps, we had firsthand access to several interesting sites concerning slope stability and risk management. We even arrived in the midst of a torrential rain episode causing flooding and flood slides in several valleys, resulting in the isolation and evacuation of the valley of Cogne, as well as large damages due to flooding in the village of Cervinia. This was a firsthand experience of how climate change is impacting the mountainous regions in Italy. Reports from Meteo Valle d’Aosta point to a combination of torrential rain, saturated ground due to snowmelt, extreme heat periods in the recent years causing melting of permafrost and more unstable slopes, finding that climate change contributes as a fundamental factor to explain and exacerbate such events in this area.  

The topic of this year’s IAEG summer school was natural hazards, societal impact, and risk, from theory to practice: identification, assessment, and remediation, and spot on for my own ongoing PhD research on risk management and adaptation to climate-related natural hazards. For ten days we had theoretical lectures and discussions about slope instabilities relating to avalanches, landslides, and rockfall, as well as flooding and risk assessments (to name but a few of the comprehensive list of topics covered), participated in hands-on workshops trying out tools for rockfall modelling and image correlation, and of course field trips to visit onsite several areas of interest from both a geological and a risk management point of view, such as the large slope instability issue at the Beauregard dam and the continuous monitoring systems in the Grandes Jorasses area (Whymper and Planpincieux glaciers) and the La Saxe landslide in the Courmayeur-area.   

Through this course I gained invaluable insight into the current knowledge and research on slope stability, dynamics, monitoring, and risk management, and I am looking forward to applying my new knowledge to further bridge the natural and social sciences in my research oriented towards a holistic approach to climate adaptation. 

- Leikny

There is a firm belief within our research group on the need for interdisciplinarity in approaching the challenges of climate change, also in terms of climate change adaptation to geohazards. We were thus thrilled to be invited to join an internal UiT workshop aiming to develop a joint, interdisciplinary center at UiT with the purpose of improving research and education on snow and landslides!

Last week, UiT-based researchers from several disciplines ranging from geology, mathemathics, physics, human geography, political science, psychology and anthropology to name a few, came together for a joint purpose: to discuss how we can enhance UiTs contribution to the research and education on topics related to snow, avalanches, and landslides. PhD student Leikny Bakke Lie, together with professor Are Sydnes, joined this workshop representing the perspectives of climate change adaptation and societal security. 

We had a full day of engaging discussions across disciplines illuminating various challenges and potential solutions, and we are very excited to see where this takes us and the UiT community going forward. More news on this hopefully to follow as our ideas mature and starts materializing!

- Are & Leikny

COPE Seminar (06.06.2024): Climate Change Resilience in Small Communities in the Nordic Countries (CliCNord) - the main findings, with participation from our researcher Laurien de Korte.

Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research is hosting an online seminar where researchers from the CliCNord-project Climate Change Resilience in Small Communities in the Nordic Countries, will present some of the main findings.

Presenters include Rico Kongsager from University College Copenhagen, Matthias Kokorsch from University Centre of the Westfjords, Iceland, Laurien de Korte from UiT- The Arctic University of Norway and Johan Sjöström from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.

When: 06th of June, 2024. 13:00 - 14:30 CEST.

Where: Zoom, sign up below for link.

Sign up here before 05.06.2024!

Climate change adaptation in the Arctic meets Human geographies conference in Bergen.

Last week, two of our research group members, Laurien de Korte and Leikny Bakke Lie, attended the “Human Geographies of Climate Change Adaptation” conference at the University of Bergen, together with our CliCNord-colleagues Rico Kongsager and Johanna Gisladottir.

We got to present our research for the panel “Adaptation in the Arctic”, led by Carlo Aall from Vestlandsforskning.

• “Challenges for climate change adaptation in small remote communities in Iceland” presented by Johanna Gisladottir (Agricultural University of Iceland)
• “Anticipating climate risk in four Arctic municipalities” presented by Leikny Bakke Lie (UiT- The Arctic University of Norway)
• “From policy to practice: catalyzing climate change adaptation in northern Norwegian municipalities” presented by Laurien de Korte (UiT- The Arctic University of Norway)
• “Place attachment, storms, and climate change in the Faroe Islands” presented by Rico Kongsager (University College Copenhagen - Københavns Professionshøjskole)
• “Climate adaptation-place trajectories in rural communities” presented by Rico Kongsager (University College Copenhagen) on behalf of Tara Quinn (Maynooth University)

The conference gathered enthusiastic scholars within the field of human geography and climate adaptation, and the key note speeches by Neil Adger, Karen O'Brien, and Emily Boyd proposed relevant questions and proposals linking back to our own current research, leaving us very inspired after these two days of networking and knowledge re-fill.

