Coastal environments around Thule settlements in Northeast Greenland

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):143–154, 2010

Inuit have travelled to and settled in the coastal landscapes of Northeast Greenland for several longer periods during the latest ca. 4500 years. Most recently the Thule culture Inuit lived in the region from around 1400 until 1850 AD. The access to partly and periodically ice covered near coastal waters has been crucial to the primarily marine based subsistence strategy of the Thule Inuit culture, and their settlements are therefore found immediately at the coast. Changing geological and geomorphologic settings strongly influence the coastal morphodynamics, and only specific locations offer stable and protected conditions needed for proper winter settlements. The comprehensive study of coastal environments and Thule culture winter settlements in the Young Sound region show an accumulation of winter settlements, nearly all located either in protected pocket beaches or on stable basalt capes. The Thule culture abandoned Northeast Greenland about 1850 AD, and apart from settlements on basalt capes, most of the winter settlement sites in pocket beach areas have been affected by erosion of local character and in some cases also affected by increasing wave erosion during recent periods of less ice in near coastal waters.     

Inuit landscape use and responses to climate change in the Wollaston Forland—Clavering Ø region,Northeast Greenland

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):155–174, 2010

The Thule culture of the Wollaston-Clavering Ø area is analysed and their settlement pattern as recorded within the area is presented and analysed in relation to the following high arctic seasons: winter, spring and summer. From the analysis it is seen that a defined and stable seasonal mobility between coast, fjords and inland existed and that the “Sirius Water Polynya” off Wollaston Forland and Sabine Ø, holds the key to understanding the human economy and settlement patterns in the research area, as well as in the region.

The cooling of the Little Ice Age, interpreted from the analysed data, does not affect the Inuit exploitation of the research area or their material culture in general. The main Inuit response to the cooling is migration, a response that can only be analysed when Northeast Greenland is studied regionally and interregionally. As migration is defined as an important part of prehistoric ‘Inuit being’, the Inuit made no additional strategies or inventions during the LIA. Inuit migration is, in this way, demonstrated to be a substantial contributor to the Inuit's cultural resilience and to their long-term existence in the Arctic.     

Faunal Remains from the Wollaston Forland—Clavering Ø Region,Northeast Greenland—Thule Culture Subsistence in a High Arctic Polynya and Ice-edge Habitat

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):175–200, 2010

The GeoArk project conducted interdisciplinary studies between 2003 and 2008 to investigate the Thule culture (c. 1400 AD until c. 1850 AD) in the Wollaston Forland- Clavering Ø region (74°N). Faunal remains of recent excavations and re-analyses of previous excavations of Thule culture seasonal features, winter houses and middens are presented, with an emphasis on the two winter sites of Fladstrand and Dødemandsbugten. The faunal assemblages showed ringed seal (Phoca hispida) to be the key game species, although, with important contingents of narwhal (Monodon monocerosj and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) Thule subsistence was highly dependent on having a well developed procurement system and the sea- and landscape was used differentially during the annual cycle. Hvalros Ø, located at the recurring Sirius Water Polynya, was used as a seasonal aggregation site especially for hunting walrus (Odobenus rosmarusj) throughout the entire Thule culture era. Being a predictable source of meat and blubber, the walrus was of fundamental importance to the Thule Inuit in order to cope with a harsh high arctic environment. The site locations of the study area revealed a continued similar usage of the sea- and landscape for centuries and the analyses documented only minor temporal changes in subsistence patterns.     

Ecological influences of Thule Inuit whalers on high Arctic pond ecosystems: a comparative paleolimnological study from Bathurst Island (Nunavut,Canada)

