Environmental Monitoring for Arctic Resiliency and Sustainability: An Integrated Approach with Topic Modeling and Network Analysis

Xun Zhu, Timothy J. Pasch, Mohamed Aymane Ahajjam, Aaron Bergstrom

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Arctic environment is experiencing profound and rapid changes that will have far-reaching implications for resilient and sustainable development at the local and global levels. To achieve sustainable Arctic futures, it is critical to equip policymakers and global and regional stake- and rights-holders with knowledge and data regarding the ongoing changes in the Arctic environment. Community monitoring is an important source of environmental data in the Arctic but this research argues that community-generated data are under-utilized in the literature. A key challenge to leveraging community-based Arctic environmental monitoring is that it often takes the form of large, unstructured data consisting of field documents, media reports, and transcripts of oral histories. In this study, we integrated two computational approaches—topic modeling and network analysis—to identify environmental changes and their implications for resilience and sustainability in the Arctic. Using data from community monitoring reports of unusual environmental events in the Arctic that span a decade, we identified clusters of environmental challenges: permafrost thawing, infrastructure degradation, animal populations, and fluctuations in energy supply, among others. Leveraging visualization and analytical techniques from network science, we further identified the evolution of environmental challenges over time and contributing factors to the interconnections between these challenges. The study concludes by discussing practical and methodological contributions to Arctic resiliency and sustainability.

Original languageEnglish
Article number16493
JournalSustainability (Switzerland)
Volume14
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. This material is based upon work supported by the Broad Agency Announcement Program and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDC-CRREL) under Contract W913E522C0001.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.

Funding

Approved for Public Release. Distribution is Unlimited. This material is based upon work supported by the Broad Agency Announcement Program and the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDC-CRREL) under Contract W913E522C0001.

FundersFunder number
Broad Agency Announcement Program
ERDC-CRRELW913E522C0001
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

    Keywords

    • arctic
    • arctic data visualization
    • arctic resiliency
    • degrading infrastructure
    • network analysis
    • permafrost
    • sustainable development
    • topic modeling

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Computer Science (miscellaneous)
    • Geography, Planning and Development
    • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
    • Building and Construction
    • Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
    • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
    • Hardware and Architecture
    • Computer Networks and Communications
    • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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