The brief summarizes key lessons learned from our three-year research project in Møre and Romsdal County. 

Link to the policy brief

We studied the impacts from flash floods on local communities, their risk perception, and adaptive capacities with a place attachment lens. If you are interested in our research paper on this topic check out: research paper

Our work was part of a wider Nordforsk project called CliCNord check out the website for more policy briefs on for example, Flooding in Denmark or storms managment in the Faroe Islands. 

Between 19-23 February 2024, Stian K. Kleiven participated in the course Introduction to Ecological Modelling held by CIIMAR – the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research in Porto, Portugal. Dina Abdel-Fattah also participated in the course as a course observer, providing feedback to the course participants' models and work.

This spring, Stian K. Kleiven, a CCA RG member, took part in the “Introduction to Ecological Modelling 2024” course, hosted by CIIMAR. The course was led by Irene Martins, a Principal Investigator at CIIMAR and leader of the Marine Ecosystem Modelling team.

Joining Irene Martins as instructors were Isabel Iglesias Fernández and Fabiola Negreiros de Amorim from CIIMAR. They were complemented by Gonçalo Marques from Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon, and Cândida Gomes Vale from CIBIO – Research Center for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources at University of Porto. Dina Abdel-Fattah, CCA RG leader, was also a course observer.

The curriculum focused on the intricacies of Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) models and provided hands-on experience using STELLA. STELLA is a modelling software that allows for the mapping and simulation of various ecological systems. Additionally, the course provided insight into alternative modelling approaches, including food web and numerical ocean models, and introduced participants to a suite of other modelling software such as R, the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM), and Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE).

The course culminated in a practical challenge on the final day, where participants were tasked with creating their own ecological model using their preferred software. This exercise provided a valuable opportunity for personalized feedback from Irene Martins, Cândida Gomes Vale, and Dina Abdel-Fattah. Stian K. Kleiven developed a DEB model that tracked the growth of Atlantic salmon.

This course wrapped up the Erasmus+ research stay at CIIMAR for Stian K. Kleiven and Dina Abdel-Fattah. It was a productive and fruitful stay in Porto for both CCA RG researchers and the CCA RG looks forward to continued collaboration with CIIMAR in the months ahead!

Previous posts from Porto: CCA RG members' Erasmus+ research mobility exchange to Porto and CCA RG members' present at CIIMAR's Oceanus seminar series: An Arctic perspective on the changing Atlantic Ocean

On 14 February 2024, Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian K. Kleiven from the CCA RG held a seminar at CIIMAR – the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research in Porto, Portugal, as part of CIIMAR’s weekly Oceanus seminar series.

Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian K. Kleiven had a joint presentation during CIIMAR’s Oceanus seminar series. The Oceanus seminar series is a weekly seminar at CIIMAR on ocean-related research topics.

Abdel-Fattah and Kleiven were introduced by Irene Martins, a Principal Investigator at CIIMAR and the leader of CIIMAR’s Marine Ecosystem Modelling team.

Abdel-Fattah presented an outlook about the future of Northern Norway under climate change. She talked about how climate change is affecting ocean ecosystems in the Arctic. Northern Norway’s ocean ecosystems are one of the most vulnerable to climate change, due to the extensive aquaculture industry in the region that accounts for about 40% of the overall Norwegian fishing industry. She also presented some highlights from the CCA RG’s SSH Centre-funded EU Climate Policy book chapter. Notably, one of the main policy recommendations the book chapter proposes is how Maritime Spatial Planning can be used as a tool to bring scientific knowledge, stakeholders’ interests, as well as other critical socioeconomic information together to solve maritime-related planning and challenges.

Kleiven presented thereafter his PhD research. His PhD work is on the impact of biotic stressors, such as salmon lice, on farmed Atlantic salmon during different climate scenarios in Northern Norway. For example, potential sea surface temperature increases in Northern Norway can result in aquaculture industries experiencing an increased growth rate of Atlantic salmon, however, there can also be increased pressure on Atlantic salmon production from other organisms that flourish in warmer conditions, such as parasites, harmful algae blooms, jellyfish blooms, bacteria, and viruses.

Next week, Kleiven will take part in the CIIMAR-run course: Introduction to Ecological Modelling.

Stay tuned to learn more about that and other news from the CCA RG Erasmus+ mobility stay in Porto.

