Coastal Resilience Community of Practice

Scope of Activities

The Coastal Resilience Community of Practice was created under the Arctic Research Plan 2017-2021 to strengthen coastal community resilience and advance stewardship of coastal natural and cultural resources by engaging in research related to the interconnections of people and natural and built environments. It continues to meet and contribute to the goals and objectives of the Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026.

Deliverables from the Arctic Research Plan

DATA 1 Encourage and implement FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and CARE (Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics) data management principles through enhanced coordination and collaboration across multiple levels in Arctic research.

• DATA 1.1 Identify verified points of contact (e.g., agency champions, data practitioners, Arctic residents, Indigenous organizations) and their areas of expertise and interests, and encourage them to join the Data Management Collaboration Team on IARPC Collaborations. As part of developing the points of contact, identify and track representation across many axes (disciplines/sectors, IARPC experience, career stage, for example) to ensure a representative group of contributors.
• DATA 1.2 In order to build community buy-in and promote sustained efforts, regularly update and maintain the activities and progress related to data management on IARPC Collaborations. These efforts will ensure transparency, continuous engagement, and alignment with the FAIR and CARE data principles.
• DATA 1.3 Convene quarterly seminars, discussions, and training sessions on FAIR and CARE data management in collaboration with other IARPC collaboration teams and communities of practice. These sessions will address data-related topics that are of interest across different teams or specific to a few teams, with the goal of advancing and supporting the data-related deliverables within this implementation plan. Ensure that presenters and contributors provide a broad range of perspectives and expertise. Develop a common format and structure (e.g., questions, prompts) for team meetings to help elicit and articulate perspectives on all aspects of FAIR and CARE to support work towards the community summary/synthesis products.
• DATA 1.7 Support a catalog of systems (a registry of polar observing networks) that conduct or coordinate polar observation and monitoring. This resource will advance beyond a proof of concept through an iterative process with outreach, community engagement, collaboration, metadata curation, and web usability testing. In concert, software design and development will enable a scalable technology architecture, resulting in a fully operational, inclusive, and encompassing tool for discovery. This project will also include a polar observing site discovery tool: an innovative demonstration of aggregating documentation for thousands of research and monitoring sites, stations, facilities, observatories, supersites, buoys, moorings, and community-based observations with a view to interoperability. The end result will be a single-window search for the discovery of observing assets within and across a multitude of networks. This two-year project is supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and will be implemented by the NOAA Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing - Arctic Research Program.
• DATA 1.8 Convene a series of webinars on the incorporation of Indigenous data sovereignty principles into Arctic data management. These sessions will aim to embed CARE data principles in the data management plan process and to explore and learn about the possibility of establishing tribally managed CARE-structured data centers. The goal is to ensure that Indigenous communities have authority and control over their data, with an eye on future implementation plans and the Arctic Research Plan.
• DATA 1.9 Actively engage with and support expert and advisory panel work through the US Arctic Observing Network (US AON), the Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON)’s Arctic Roadmap for Observing and Data Systems (Arctic ROADS), and the Arctic Data Committee in developing Arctic observing and data systems plans. Additionally, support U.S. engagement in and the implementation of data-related recommendations from the Arctic Observing Summit. These efforts will ensure that the United States contributes to and benefits from international coordination and collaboration on Arctic data management.

HEALTH 1 Support the health of Arctic residents through research on public health needs, disparities, and delivery.

• HEALTH 1.3 Along with local health partners, conduct research to support understanding and awareness of emerging zoonotic disease threats identified in the CDC's One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization for Alaska workshop report.
• HEALTH 1.4 Along with collaborating partners, investigate concerns about human illness associated with harmful algal blooms, develop strategies for assessing and filling knowledge gaps, and develop and distribute messaging based on what is learned.

HEALTH 2 Address emerging threats to food safety and access, as well as food and nutrition security in the Arctic, through research that addresses how climate and environmental change is affecting the abundance, accessibility, and use of traditional foods and traditional ways of life.

• HEALTH 2.5 Assess and model changes in abundance, distribution, and harvest of select marine mammals and fishes that are food sources in rural Alaska.

HEALTH 3 Provide research and technical support for water and sanitation infrastructure.

• HEALTH 3.1 Synthesize and expand upon existing efforts to create data visualization maps of areas at high risk for coastal erosion, permafrost thaw, and flooding within specified future time periods (e.g., 10 years, 50 years, 100 years) to identify at-risk areas and inform investments in climate-resilient infrastructure.

PILR 1 Fulfill Federal requirement to consult with Federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations.

• PILR 1.2 Evaluate the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic 2018, and update as needed based on the evaluation.

PILR 3 Develop guidance for agencies to consistently apply participatory research and Indigenous leadership in research.

• PILR 3.1 Identify key elements of Indigenous leadership in research with Tribes, Indigenous organizations, and federal agencies. Integrate these elements into the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic and develop guidance for federal agencies.
• PILR 3.2 Share information among agencies about how to streamline contracting, agreements, and compensation processes to support co-stewardship and co-production of knowledge.
• PILR 3.3 Convene, facilitate, and participate in discussions to identify mechanisms to foster pathways for Indigenous leadership in research.
• PILR 3.4 To aid in agencies’ ethical engagement and meaningful work with Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations, compile a list of resources and guidance, rules, protocols, and approaches that Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations have put forward. Distribute the list to agencies and post publicly via the IARPC Collaborations website. Share the list with the Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations to provide additional insights, pending their interest, to the federal workforce on implementing the guidance, rules, protocols, and approaches they have put forward.

