Cliffs collapsing into the sea, flooded archaeological sites: the effects of global warming on Herschel Qikiqtaruk Island, in the north of the Yukon, are spectacular. To expose the scale of this, a research group transformed its data into a virtual reality experience.
“Last summer, he made up to 25 oC. We could swim in the ocean for two hours, something unheard of. It was surreal,” says Team Shrub research group leader Isla Myers-Smith via video interview.
Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Edinburgh, Mme Myers-Smith has worked on Herschel Qikiqtaruk Island for 15 years.
“After one or two weeks of mild weather, we saw a large piece of land break away and roll down the slope. This is the first time I’ve seen such a rapid change! »
Aware that scientific articles are “rather dry and boring”, the researcher wondered how to ensure that the data collected was more lively, and sparked more interaction with the public.
This is all the more important to him as his land is not very accessible. Herschel Island (Qikiqtaruk) Territorial Park is located in the Beaufort Sea, 5 kilometers off the northern coast of Yukon. It is only open to tourists from mid-June to mid-September, and they must be equipped for independent camping in the Arctic environment. Inuvialuit (Inuit from the western Canadian Arctic) still have traditional hunting and fishing activities on the island, but many do not have the means to get there.
PHOTO JEFFREY KERBY, PROVIDED BY DANISH AARHUS UNIVERSITY
Sliding of permafrost into the sea, on the coasts of Herschel Island (Qikiqtaruk), in the Yukon
The project Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk
Virtual reality emerged as a way to put “communities and people who don’t have the opportunity to visit the site so often” in contact with the changes occurring there.
The project Qikiqtaruk: Arctic at Risk was born during the pandemic, when researchers had some free time and could not go to the island.
PHOTO GERGANA DASKALOVA, PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Isla Myers-Smith, professor at the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh, leader of the Team Shrub research group, with a drone used in her work in the Arctic
Mme Myers-Smith and his colleague Jeff Kerby, from Denmark’s Aarhus University, recruited a virtual reality specialist and obtained initial funding from the National Geographic Society, to which other funds were added. The park’s senior curator, an Inuvialuit, and researchers from the Northwest Territories (NWT) are also part of the project.
The island’s landscapes were recreated by assembling photos taken with a drone by the researchers and adding animation. “These photos were not originally taken to create a virtual reality environment, they were part of our data collection. So everything is based on scientific data. And because the raw data looked pixelated, elements like plants and caribou were produced with animation. » The buildings were recreated using lidar scans carried out by a team of archaeologists.
The communities of Aklavik and Inuvik, in the NWT, whose indigenous people frequent the island, were among the first to discover immersive video. Images showing the island’s historic buildings being attacked by rising waters sparked particularly strong reactions.
This is because in addition to the solid buildings, witnesses of past commercial and administrative activities (American whalers, RCMP, etc.), the site contains remains of traditional Inuvialuit sod huts dating back several hundred years.
Last summer we were there as a team of archaeologists excavated two of these sod huts on the edge of the beach, because they felt like they would be gone by the end of summer. This is indeed what happened: in June, they were excavating, and in August, the site was submerged. It happened before our eyes!
Isla Myers-Smith, professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia and the University of Edinburgh
Coastal erosion is spectacular. The 116 km island2 loses up to one meter per year on average, sometimes more in places. “In 2017, we saw around 30 meters of erosion on one site. It’s huge when you think about it, it’s like your entire front lot! »
PHOTO JEFFREY KERBY, PROVIDED BY DANISH AARHUS UNIVERSITY
Coastal erosion on Herschel Island (Qikiqtaruk), Yukon, 2019
The team hopes to launch its immersive video at the World Economic Forum in Davos next January – in collaboration with the scientific organization Arctic Base Camp, which is pitching its tents around the Forum to raise awareness of the changing Arctic .
Striking changes
In about fifteen years, Mmhe Myers-Smith saw areas of bare ground greening, and tundra vegetation (especially shrubs) gaining height.
And since the early 2000s, flowering has started about a week earlier. However, many plants in the region depend on pollinators, and if all the flowers emerge quickly at the same time, bumblebees and bees may not have time to collect all their nectar, explains the researcher.
“As these systems warm, there will be winner species and loser species, and pollinating bees may be among the losers. Everything will depend on their ability to adapt. »
PHOTO SANDRA ANGERS BLONDIN, PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
A musk ox basks against the backdrop of warming permafrost.
And while the island is not home to moose or beaver, these animals have been seen on the North Slope of the Yukon, in the Arctic zone of the NWT and in northern Alaska. Climate change and the proliferation of shrubs therefore seem to attract these species towards the north, which risks affecting the environment.
“Beaver ponds release more methane than intact tundra, so the increased presence of beavers in tundra ecosystems will likely increase methane emissions,” summarizes M.me Myers-Smith, citing a study published last summer.