This spring, two researchers from the CCA RG, Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian K. Kleiven, are on a Erasmus+ mobility research exchange to CIIMAR – the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research in Porto, Portugal.

Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian K. Kleiven, from the CCA RG are currently in Porto, to take part in an Erasmus+ mobility exchange to collaborate with researchers at CIIMAR. CIIMAR is a research centre at the University of Porto, which is another university part of the EUGLOH alliance. UiT holds the current presidency of the EUGLOH alliance this year.

Irene Isabel da Cruz Martins together with Fabiola Negreiros de Amorim from CIIMAR are the two main points of contact for Abdel-Fattah and Kleiven during their research stay in Porto. Both Abdel-Fattah and Kleiven will collaborate with Martins, Negreiros, and other researchers from CIIMAR on several different projects during their time in Porto.

One of the projects is the SSH Centre-funded book chapter project, which provides policy recommendations at the EU level for EU member states’ marine spatial planning initiatives. The work for the book chapter was started in 2023. The author team consists of: Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian K. Kleiven from UiT, Misse Wester from Lund University, and Irene Martins and Sandra S. Ramos from CIIMAR.

Another project that the CCA RG researchers will collaborate on during their research stay in Porto is a coastal wetlands socioecological model development project for various coastal communities in Portugal.

Stay tuned for more news coming from Porto! Updates will be forthcoming about other projects, seminars, and courses from the mobility stay.

Last week our research team, including PhD candidate Leikny Bakke Lie and Laurien de Korte, met with Viktória Dénes and Richárd Viesz to talk about possible collaborations between science and cinematography. The two Hungarian film makers were interested in the research we have been doing for the past three years within the Nordforsk funded CliCNord project.

 

 

From left to right, Leikny Bakke Lie, Laurien de Korte, Viktória Dénes, Richárd Viesz 

Viktória and Richárd are working on producing a documentary series that talks about climate change effects on local communities. This closely aligns with the work we are doing here at UiT- The Arctic University of Norway. Through this documentary series the stories of people dealing firsthand with climate changes and hazard exposure will be told. We at UiT are excited to link up with such opportunities to and share our work with a wider audience.

Dina Abdel-Fattah, CCA RG leader, hosted a side event at COP 28 in Dubai, at the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI)'s pavilion, on the various ways our cryopshere is changing and how it is impacting communities.

Dina Abdel-Fattah hosted and presented a side event at the ICCI Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai. Regine Hock (University of Oslo) also presented at the event, and Eran Hood (University of Alaska Southeast) and Jessica Cherry (NOAA Alaska) joined in virtually.

The main message from our collective interdisciplinary work on cryospheric hazards was consistent: the cryosphere is changing and these changes can and do result in hazardous impacts on communities locally and globally.

The role of science communication, in particular, in addressing these hazards is as critical as ever. Alaska is a leading example of how scientists, communities, practitioners, and policymakers work together on managing and adapting to cryospheric hazards. By presenting these Alaskan case studies and drawing conclusions for other communities around the globe, we hope that continued effort and focus will be placed on ensuring the societal implications of our changing cryopshere by scientists and policymakers alike.

CCA RG members - Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian Kleiven - are a part of an author team developing a book chapter in the upcoming SSH Centre-funded European Union Climate Policy book, which is set to be published in 2024. As part of book chapter development, the author team visited Harstad for an intensive and fruitful writing retreat.

CCA RG members have received funding from the SSH Centre to develop a book chapter in the upcoming European Union Climate Policy book. The multi-university book chapter author team consists of Dina Abdel-Fattah and Stian Kleiven (UiT- The Arctic University of Norway, Norway), Misse Wester (Lund University, Sweden), and Irene Martins (CIIMAR, Portugal), who bring forward expertise and knowledge on ecological, biological, risk, and governance considerations regarding our oceans.

The interdisciplinary writing team to Harstad for an intensive but fun 3 day workshop, to develop the upcoming chapter on policy recommendations for ethical maritime spatial planning (MSP) under climate change in the EU, based on case studies from Norway and Portugal. 

A big thanks goes out to Røkenes Gård, for their wonderful, locally sourced hospitality and stay!

Stay tuned for further updates - the book chapter comes out in summer 2024!

We are thrilled to share the exciting outcomes of the 6th Societal Security Workshop, a dynamic event dedicated to the critical theme of resilience. Organized by the Risk, Crisis, and Societal Security research group at UiT, the workshop brought together a diverse range of participants for a day of insightful discussions

Participants from the Climate Change Adaptation research group included:

PhD candidate Leikny Bakke Lie, Postdoc Bjarte Rød, and Assistant Professor Laurien de Korte who actively contributed to the enriching dialogue through their participation in various discussion panels.

