Giving Compass' Take:

• Researchers are gathering data in collaboration with Greenland's Inuit population to better understand what is happening in the Arctic. 

• How will this data help inform scientists on the progression of climate change? 

• Learn more about Greenland's ice. 

In northwest Greenland, many of the region's native Inuit maintain a strong connection to the environment through their traditional livelihoods of hunting and fishing. However, Dr. Elaina Ford from the British Antarctic Survey says rapid economic and tradition upheaval is underway.

An important part of the traditional way of life is the seasonal hunt for different animal species. If the ice is breaking up earlier and forming later, then they might not be able to safely access some of the traditional hunting grounds.

The ICE-ARC researchers are collaborating with local communities to gather data about climate change. For example, Inuit hunters from the village of Qaanaaq are helping them develop an instrument that can be fitted to dog sleds to measure sea ice thickness during hunting trips that make use of the sea ice as highways.

Simultaneously, another team is looking at ocean sediment core samples around the region to tie together the climatic history of Greenland with its peoples' rich history of climate adaptation, in order to look forward to how today's communities might deal with approaching change.

Read the full article on life in the Arctic by Joe Dodgshun at The Naked Scientists.