Until recently, major anthropogenic impacts on freshwater ecosystems were believed to be rare in North America prior to the period of European colonization. However, recent paleolimnological and archaeological data collected from the Canadian Arctic suggest that the whaling activities of Thule Inuit, who lived in small, nomadic communities, altered freshwater ecosystems centuries earlier. Using a comparative paleolimnological approach from two ponds situated adjacent to a former Thule winter settlement on south-eastern Bathurst Island (Nunavut, Arctic Canada), we record marked ecological changes in pond ecology due to eutrophication from the Thule’s activities. The geography of our study site provided an interesting and rare opportunity for a comparative paleolimnological study of long-term Thule impacts on polar limnology, because our two study ponds (only ~50 m apart) were nearly identical in size and in geological and climatic settings, but differed markedly in the magnitude of Thule influence. Here, we recorded striking changes in diatom species assemblages, spectrally-inferred primary production, and nutrient geochemistry, indicating eutrophication in a small pond draining 18 Thule whale houses. Input of marine-derived nutrients from sea mammal carcasses used by the Thule for both sustenance and the construction of winter settlements, as well as other anthropogenic activities, coincided with a notable increase in the eutrophic diatom taxon Stephanodiscus minutulus, whereas no comparable changes were recorded in the nearby control pond for the duration of the sedimentary record. Although the diatom changes recorded in the affected site persisted after the period of Thule occupation, the most recent sediments and water chemistry suggest that the pond has largely recovered to near pre-impact conditions.     

Climate change in the Arctic: current and future vulnerability in two Inuit communities in Canada

Climate change is already occurring in the Arctic and the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment recently concluded that future climate change could be devastating for Inuit. This paper characterises vulnerability to climate change in two Inuit communities in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, focusing on the resource harvesting sector. In both communities, Inuit have demonstrated significant adaptability in the face of current changes in climatic conditions. This adaptability is facilitated by traditional Inuit knowledge, strong social networks, flexibility in resource use, and institutional support. Changing Inuit livelihoods, however, have undermined certain aspects of adaptive capacity and have resulted in emerging vulnerabilities. Global and regional climate projections indicate that climatic conditions which currently pose risks are expected to be negatively affected by future climate change. These projections are not without precedent and analysis of current vulnerability and identification of adaptation constraints by Inuit in the two communities indicate the continued importance of traditional coping mechanisms. The ability to draw on these coping mechanisms in light of future climate change, however, will be unequal and the research indicates that young Inuit and those without access to economic resources, in particular, are vulnerable.     

The History of Archaeological Research in North East Greenland: Putting the GeoArk Project into Perspective

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):117–129, 2010

Starting with a brief presentation of the GeoArk Project and its goals, this paper focuses on the archaeological research history of North East Greenland, in particular the area of Sabine Ø and Clavering Ø, in order to view the current project in a wider context. The paper questions the myths about the ‘virgin’ land and it demonstrates how a number of expeditions, activities of professional hunters and trappers, and geopolitical matters in dispute between Denmark and Norway during the 1930s dramatically determined the quite ill fortune of the archaeological sites and monuments of the Thule culture in the study area.     

In search of Thule children: Construction of playing houses as a means of socializing children

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):201–214, 2010

During the last decade, the subject of the individual agent and the conveyance of knowledge have become essential concerns in prehistoric archaeology. However, children are often entirely absent or passive in archaeological interpretation when considering their participation in a variety of economic or social tasks. This paper examines the miniature playhouse structures of Thule children that date from the pre-contact Thule period of approximately 1400–1800 AD. Implemented during the 2008field season, the study explored the region of Wollaston Forland in Northeast Greenland. Previous research suggested the arrangement of these features most likely referenced superstitious or spiritual activity. However, this study reveals the concept and organization of these features in the landscape, and offers insight into specifically arranged constructions that depict miniature versions of Thule houses.     

Canadian Inuit subsistence and ecological instability— if the climate changes, must the Inuit?

Considerable attention has been devoted to the possible effects of global climate change on the environment of the circumpolar world. With regard to the Inuit, the aboriginal culture of Arctic Canada, research interest has focused principally on the vulnerability of the hunting and harvesting component of the traditional food system, otherwise frequently referred to as the subsistence system, if wild terrestrial and marine resources become less available. Although also concerned with the traditional Inuit food economy, this paper concentrates on the customary institutional mechanisms by which the Inuit distribute and share the products obtained from hunting. After analysing this social economy, a review of the data on recent climate-related range changes of a number of Arctic animal populations is carried out, in terms of how projected environmental changes may affect this other aspect of Inuit subsistence. After tentatively concluding that some species substitution and/or replacement will occur, the final aspect of the paper considers the potential for the possible exclusion of these "replacements" as a result of the political aspect of climate change.     

