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 The Institute of Arctic Studies is a program of
the Dickey Center for
International Understanding, established in honor of Dartmouth's twelfth
President, John Sloan Dickey, in 1982 to "coordinate, sustain and enrich the
international dimension of liberal arts education at Dartmouth." Since it's
founding in 1989, the Institute has established itself as a leading center of
Arctic Studies and acts to facilitate faculty and student research,
teaching, and an understanding of issues facing high latitude regions.
Large changes are currently occurring in the northern and polar regions. The
extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice is decreasing, thus affecting both
marine animals and their subsistence hunters. To the south, some Antarctic ice
shelves are retreating and glacial movement is accelerated. Thawing permafrost
soils are threatening human structures and persistent organic pollutants are
accumulating in Arctic food webs, including people. Arctic ecosystems are
experiencing rapid and pronounced environmental change, with resulting
disruptions to human populations and ecosystem services. These examples of
rapid environmental change between climate, lands, oceans, and ecosystems are
increasingly apparent in the northern regions, and may be a harbinger for lower
latitudes.
The Institute of Arctic Studies has identified climate change and its influence
on the social, cultural, and political dimensions of the North as an area of
critical societal importance. The ecosystems and peoples of the Arctic are
experiencing significant and rapid change as this region warms and as
globalization alters resource extraction, trade, and traditional ways of life.
The Dickey Center and the Institute of Arctic Studies are engaged in
interdisciplinary study of these transformations with the hope that lessons
learned will benefit northern people, increase international understanding, and
promote global environmental stewardship.
The Institute's Northern and Polar Studies Initiative links Dartmouth faculty
from the College and the Professional schools with colleagues at the U. S. Cold
Regions Research and Engineering Lab to develop programs that promote
scholarship and engage students in the social, political and scientific issues
of high latitude regions. This initiative expands the Arctic vision of the
Institute to more broadly include Canada, the Nordic countries, Russia and the
polar regions of the south, Antarctica.
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