RISK 1 Summarize currently available data and information requirements associated with hazard and risk mitigation, adaptation, and response efforts. Synthesize community-led activities and information to identify potential needs for future efforts.

• RISK 1.1 Conduct a study identifying where information used in decision-making and planning around risks and hazards can be improved through access to new or additional data sources. This study should consider a wide range of activities associated with ongoing responses to common and emerging hazards, including risk reduction efforts and emergency preparedness and response. The scope of the study will be expanded to include information on tsunamis and volcanoes.
• RISK 1.2 Share findings of RISK 1.1 as a means to (1) spur additional research and science communication aimed at addressing unmet needs for planning, prevention, response, and recovery and (2) inform time-sensitive decision-making and planning processes.
• RISK 1.3 Develop a network that brings together scientists, the emergency management community, and key agency contacts to share knowledge, identify new and emerging challenges, and inform decision-making and operations through research.

RISK 2 Update and improve the “Statewide Threat Assessment: Identification of Threats from Erosion, Flooding, and Thawing Permafrost in Remote Alaska Communities.”

• RISK 2.1 Identify the top threats/hazards to communities and critical remote state and federal government infrastructure in the state of Alaska that should be included in the Statewide Threat Assessment. This might include coastal and river erosion, flooding, thawing permafrost, and changes in the seasonal snowpack.
• RISK 2.2 Upon completion of RISK 2.1, establish a data collection and collation plan to include mechanisms to collect threat/hazard data that may not be readily available.
• RISK 2.3 Collect and integrate disparate threat/hazard information and perform modeling and analysis to understand where natural and human-made threats and hazards pose a risk to Arctic communities.

SYSTEMS 2 Observe, understand, predict, and project Arctic marine and terrestrial ecosystem change and its impacts on humans and the entire Earth system.

• SYSTEMS 2.2 Carry out and synthesize research and monitoring to improve understanding of important Arctic ecosystem processes and feedbacks. These processes will include responses to environmental changes, such as the associated impacts on wildlife and human communities and infrastructure. This work will be shared via conference sessions and scientific publications.

SYSTEMS 3 Understand interactions between social, ecological, and physical Arctic systems, particularly in the context of coastal, climate, and cryospheric change.

• SYSTEMS 3.6 Improve high-resolution models’ ability to capture coastal processes at the interface of ocean, land, and atmosphere by supporting targeted collaborations among model developers, users, and decision-makers. Products will include an interagency scientific peer-reviewed publication and conference sessions that address these models, as well as non-technical publications.

TIA 1 Survey federally funded research technology.

• TIA 1.1 Strategically engage externally, across IARPC, and within the Technology Innovation and Application Collaboration Team.
• TIA 1.2 Use the Technology Innovation and Application Collaboration Team to support and coordinate technology-related conversations and activities throughout IARPC Collaborations.

Accomplishments

Under the 2017-2021 Arctic Research Plan, the Coastal Resilience Community of Practice:

• Actively sought out perspectives and efforts of coastal community members in research and cooperative opportunities with others, and sponsored conversations on how to best encourage and strengthen conversations and collaborations between researchers and coastal community members.
• Hosted conversations and updates on the successes of Tribal and collaborative efforts on the topic of supporting community-based monitoring.
• Shared information about economic development research for the sustainable development of resilient communities.
• Held discussions with community based researchers and federal agency representatives on efforts to identify and document archaeological sites at risk to coastal change. Agencies also supported research that addressed submerged human habitation sites, archaeological research, and the rescue of vulnerable sites at risk from coastal erosion.
• Gathered and shared information regarding efforts to document and forecast changes in storm surge across coastal Alaska.
• Supported research and information sharing on trends, processes, and feedback loops affecting the distribution, abundance, and ecology of coastal species in relation to food security, biodiversity, and ecosystems.
• Supported agency efforts to develop ecological modeling and informatics tools to understand issues related to the coastal Arctic.
• Supported agency efforts to develop models to understand factors contributing to the future persistence of polar bear and walrus populations in the Alaska Arctic.
• Shared information about collaborative efforts of coastal community observers and researchers to document and understand mortalities of wildlife in marine and coastal areas of Alaska.
• Worked with other IARPC Collaborations teams to share examples of research informing changes in wildlife hunt, harvest, and conservation management.
• Highlighted new research, monitoring, and tool development on shoreline change and sea level rise across coastal Alaska.
• Highlighted collaborations among federal agencies and universities regarding the role of hydrology on permafrost dynamics and research into subsequent ecosystem responses to thawing permafrost.
• Shared information about integrating baseline geospatial datasets in coastal areas to support research and predictive capabilities across the coastal interface.
• Highlighted new sensor technology developments by several entities, including cameras installed in coastal areas of coastal areas to monitor erosion and ice detection buoy systems and the pilot study by AOOS and collaborators on ultrasonic gages deployed in Alaska communities to monitor storm surge and flood forecasting.
• Highlighted research and development on modeled tide predictions for the U.S. Arctic.

For a full summary of the Coastal Resilience Community of Practice’s accomplishments under the 2017-2021 Arctic Research Plan, see the 2021 Performance Element Summary Statements.