Discussion Panels:

The workshop featured three engaging panel discussions:

Panel 1: From Security to Resilience – A Paradigm Shift?

Panel 2: Global Approaches to Resilience: Northern and Southern Perspectives.

Panel 3: Multidimensional Resilience – Cross-Sectoral Responses and Practices.

 Noteworthy Moments:

Bjarte Rød led vibrant discussions in Panel 2, exploring the contrasting perspectives on resilience between the global south and north. Esteemed colleagues from Stellenbosh University (South Africa) joined this conversation, adding valuable insights.

 In Panel 3, Leikny Bakke Lie shared her extensive practical experience with the multidimensional nature of resilience. Drawing on her work in both the private and public sectors, she provided valuable perspectives. Laurien de Korte contributed her expertise on climate change adaptation in Norway, emphasizing the interconnectedness of climate change and resilience.

 Success and Collaboration:

The overall day was a resounding success, marked by fruitful interdisciplinary discussions. Importantly, the workshop fostered an open dialogue that paves the way for future collaborations in research.

 Stay tuned for more updates and insights as we continue our journey in understanding and advancing societal security through resilience.

Last week, members from the CliCNord-project gathered in Ålesund, Norway, for a week of meetings, workshops and fieldtrips. Updates on the status of the project as well as planning the next steps were the main points on the agenda.

The CliCNord-project met up in Ålesund last week, kicking off the official meeting with a windy and rainy walk-and-talk up Aksla, the local viewpoint above the city.

In the 16th Steering Committee meeting, we shared status updates per case and learned about what has been going on since our last meeting in Isafjordur, Iceland, earlier this year. David Harnesk (Lund University), Matthias Kokorsch (University Centre of the Westfjords) and Tara Quinn (Maynooth University) held very engaging presentations about the current three cross-case papers that are in the making, relating to topics such as indigenous local knowledge, collective memory, and place attachment. Nina Baron (University College of Copenhagen) arranged a workshop on policy briefs and dissemination targeting different stakeholders, discussing how and where our results could have the best outreach.

On the third day, the group travelled to Ørsta municipality outside of Ålesund, to visit the case study areas from the UiT-case and meet with municipal officials to learn more about how Norwegian municipalities deal with natural hazard risk and climate change adaptation. Here, we also got the opportunity to visit a nearby avalanche- and slush slide barrier protecting a local school and residential areas. Representatives from the municipality then took us to see the two communities of Barstadvik and Vartdal, which have been part of the UiT case study in the CliCNord-project. Here the rest of the CliCNord-group got to see the scar in the landscape from a large flood-slide that occurred in 2013, and discuss measures taken by the municipality and the residents to deal with such risk.

On the fourth and last day of the CliCNord-meeting, Bjarte Rød from the UiT CCA research group joined and gave a thorough presentation on the county governor level in Norway and how this governance level work with risk- and vulnerability analysis and climate change adaptation.

The last point of the agenda was a fieldtrip to the area of Tafjord. Here, we got the opportunity to learn about avalanche risk in Norway by the knowledgeable avalanche historian Astor Furseth. In this area a large rock avalanche occurred in 1934, causing a flood slide that impacted the nearby villages, resulting in the loss of 40 lives. Today, the identification of another unstable mountain area close to the last avalanche, has led to a continuous monitoring of the area by the Norwegian Water and Energy resources. Here, the villages live with the imminent threat of another rock avalanche, with visible sirens installed on strategic locations and regular exercises to ensure the best possible outcome in case of an evacuation.

The program was packed with interesting discussions and field visits, and the CliCNord project had an enjoyable time learning more about the climate change effects in Norway and the risk of natural hazards such as flooding, heavy precipitation and slides, while discussing how we can adapt to a changing climate and contribute to capacity building and community resilience. We were also joined by a Norwegian filmmaker, Janne Lindgren, filming our time in Ålesund. The footage is to be included in an upcoming Danish documentary about climate change directed by the Danish filmmaker Phie Ambo.

Articles related to the CliCNord-project will be featured in the topical collecting "Place Attachment and Climate-related Hazard in Small Remote communities" issued by the journal Regional Environmental Change. Two papers are already published, with more to come!

