Submerging Futures: Watery Infrastructures and the Making of Climate in the Polar Regions

How do water, ice, tides, fog, or thawing ground act as infrastructural forces? What happens when experimental or improvised technologies—whether developed in labs, on research vessels, or within communities—intersect with local practices, Indigenous knowledge, and environmental rhythms? What does it mean to get infrastructure wet? Whether attending to novel climate technologies, community monitoring efforts, marine energies, natural water systems, or other tools of observation and adaptation, this session invites dialogue on the resilience, dependency, extraction, and care that might be glimpsed from below the surface.

Date: Thursday, May 28 2026

Time: 10:15 AM – 12:10 PM (Extended Session)

Room: Goymslurúm

How the session works

After brief presentations from our three convenors, grounded in their own fieldwork and research, the room transforms into a co-reflection space. Using creative brainstorming methods, participants will work together on questions about the present and future of polar watery infrastructures. No prior expertise needed, only curiosity.

The three questions anchoring our workshop:

• How do water, ice, tides, fog, or thawing ground act as infrastructural forces?
• What happens when experimental or improvised technologies intersect with local practices, Indigenous knowledge, and environmental rhythms?
• What resilience, dependency, extraction, and care can be glimpsed from below the surface?

The convenors

Anna Soer is completing her PhD in Political Science at the University of Ottawa, researching natural resource development and energy sovereignty in Nunavut and Greenland. As a research assistant at the Observatoire de la politique et de la sécurité de l'Arctique, her work spans sub-national governance, security, colonial violence, and economic development in the Arctic.

Laura Goyhenex is a doctoral researcher in Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen. Their research focuses on contamination events on Indigenous homelands in Canada's Northwest Territories and Alberta — tracing how trails carry environmental toxicities, and how knowledge about contamination is built, shared, and contested on Indigenous lands.

Alexandra Middleton is a postdoctoral researcher at Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, working at the intersection of Arctic governance, sustainability, critical minerals, and science diplomacy. She contributes to international initiatives including the Fulbright Arctic Initiative and UArctic, bridging policy, academia, and community perspectives.

Researchers, practitioners, community members, and the simply curious are all welcome. Break away from the standard conference format and think with us!