Transferring TiPACCs results on ice-sheet instability and sea-level rise to Norwegian stakeholders (TiPACCs4stake)

Målet med TiPACCs4stake er å kommunisere den nyeste kunnskapen bak forskningsprosjektet TiPACCs til allmennheten i Norge. I TiPACCs forsker vi på muligheten for at Antarktisisen blir ustabil etter å krysse såkalte "vippepunkter". Et eksempel på et vippepunkt er at havet rundt Antarktis blir varmere, noe som fører til at de flytende deler av den Antarktiske iskappen – isbremmene - smelter raskere. Isbremmene beskytter innlandsisen og når de svekkes er det stor fare for at innlandsisen blir ustabil og renner ut i havet. Det er veldig vanskelig å forutsi når noe slikt kommer til å skje, men når det skjer kan det ha store konsekvenser for havnivået over hele kloden – inkludert Norge. Målet med TiPACCs4stake er å diskutere slike vippepunkter og konsekvensene med ulike interessegrupper. I utgangspunktet samarbeidet vi med tre ungdomsskoler i og rundt Bergen og jobbet med elever i 13-16 års alderen. Vi besøkte skolene sammen med en lokal kunstner, Laura Gaiger. Etter en tverrfaglig undervisningstime om kunstneriske prosesser og vippepunkter i Antarktis oppfordret vi studentene til å lage sin egen klimarelaterte kunst, inspirert av det de lærte i klasserommet. Kunstneren brukte kunstverkene til elevene som inspirasjon til å lage sitt eget kunstverk. Alle kunstverk ble presentert i en utstilling “Vi må snakke om i morgen” - en konferanse om klima og politikk med ca 300 deltakere fra ulike bakgrunn. Kunsten ble altså sett av politikere, beslutningstakere, forskere og klimainteresserte og ble møtt med stor interesse og begeistring. Tilbakemeldingene fra elevene var stort sett positive og det å formidle vitenskapelig kunnskap gjennom kunst viste seg som det perfekte verktøyet for å nå et bredt publikum. Videoer om hvordan kunsten ble til, og hvordan utstillingen ble møtt av publikum finnes her (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRE6qevJi6g&t=16s) og her (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz1vFEaMHto&t=1s).

The project reached a wide audience. Highschool students (and teachers) Actively involving the students by challenging them to create art created a sense of ownership that persisted beyond the classroom. This was reinforced by displaying their art to a wide audience at a climate-policy conference, and by giving them feedback (through school visits and video messages) on how their art was received. Although it is difficult to measure, we believe that this approach contributed to a deeper understanding and awareness of climate-related processes and their importance than traditional approaches would have. University students, policy makers, politicians The exhibition attracted many interested participants during the conference. Laura Gaiger’s walkable floor-art in the shape of Antarctica inspired many questions and discussions around Antarctica from teachers, local politicians and decision makers as well as university students. The pupils’ art left an impression on the visitors as it rendered the sometimes abstract and far-away consequences of climate change very tangible. Artists and scientists For most of the project team, the approach of combining art and science is still relatively new. Under the experienced guidance of Mathew Stiller-Reeve we familiarized ourselves with the process, explored its possibilities and pitfalls and are now in a better position to apply it more efficiently. Through the inclusion of artist Laura Gaiger, we also expanded our network which will facilitate future collaborations with artists more easily.

Sea-level rise, a direct consequence of climate change, represents one of the most pressing threats to coastal communities, the industry and business sector as well as the civil society. To make informed decisions about protective or adaptive measures, it is crucial that decision makers are provided with the best possible projections of sea-level rise as well as the attached uncertainties. One of the largest uncertainties originates from the polar ice sheets, particularly the Antarctic Ice Sheet that stores ice equivalent to 60-m global mean sea-level rise. Through instabilities in Antarctic climate components, a significant part of this ice can be released rather fast, causing a large and abrupt change in sea level that, due to gravitational adjustment processes, will be felt stronger in regions far away from the ice sheet like Norway. The aim of the EU-funded project TiPACCs, led by NORCE scientists Petra Langebroek and Svein Østerhus, is to identify and understand tipping points in the Antarctic climate components that can – when being crossed – lead to such a large and irreversible loss of mass from the ice sheet. TiPACCs addresses amongst others questions such as how fast how much ice can be released and whether early warning indicators exist for such an event. This information is crucial for stakeholders in the coastal zone and so far acknowledged but missing from national guidelines on future sea-level rise. In TiPACCs4stake, we aim to transfer the scientific knowledge produced in TiPACCs to stakeholders working in the coastal zone via a dedicated joint event with scientists and Norwegian stakeholders. We aim for the transfer of knowledge to not just be uni-directional but will facilitate a dialogue between scientists and stakeholders starting with a stakeholder survey prior to the event. This way, we ensure that stakeholders are provided with the latest scientific based information tailored to their needs.