The Artists in the Arctic artist residencies are in full swing. Marek Ranis will return to Anchorage in January 2014 to continue work on editing his film work, which was inspired by his trips to Anchorage and Iceland in 2013 as part of the Northern Initiative and his residency, which was supported by the Rasmuson Foundation. Derek Cote, of Detroit, is working with the Anchorage Symphony to develop a full-scale project, which will culminate in a performance and installation for the 2016 Polar Lab exhibition. Artist John Grade, from Seattle, is organizing a six-week trek to Alaska in the summer of 2014 in Alaska’s tundra, to look at melting permafrost, pingos and other phenomena associated with climate change. Annesofie Norn, from Copenhangen, also plans a journey to Alaska in the summer of 2014 to visit Barrow at the Northern tip of Alaska.

To further the artists’ research, we link them with Arctic researchers in biology and other hard scientists, as well as industry, environment, Native and political leaders. The goal is to provide a solid basis for their investigations; rather than inflammatory or simplistic statements based only on perceptions. Northern research is fascinating. Grade’s interest in pingos is timely. The term pingo comes from the Inuit word for “small hill.” Botanist A. E. Porsild borrowed the word to describe a particular formation of earth-covered ice mounds that dot the Arctic and sub-Arctic landscapes. In memory of his contributions, a pingo on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula in Northern Canada was named after him.

Porsild Pingo is near the shores of the Beaufort Sea. In the 1960s, researchers studying the submarine geology of the Beaufort Sea started using the term “pingo-like features” to describe mounds that had emerged from the sea floor that looked similar to the pingos on land. The aboveground pingos are thought to have formed primarily through expansion associated with ground ice formationchers. But the pingo-like features on the sea bottom may be different––the pingo-like features on the Beaufort Sea shelf are the result of decomposing methane gas hydrates. A methane gas hydrate is a solid substance composed of water and methane that is formed under conditions of low temperature and high pressure. In the Beaufort Sea, gas hydrate deposits are believed to have been created from the submersion of thick Arctic permafrost. But as warmer waters have “transgressed” upon regions of the long-submerged permafrost, the hydrate structures may, essentially, be melting. And as the gas pushes upward, pingo-like features are forming on the seabed.

Some geologists see gas hydrates as a source of energy, if ways can be found to safely mine them. But methane is also an especially virulent greenhouse gas. If warmer temperatures lead to the rapid unlocking of submarine methane hydrates, the pace of climate could be considerably accelerated.

Having artists work with these issues and phenomena is a way to provide a visual narrative and to reach a wide public. We are excited to be working with a number of Northern collaborators to connect artists, scientists and others in this effort to create a Northern forum that highlights and encourages rich investigation.