The Qijurittuq site (IbGk-3), Eastern Hudson Bay: An IPY Interdisciplinary Study

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):227–243, 2010

An interdisciplinary study was conducted at Qijurittuq (IbGk-3), an archaeological site located on Drayton Island along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, Nunavik. Local Inuit made important contributions to the research. High school students participated in the field school, and elders shared their traditional knowledge. The elders expressed an interest in the source of the wood used to construct Qijurittuq's semi-subterranean dwellings, and this inspired us to expand our research in that direction. This interdisciplinary study included a reconstruction of the geomorphological and environmental history of Drayton Island, wood provenance and dendrochronology studies, research on house architecture and settlement patterns, and a zooarchaeological analysis. This paper synthesizes the preliminary results of this interdisciplinary investigation within the context of climate change. We discuss the persistence of semi-subterranean dwellings in eastern Hudson Bay long after they had been abandoned elsewhere. At Qijurittuq, their abandonment corresponds with the end of Little Ice Age. However, at the same time, the development of more permanent contact with Euro-Canadians was having a strong impact upon Inuit culture.     

Thule Fishing Revisited: The Economic Importance of Fish at the Pembroke and Bell Sites,Victoria Island,Nunavut

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):261–278, 2010

In a comprehensive overview of evidence for fishing in the Thule period of the eastern North American Arctic, Whitridge (2001) noted that fish bones are either extremely rare or absent in archaeofaunal samples, despite the fact that artifact assemblages typically contain a variety of fishing implements. In this paper, we present new faunal data from two sites on southeastern Victoria Island, Nunavut, which offer a marked contrast to this pattern. The Pembroke site, located just north of Cambridge Bay, is a small Thule site probably occupied during an early migration into the region. The Bell site, located on the Ekalluk River, is a more substantial site, occupied for a much longer duration during the Thule period. These sites are located in areas devoid of many taxa preferred by Thule peoples, which led the sites' occupants to rely on caribou and fish for much of their winter subsistence. At the Bell site, storage of caribou and fish was critical for winter survival. However, the occupants of the Pembroke site appear to have been unable to acquire sufficient stores during the fall, and therefore relied on fishing through the ice during winter to supplement their inadequate stores. Although both sites indicate a more important economic role for fish than has been recorded on any other eastern Arctic Thule winter site, the use of fish at the two sites differs markedly, adding nuance to archaeologically known Thule subsistence patterns.     

The Inglefield Land Archaeology Project: Introduction and Overview

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):279–296, 2010

Archaeological field research was undertaken in northwestern Greenland between 2004 and 2009 by the Inglefield Land Archaeology Project (ILAP). Over 2400 cultural features were recorded during foot survey, with additional sites located during helicopter reconnaissance. Focusing on the late prehistoric to historic transition, excavation of two Thule-Inughuit winter houses and adjacent middens was carried out at Iita, Foulke Fjord, western Inglefield Land, in 2006. Although constructed during the mid-1800s to early 1900s, the structures were dug into early through late Thule and Paleoeskimo deposits. At Cape Grinnell, in central Inglefield Land, three Thule sod-block houses, a Thule fall-winter qarmat, a Thule cache, a Late Dorset axial-feature, and an early Paleoeskimo axial-feature were excavated. Radiocarbon analysis revealed a tight cluster of dates, ca. AD 1200–1420, from the Late Dorset and Thule features. Preliminary analysis suggests near continual occupation of Iita for at least 1000 years. Cape Grinnell appears to have been inhabited, at least periodically since initial migration of Paleoeskimo into the region ca. 4000 years ago, with intensified Late Dorset-early Thule occupation followed by apparent abandonment coincident with the onset of climatic cooling.     

The nomadic landscape: People in a changing Arctic environment

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 109(2):181–189, 2009

The paper will explore the sense of place in the Thule district, Northern Greenland, including the emotional topography by which people live. The analytical framework is the notion of a nomadic landscape, drawing from the essay on nomadology by Deleuze & Guattari (2004). The nomadic landscape is constituted by a network of spatial centres—or points of reference—from each of which an infinite spatial realm takes its beginning. The ambition is to demonstrate how, in a nomadic landscape, movement is integral to memory, sociability and experience; this is vital to the understanding of present day responses to the reduced mobility owing to changing weather and ice conditions in the Thule district.     