• Harnesk, D., Pascual, D. & Olsson, L. Compound hazards of climate change, forestry, and other encroachments on winter pasturelands: a storyline approach in a forest reindeer herding community in Northern Sweden. Reg Environ Change 23, 126 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02122-2
• Lie, L.B., de Korte, L. & Pursiainen, C.H. “Here, I will stay until I die”—exploring the relationship between place attachment, risk perception, and coping behavior in two small Norwegian communities. Reg Environ Change 23, 115 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02106-2

Participants during the CliCNord-meeting in Ålesund were:

• Kerstin Eriksson and Johan Sjöström from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden - Department of the Fire Research Dynamics
• David Harnesk from Lund University (LU) - Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)
• Sara Heidenreich and Robert Næss from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Centre for Energy, Climate and the Environment
• Laurien de Korte and Leikny Bakke Lie from UiT- The Arctic University of Norway - Department of Technology and Safety
• Matthias Kokorsch from @University Centre of the Westfjords, Iceland (UW) - Coastal Communities and Regional Development Program
• Johanna Gisladottir, PhD from @Agricultural University of Iceland
• Nina Baron, Nina Blom Andersen, Mikkel Nedergaard, Amanda Bæksted Vestergaard and Rico Kongsager (project leader) – all from University College Copenhagen (Københavns Professionshøjskole) - Emergency and Risk Management Programme
• Tara Quinn from Maynooth University

To read more about the project and the involved research institutes, see www.clicnord.org

This project has received funding from the NordForsk Nordic Societal Security Programme under Grant Agreement No. 97229

Laurien de Korte and Leikny Bakke Lie from our research group had the opportunity to present our latest paper on this years NTNU Energy Team Society Conference 2023, Beyond crisis/ Beyond Normal.

Laurien de Korte and Leikny Bakke Lie from our research group attended the NTNU Energy Team Society Conference Beyond crisis/Beyond normal in Trondheim last week (27-28th of September 2023), where we got to attend several interesting presentations and engaging discussions on broad topics relating to sustainability.

Together with some of our colleagues from the CliCNord-project, we participated in the panel "Building capacity for climate adaptation through involving citizens", where we had the opportunity to present our recently published paper, "Here, I will stay until I die" - exploring the relationship between place attachment, risk perception, and coping behavior in two small Norwegian communities. Sara Heidenreich and Robert Næss from NTNU gave a presentation on “Recognition and integration of citizens’ climate adaptation practices by local authorities: Landslide prevention in Mid-Norway”, while Nina Baron from University College Copenhagen presented “How sense of place influences perspectives on flood risk prevention on small Danish Islands”.

The CliCNord-project has received funding from the NordForsk Nordic Societal Security Programme under Grant Agreement No. 97229 (and select NordForsk)

The CCA RG is pleased to announce its newest member, Stian K. Kleiven. Stian is a PhD fellow in the Faculty of Science and Technology and is also a member of the Changing Arctic Research School at UiT. Stian will be studying the impacts of climate change on aquaculture in Northern Norway, an under-researched but highly important topic, for academia and industry alike.

Stian has a background in Arctic marine ecology. His PhD project is about the impacts of climate change on the marine ecosystem and aquaculture industry in Northern Norway and his main supervisor is Dina Abdel-Fattah. At high latitude regions, such as the Arctic, the climate is changing even faster than lower latitude regions due to a phenomenon called Arctic amplification. This rapid change can affect both the natural and built environment, and it is therefore important to research the impacts of climate change on the marine ecosystem and aquaculture industry. Stian will therefore develop ocean models to simulate potential climate change impacts in the Harstad/Narvik region. By assessing the impacts of climate change in the region, more nuanced climate change adaptive strategies can be developed to help secure the stability of food for the future.

Stian participated in the opening week (29.08.23-01.09.23) of the Changing Arctic Research School in Tromsø, which included other new PhD-fellows as well as the second year PhD-fellows (Figure 1) associated with the research school. The research school focuses on renewable energy, food security, health, and welfare in the Arctic. It also focuses on transdisciplinary cooperation where researchers from different fields and industry partners work together towards a common goal. This contributes to transformation and resilience in the Arctic. At the end of the week, the PhD-fellows visited Remiks in Tromsø to talk about potential cooperation projects and projects they already are working on, such as solutions to reduce or reuse more of the trash delivered to them, to obtain the goal of a stronger circular economy.

Stian will soon begin collaborations with CIIMAR at the University of Porto, Portugal, on marine spatial planning in a changing climate.

Our most recent paper explores the concepts of place attachment, risk perception, and coping behavior in relation to the risk of climate change-induced natural hazards such as flash flood.

