"How are climate, terrestrial ice and Alaskan indigenous cultures all connected?"

The climate allows for the forming of the terrestrial ice in Alaska. Without the ice, Alaska would be a vastly different place.

The climate keeps the weather cold. The cold allows for the permafrost. Without the permafrost I am not too sure that many of the villages around here and the culture would exist as they do. Our village is on very marshy ground. We are surrounded by water and can see the effect of the tides daily in the water level of the river and many of the ponds. Without the permafrost forming a semi solid base for the land, we would be the marsh of Alaska instead of the tundra. This could be a huge problem –and we haven’t even mentioned all that carbon being released from the permafrost from decomposing biological matter as it melts away.

One of the stores in town had to move to a new building this year. The small, old building had been built directly on the ground. Over time, the ground beneath, warmed from the heat of the store, sagged, no longer on solid, frozen ground. It was interesting shopping. In order to get to the shelves on the far wall one had to walk down a small slope and then back up to reach the desired item.

* How important is the issue of sea level rise?
Unfortunately, it is very serious. It will be interesting (and a bit scary) to see how rising waters will change this area. We are just above sea level now. Will we still be above or will we below in ten years time? Fifteen? Twenty? Will the land change? How will it change? Will it be a marshy-swampland with little solid ground in sight? Or will it disappear under the waves of the Bering Sea? How will the people here adapt? How will this change them? If they are forced to move, where? Inland? To the cities? Will the culture survive? The village has already moved once because of the finicky nature of water.
This module raised a lot more questions for me than any of the others. Although there is excellent scientific research on this subject, it is still uncertain what will happen and when for sure.