Zooarchaeological Analysis of a Late Dorset and an Early Thule Dwelling at Cape Grinnell,Northwest Greenland

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):315–336, 2010

Excavations were undertaken at the site of Cape Grinnell, Northwest Greenland, by the Inglefield Land Archaeology Project in 2008. A well-preserved Late Dorset semi-subterranean mid-passage dwelling and an early Thule semi-subterranean sod-block house yielded radiocarbon dates of ca. 700–500 cal. B.P. Faunal remains from both structures had marked differences in species diversity suggesting Late Dorset had a wider diet breadth and made more intensive use of locally available resources than early Thule. Spatial analysis of the house interiors revealed that Late Dorset tended to concentrate carcass processing and discard at the rear of their dwelling and bone burning is minimal. The early Thule processed their food in two main areas: in front of the sleeping platform and on the central paving stones adjacent to the storage alcove. Burned bone was concentrated near the sleeping platform and to a lesser extent on the central paving in front of the entrance. Carnivore gnawing was virtually non-existent in the Late Dorset structure but ubiquitous across the early Thule structure.     

从地缘关系视角解析“一带一路”的行动路径

“一带一路”倡议是人类历史上最伟大的全球治理工程,开辟了政治地理学研究的新纪元,为地缘关系研究提供了大舞台。地理学是从时间、空间和自然—社会系统三个维度理解陆地表层过程的科学,对地缘关系研究具有独特的功能和作用。因此,从地理学视角研究地缘关系具有其他学科无法比拟的优势。“一带一路”是当前最具挑战的科学和政策命题,从地缘关系视角研究“一带一路”,需要加强四个方面的结合：① 在科学思维上,需要还原论与系统论思维相结合;② 在科学数据建设上,需要社会人文与自然环境数据相结合;③ 在科学问题选择上,需要社会过程、人文过程、政治过程和自然过程相结合;④ 在研究方法上,需要经验方法、实证方法、系统方法与大数据研究方法相结合。中国地理学者应兼顾政治地理学科建设、地缘关系的学科交叉研究和“一带一路”全球实践开展研究。     

Community collaboration and climate change research in the Canadian Arctic

Research on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, particularly projects aiming to contribute to practical adaptation initiatives, requires active involvement and collaboration with community members and local, regional and national organizations that use this research for policy-making. Arctic communities are already experiencing and adapting to environmental and socio-cultural changes, and researchers have a practical and ethical responsibility to engage with communities that are the focus of the research. This paper draws on the experiences of researchers working with communities across the Canadian Arctic, together with the expertise of Inuit organizations, Northern research institutes and community partners, to outline key considerations for effectively engaging Arctic communities in collaborative research. These considerations include: initiating early and ongoing communication with communities, and regional and national contacts; involving communities in research design and development; facilitating opportunities for local employment; and disseminating research findings. Examples of each consideration are drawn from climate change research conducted with communities in the Canadian Arctic.     

灾区恢复重建后效评估研究进展

随着全球变化加剧,世界各地自然灾害的频发,国际社会为应对自然灾害进行了不懈努 力,历届世界减灾大会不断强调对应急管理全流程的研究,恢复重建作为应急管理的重要环节而 得到广泛重视。积极开展灾区恢复重建后效评估有利于保障灾区恢复重建实施与区域可持续发 展。灾区恢复重建后效评估研究时间较短,首先比较分析了国内外恢复重建的内涵,明确了恢复 重建后效评估的基本概念,并梳理了灾区恢复重建后效评估的在中国的发展演变。由于灾区恢复 重建内容复杂多样,本文结合灾区恢复重建后效评估的发展历程、研究范围与关注时段,分别从项 目、要素与可持续性三个关键视角对后效评估的理论方法等展开评述,结果表明：（1）项目后效评 估在灾区恢复重建后效评估中起步较早,现有评估多集中于居民住房、基础设施、公共设施等工程 质量的评估,但缺乏对项目设计过程中社会居民参与度、公众满意度以及社会经济效益等的评 估。（2）要素后效评估在灾区恢复重建后效评估中涉及范围最广,具体包括社会、经济与环境等要 素,这些要素的评估受政策绩效影响较大,后期需要构建综合的评估体系以开展科学评估。（3）可 持续性后效评估以联合国可持续发展目标与地方国民经济与社会发展计划为基础构建评估框架, 有利于促进灾区的可持续发展。通过综合分析《仙台减轻灾害风险框架》中“重建的更好”(BBB)理 念,联合国可持续发展目标（SDGs）以及《巴黎协定》适应全球变化等诉求,结合当前灾区恢复重建 后效评估现状进行展望,以期为灾区恢复重建与可持续发展提供一个更为系统、综合的技术参考。     