"Here, I will stay until I die" – exploring the relationship between place attachment, risk perception, and coping behavior in two small Norwegian communities is the first paper from the CliCNord-project to be featured in a topical collection titled “Place attachment and Climate-related Hazard in Small Remote Communities". The paper and the topical collection are published by the Regional Environmental Change journal. The paper is authored by three of our research group members; Leikny Bakke Lie, Laurien de Korte, and Christer Pursiainen.

This paper is the result of our field study in two small communities, Barstadvik and Vartdal, in Ørsta municipality in 2022. We met with the local communities to collect their narratives on climate change and natural hazards, how they perceived their own communities in general and the present risk in the area more specifically, and how they cope with such risk in these rural areas. Our findings point to the importance of understanding local concerns and local capacity when working with climate change adaptation from a local perspective. Read the full paper here (published with Open Access): Here, I will stay until I die. 

Our case study is part of a Nordic research project, CliCNord, and have received funding from the NordForsk Nordic Societal Security Programme under Grant Agreement No. 97229.

Combining climate research with personal testimonies to increase awareness about the impacts of climate change on our mountains: recently, our research group had the opportunity to discuss climate change and local impacts on our mountain ranges in Northern Norway with three French students from Grenoble INP-UGA. 

The three students, Aymeric de Ternay, Léo Bricard and Nathan Duault, are currently travelling Norway with their project, White Spikes. Through this project they seek to gather experiences in the mountains while at the same time collecting testimonies about the impacts of climate change on our mountainous playground here in the north of Norway. They are looking to learn more about how communities and individuals experience the impacts of climate change and how they adapt to these challenges. The White Spikes project will also investigate the impacts of climate change in the Alps, and it will be very interesting to see how the different mountainous regions are approaching the changes in the mountains. Their experiences and the personal testimonies collected along the way will eventually be developed into a documentary film. Through this documentary, the three students aim to draw attention to and spread awareness about how climate change is impacting our mountains and potential measures to deal with these changes. 

We had a very interesting discussion about current and predicted climate impacts in Northern Norway, from a risk management perspective, through the lens of climate change adaptation, as well as from personal experiences with life in the mountains. Making climate science understandable and accessible is an important part of moving from science to action, and we are looking forward to following the White Spikes Project as it evolves during their journey in Norway and the Alps.

If you want to read more about The White Spikes project you can visit this website, or follow their journey on Instagram.

The CliCNord research group recently travelled to Iceland for a research visit hosted by our colleagues from the University Centre of the Westfjords, Ísafjörður.  On the agenda was discussions on progress and preliminary results, planning for the way ahead, as well as field visits and meeting with relevant stakeholders. 

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Our four-day research visit in Iceland started in Reykjavik where we met with the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (Almannavarnadeildar Ríkislögreglustjóra). Here we got the opportunity to learn more about how national and municipal emergency preparedness is organized in Iceland, exemplified through the case of land- and mudslides occurring in the town of Seyðisfjörður on the Islandic east coast in 2020. We found that there are some similarities between the Icelandic and Norwegian approach to crisis management, as well as some areas that holds a potential for experience transfer and learning from the Icelandic model. 

From Reykjavik we drove to the Westfjords, visiting Súðavík on the way. This small fishing village was hit by a large snow avalanche in January 1995. 14 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest avalanches in the history of Iceland. 15 homes were destroyed, and parts of the village had to be relocated following the avalanche. This event had a large impact on how Iceland approaches the hazard of avalanches, resulting in revision and improvement of hazard mapping procedures and implementation of new laws and legislation. The responsibility for hazard mapping and zoning was then placed on the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO).

During our stay in Ísafjörður, we were invited to the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Vegagerðin - IRCA). This is the authority responsible for planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and servicing approximately 13.000 km of road networks in Iceland. Here we learned about how they approach the hazard of snow avalanches and rock falls on their road infrastructure, and how they ensure road safety and accessibility of the roads even during harsh winters. The roads are closely monitored by an operations room, and working closely with the meteorological office, they provide real-time information about the road conditions. This information is disseminated through the webpage www.road.is. Large information boards along the main roads also display information about the wind direction, wind- and gust speed, as well as air temperature, to provide drivers with relevant real-time information for the road stretch ahead. This is a very valuable and useful tool for anyone travelling by car in Iceland, as conditions can be harsh and change rapidly, particularly during winter.

