At the ASSW 2021 RATIC Meets T-MOSAiC community meeting on 21 March, nine speakers shared insights from their research related to Arctic infrastructure. The three-hour online meeting included presentations from physical and social science researchers and engineers working across the Arctic. Topics included: Active layer monitoring for infrastructure management; combining remote sensing methods to map the extent of infrastructure; multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding permafrost-related changes in natural and built environments; geotemperature modeling to identify geocryological hazards; participatory mapping of informal roads; and community perspectives on issues related to infrastructure development and sustainability. The meeting agenda and presentation slides are on the RATIC website at www.geobotany.uaf.edu/ratic/workshop2021.php.
As part of their presentations, speakers were asked to address how they were working with Arctic communities, government or industry; how they planned to "share back" their data and findings with Arctic communities and other stakeholders; and best practices or lessons learned that could be transferable to other projects. Among the takeaways shared:
• Methods: Mixed approaches that combine qualitative and quantitative methods play an increasing role in research on infrastructure. Even within one discipline, such as remote sensing, combining several approaches (e.g. gradient boosting machines and deep learning) may yield more success, with value added from incorporating datasets from other disciplines.
• Codevelopment: Start with a research question that is driven by local needs and priorities; Co-determine sensor/survey locations based on community-specific challenges and needs.
• Sharing back: Disseminate results in a popular format (e.g. illustrated brochures in local and regional languages, multi-media archives); Follow CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (www.gida-global.org/care).
• Developing best practices: Study your work as you go (e.g. participant observation of team meetings and community workshops; interviews with collaborators and stakeholders).
The meeting was organized by the T-MOSAiC Arctic Infrastructure Action Group. This online meeting will be followed by an in-person workshop in Tromsø at ASSW 2022.
