Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry
Snow conditions in the High North are an important control on wintertime forage availability for reindeer, and under climate change, they are changing rapidly. In the European Arctic, this has the potential to disrupt traditional reindeer herding practices, reindeer health, and local culture (includ...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2024.2398278 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841543296597360640 |
|---|---|
| author | Emma T. D. Perkins Amanda H. Lynch Vera Solovyeva David A. Bailey |
| author_facet | Emma T. D. Perkins Amanda H. Lynch Vera Solovyeva David A. Bailey |
| author_sort | Emma T. D. Perkins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Snow conditions in the High North are an important control on wintertime forage availability for reindeer, and under climate change, they are changing rapidly. In the European Arctic, this has the potential to disrupt traditional reindeer herding practices, reindeer health, and local culture (including that of Indigenous communities like the Sámi). At the same time, Norwegian coastal cities are competing to act as multi-model transportation hubs as sea-ice retreat creates expectations for increased marine accessibility. An “Arctic Railway” connecting Rovaniemi to Kirkenes has been proposed to support these port developments, but this route passes through rangelands managed by Sámi and local herding communities. This study develops an assessment of past and future snow characteristics relevant to reindeer health to provide a context for understanding the impacts of this infrastructure development. Climate model and detailed snowpack simulations were performed for 1950 to 2100 along the proposed route. Results show that deep snow becomes less frequent and spring thaw advances, favorable to reindeer. However, icy snow conditions become more frequent, potentially forcing herds from tundra and farmland to forested areas. This suggests policy alternatives that focus on the development and maintenance of migration corridors to allow appropriate movement of reindeer herds. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-29d31f3ddbed43718c28bed8e0918842 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1523-0430 1938-4246 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-29d31f3ddbed43718c28bed8e09188422025-01-13T14:40:41ZengTaylor & Francis GroupArctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research1523-04301938-42462024-12-0156110.1080/15230430.2024.2398278Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandryEmma T. D. Perkins0Amanda H. Lynch1Vera Solovyeva2David A. Bailey3Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USADepartment of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USADepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Science, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USANational Center for Atmospheric Research, Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USASnow conditions in the High North are an important control on wintertime forage availability for reindeer, and under climate change, they are changing rapidly. In the European Arctic, this has the potential to disrupt traditional reindeer herding practices, reindeer health, and local culture (including that of Indigenous communities like the Sámi). At the same time, Norwegian coastal cities are competing to act as multi-model transportation hubs as sea-ice retreat creates expectations for increased marine accessibility. An “Arctic Railway” connecting Rovaniemi to Kirkenes has been proposed to support these port developments, but this route passes through rangelands managed by Sámi and local herding communities. This study develops an assessment of past and future snow characteristics relevant to reindeer health to provide a context for understanding the impacts of this infrastructure development. Climate model and detailed snowpack simulations were performed for 1950 to 2100 along the proposed route. Results show that deep snow becomes less frequent and spring thaw advances, favorable to reindeer. However, icy snow conditions become more frequent, potentially forcing herds from tundra and farmland to forested areas. This suggests policy alternatives that focus on the development and maintenance of migration corridors to allow appropriate movement of reindeer herds.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2024.2398278Snowpackreindeerclimate modelingtraditional knowledge |
| spellingShingle | Emma T. D. Perkins Amanda H. Lynch Vera Solovyeva David A. Bailey Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research Snowpack reindeer climate modeling traditional knowledge |
| title | Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry |
| title_full | Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry |
| title_fullStr | Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry |
| title_short | Predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry |
| title_sort | predicting snow structures relevant to reindeer husbandry |
| topic | Snowpack reindeer climate modeling traditional knowledge |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2024.2398278 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emmatdperkins predictingsnowstructuresrelevanttoreindeerhusbandry AT amandahlynch predictingsnowstructuresrelevanttoreindeerhusbandry AT verasolovyeva predictingsnowstructuresrelevanttoreindeerhusbandry AT davidabailey predictingsnowstructuresrelevanttoreindeerhusbandry |