Our research group was also able to visit one of the CliCNord case study areas, Flateyri. This small village in the Westfjords, home to about 200 residents, was hit by a large snow avalanche in October 1995, the same year as the mentioned event in Súðavík. Here, 20 persons was killed, and 17 homes were destroyed. The occurrence of these two avalanches in the same year was incremental in bringing about changes in how Iceland dealt with the hazard of snow avalanches. Following the 1995 avalanche disaster, a large avalanche barrier was constructed above the residential area of Flateyri, to protect the residents from the consequences of future avalanches.

On our last day we met with the Avalanche Research Center (Snjóflóðasetur) of the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) in Ísafjörður. Here we got the opportunity to hear more about how they monitor avalanche risk and provide information to decision-makers about the potential need for evacuation of villages and settlements. One of the CliCNord Advisory Board members, Knut Aune Hoseth, from NVE (The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate), gave a presentation on how Norway deals with the risk of Avalanches, illustrated by the two large snow avalanches that hit Longyearbyen on Svalbard in 2015 and 2017. There are some similarities in the Icelandic and Norwegian approach to avalanche hazard and crisis management, in monitoring and organization of evacuations. The responsibility of avalanche monitoring and hazard mapping however are placed with different government bodies in the two countries, and the Norwegian system for monitoring also emphasizes and utilizes community and citizen knowledge to a larger extent through their avalanche monitoring and warning system called Varsom.

Throughout the research visit, CliCNord members presented progress made in each of the case studies, discussed comparable results and potential for collaborative papers across the different case study areas and hazards, and made plans for the upcoming phase of our project. Our next meeting is planned for Norway in October this year. Here we will be visiting one of the Norwegian case study areas located in Ørsta municipality.

For more information about the CliCNord research project and the eight different case studies, please visit the website: https://www.clicnord.org/

Thanks to the University Centre of the Westfjords for hosting us.

The work of our Climate Change Adaptation Research Group has been presented at several conferences these past few months.

 

At the end of January, Dina Abdel-Fattah presented at Arctic Frontiers 2023 in Tromsø. She presented on the ground work for our group’s upcoming PhD position, that will be part of UiT’s Changing Arctic program. Her presentation was about the future of aquaculture in Northern Norway and the role of climate change in that future.

In February, Dina also presented at Arctic Science Summit Week 2023 in Vienna. There, she presented about UiT’s International Emergency Preparedness Bachelor’s program, and how she and others from the program have developed various scenario exercises to help students grasp complex topics, with the aim to support their future careers as practitioners in an increasingly complex and cross-cutting world due to climate change.

Are you interested in crisis management and contemporary issues affecting people or places, and want to learn more about how our society can be better prepared to tackle diverse and complex issues in the future?

The new digital master program Contemporary Issues in Risk and Crisis Management, offered by the Department of Technology and Safety at UiT, will enable you to be one step ahead of the next crisis and play a part in handling the present and future challenges confronting global society.

Recent decades have seen the emergence of threats, both ‘natural’ and man-made, posing new or increased risks to societies. Pandemics, cyber-attacks, climate change, and international terrorism are all examples of crises that must be dealt with at international, national, and local levels.

As part of the program, we offer a course on Climate Change and Resilient Societies that provides knowledge about climate change as a societal threat and how societies can adapt. Built around the concept of resilient societies, this course centers on the role of natural hazards management, critical infrastructure and the link between mitigation and adaptation in the context of a changing climate. Our research group is heavily involved in developing the course and provides lectures and material for the module on climate change adaptation.

Read more about the program here.

More information about the course Climate Change and Resilient Societies can be found here.

Application deadlines:

Nordic applicants: 15th of April 2023

International applicants: 15th of November 2023

The UiT Climate Change Adaptation Research Group is happy to announce that we have a new PhD position available, within the topics of climate change, marine ecosystems and aquaculture industry.

Climate change is posing a risk for the aquaculture industry, through sea temperature rise and its impacts on ecosystems. Further research within this field is relevant and necessary in order to provide a sound basis for decision-making to enable the industry to prepare for and adapt to the challenges that are to come.  To contribute to this field, we now have a PhD position open, which will focus on climate modelling and identification of different scenarios that can impact the aquaculture industry in Northern Norway.

The position is located in Harstad, and will be part of the new, transdisciplinary research school “Changing Arctic” at UiT.

Deadline: 1st of April 2023

Read more about the position and apply here: PhD Fellow on the impacts of climate change on the marine ecosystem and aquaculture industry in Northern Norway.