科学地理学的理论基础及其研究内容与学科性质

在科学与技术是不同的知识形态,科学史研究的地理思潮转向,地理学向“软”的一面转向并关注社会,科学史研究的地理思潮倾向于关注“社会→地理→科学”关系的历史解释,地理学家在科学史的地理解释思想上的贡献等理论基础上,拙文主要阐述科学地理学这一新学科在建构“科学—地理—社会”关系体系上的独特性:①建构关注过去的、现在的及未来的“社会→地理→科学”关系;②践行“以任务带动学科”和“任务学科并重”的地理学发展方略,主要建构“科学→地理→社会”关系;③聚焦于科学活动因素的区域性,注重区域相关性分析方法论。基于这种独特性和地理学方法论精髓,科学地理学研究的内容体系包括:①科学研究及其组织与传播的时空结构;②科学研究及其组织与传播的时空结构与地理环境、经济、技术、社会、文化等结构要素的时空结构及其相互关系;③科学研究及其组织与传播对自然景观、社会景观、文化景观等的影响;④科学研究及其组织与传播对“人地关系地域系统”演进的影响。科学地理学的理论基础、建构“科学—地理—社会”关系的独特性和研究内容决定了科学地理学的交叉性、综合性和区域性,这与地理学特征是一致的,促进着现代地理学微观上的“深”化发展和宏观上的“综合”发展。     

土地利用/覆被变化对海岸环境演变影响的研究进展

土地利用/覆被变化是影响海岸带环境演变的一个重要方面。文章着重从土地利用/覆被变化对温室气体释放、入海物质通量、生物多样性影响以及海岸特有自然覆被的生态环境效应角度评述了土地利用/覆被变化对海岸环境演变影响研究的内容与进展。分析指出该领域未来研究将朝更宏观综合(全球环境影响)与更微观深入(环境生物地球化学过程)两个趋向发展。可持续土地利用评价与调整、海岸环境生物地球化学过程与模拟、海岸生物多样性保护和海岸带综合管理将成为未来研究的重点。     

Arctic climate change discourse: the contrasting politics of research agendas in the West and Russia

In this paper we explore how Western scientific concepts and attitudes towards indigenous knowledge, as they pertain to resource management and climate change, differ from the prevailing view in modern Russia. Western indigenous leaders representing the Inuit and Saami peoples are actively engaged in the academic and political discourse surrounding climate change, whereas their Russian colleagues tend to focus more on legislation and self-determination, as a post-Soviet legacy. We contribute to the debate with data from the Nenets tundra, showing how different research has employed the three crucial Western research paradigms of climate change, wildlife management and indigenous knowledge on the ground. We suggest that the daily practice of tundra nomadism involves permanent processes of negotiating one's position in a changing environment, which is why "adaptation" is woven into the society, and cosmology as a whole, rather than being separable into distinct "bodies" of knowledge or Western-designed categories. We argue that research agendas should be placed in their proper local and regional context, and temporal framework: for example, by collaborating with herders on the topics of weather instead of climate change, herding skills instead of wildlife management, and ways of engaging with the tundra instead of traditional ecological knowledge.     

Land use and land cover change in Liaocheng Prefecture of China

1 Introduction1.1 Introduction to Liaocheng PrefectureLiaocheng Prefecture lies in northwest of Shandong Province and slightly north to the center of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain with latitudes between 35(47'N and 37(02'N and longitudes between 115(16'E and 116(32'E. Administratively, it consists of two cities (Liaocheng and Linqing) and six counties (Yanggu, Shenxian, Chiping, Dong'e, Guanxian and Gaotang). It covers a total area of 8590 km2 with a maximum distance of 114 km from eas…