EAGER: Hydrological Globalization: Exploring Urban Adaptations to Arctic Melt

This anthropological project focuses on the redistribution of water, a key physical process linking the Arctic region to coastal cities worldwide. In order to evaluate responses to glacial melt and rising sea levels, this project will “follow the water” to coastal cities most affected by Arctic melt using the “gradient fingerprint map” (GFM).

The GFM calculates how much water each global melt basin is contributing to urban coastal sea-level rise. By tracking how physical processes link the Arctic with urban centers to the south, this research will test the validity of “hydrological globalization,” an interdisciplinary social scientific concept that frames social adaptations to hydrological processes, asking whether sites physically connected through global water flow share responses in the form of discourse, policy measures, economic planning, and infrastructure development.

This site-based study involves ethnographic and document-based research, including interviews with government officials, scientists, industry experts tasked with scenario planning, and members of non-governmental organizations. These participants will provide expert insight on the types of urban adaptations policy makers and planners are using to respond to rapid sea-level rise.

Media monitoring, evaluation of national policies and legal documents, and study of local and national activism will provide background and context for informant interviews. This research will advance understanding of human responses to Arctic change and how those responses vary culturally and geographically. Broader impacts include presentations to public audiences at each site, involving compelling human-focused narratives that illustrate the links between the Arctic and urban sites to the south.

Dissemination of findings through local media, white papers, and reports to stakeholders targets broader international audiences and may inform urban policy and planning.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.