UiT article about the new position (in Norwegian): Ny ph.d.-stilling i Harstad skal forske på risiko for opprettsnæringen.

Also published in the local Harstad newspaper, Harstad Tidende: Skal forske på risiko for oppdrettsnæringen fra Harstad.

Yesterday a research seminar was held in conjunction with a research visit from Kyung Hee University, as part of an ongoing UTFORSK project between Kyung Hee University, Seoul and UiT- The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø.

 

The research group "Risk, Crisis, and Societal Security (RCSS)" and "Sustainable Technology and Safety (STS)" led an engaging seminar session. Attendees heard from esteemed speaker Prof. Gyunyoung Heo from Kyung Hee University as he delved into "Simulation Study for Human's Behavior under Nuclear Accidents Using Agent-Based Modeling." The seminar also featured presentations by PhD candidates from the Department of Technology and Safety at UiT. PhD candidate Leikny Bakke Lie gave a presentation on recent developments in the Nordic research project CliCNord, including preliminary findings on place attachment, risk perception and coping behavior in remote communities.

CliCNord contribute to the county - Møre and Romsdal FylkesROS (Risk and Vulnerability Assessment) report. 

The County Governors in Norway are responsible for coordinating, keeping an overview and informing about the work on societal safety and security at regional level. A part of this responsibility is to have an overview of risk and vulnerabilities in the county by periodically conducting risk and vulnerability assessments (FylkesROS). The County Governor in Møre and Romsdal updated its regional risk assessment in 2022, starting the work in late 2020. The risk assessment consists of a system description (the county), identification and assessment of risk and vulnerabilities including six detailed scenario analysis. One of the scenarios analysis is based on flash flood case in Ørsta Municipality. The risk and vulnerability assessment shapes the basis for implementing risk-reducing measures, such as climate change adaptation, in the county of Møre and Romsdal in cooperation with regional and local preparedness actors. The cooperation with UiT and the ClicNord project has been of great value for regional risk and vulnerability assessment, adding scientific weight to the analysis.

Check out the full report: here

Be sure to read the senario developed by our researcher from UiT Climate Change Adaptation research group in Ch. 5.2 pp. 40-50. 

Forskningsdagene 2022 (national research week) in Norway – the UiT Climate Change Adaptation research group presented their ongoing work in the CliCNord project. 

Last week, members from the UiT Climate Change Adaptation research group (Dina Abdel-Fattah, Leikny Bakke Lie, and Laurien de Korte) visited Hinnstein AS – a interdisciplinary engineering consulting company headquartered in Harstad, Norway. We presented our work thus far on the CliCNord research project. Furthermore, we discussed the current and future risk of flash flooding in Norway and how we can adapt to this increasing hazard in the future. We also talked about the importance of community involvement and capacity building in natural hazard-related research, focusing on our fieldwork in the County of Møre and Romsdal.

For more information about our contribution to Forskningsdagene 2022, follow this link. 

This week, researchers from the UiT Climate Change Adaptation research group are in Ørsta (County of Møre and Romsdal) for field work for our CliCNord project. 

During our field work week in Ørsta, our research team from UiT has talked to locals about their experiences with extreme weather event and how they impact their daily life and community. UiT will be in the field for the rest of this week trying to gain a better understanding of people’s adaptive capacity and place attachment to their local community and region, amidst ongoing and future extreme weather events.  

So far, our work has received notable attention in local newspapers and local news. Check out the links below! 

NRK TV segment: 

• NRK Møre og Romsdal

Local newspaper articles:

• Til Ørsta for å forske på ekstremver
• Skal forske på ekstremvær i Ørsta

We will continue to post updates as the week develops. Stay tuned!

Researchers from the Climate Change Adaptation research group will travel to Ørsta for fieldwork on place attachment and capacity building in week 38.

This will be the next phase of the case study on flash flood, our contribution to the Nordic research project CliCNord.

During our stay in Ørsta, we will visit two small communities, Vartdal/Årsetdalen and Barstadvik. Our purpose of these visits is to learn more about how local residents view and understand their community (sense of place).

Both communities have experienced flash flood related events, an experience that could provide our research project with valuable knowledge about how natural hazards impact local communities and what can be done to strengthen their capacity to cope with events such as flash floods in the future.

Our fieldwork is supported by the County Governor of Møre og Romsdal and Ørsta municipality.

Recent early warnings issued on flood, heavy precipitation as well as land- and flood slides for the region of Møre og Romsdal underlines the relevance of our research project targeting the risk of flash flood and how to build community capacity to deal with this risk.