Climate Change
The Inupiat village of Kaktovik on Barter Island, a barrier island off the NE coast of Alaska
There are some people who believe that the Arctic- and Alaska- is a long way away. They will never go there. They aren’t worried about it. There are some who believe that the scientists are divided on- or have overstated- the issue. They believe that the earth has always had temperature fluctuations.
But this time is different. Scientists have reached a universal consensus that global warming is happening, and is happening primarily because of human resource usage. The 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Report indicated that the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the ret of the planet. Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center gives a compelling talk about this move to consensus at the 2007 AGU conference. The Catlin Arctic Survey early in January 09 helped to expose the Arctic vulnerabilities. The significance of this is unquestionable, as is the hopeful fact that humans can help to mitigate this change. We can take steps to reduce global warming by changing our behaviors and regulating our appetites.
Arctic warming affects ALL of us. There is no one who can afford to ignore the Arctic. Climate change is not happening evenly around the world. In the Arctic, temperatures are rising at a rate of twice the world average. This significant temperature increase in the Arctic has already shown marked changes in vegetation patterns and resulting animal behavior. But perhaps more importantly, at the accelerated rate of warming, the Arctic is poised to greatly exacerbate the already critical level of gases in the atmosphere causing global warming.
Warming of the Arctic is hazardous not only to the region itself, but to the world as a whole. The Arctic is supported by a layer of frozen soil, called permafrost, which can be hundreds of thousands of years old. This frozen soil holds in carbon- one third of the total carbon of the earth’s atmosphere, in fact. In addition, the Smithsonian author Bob Reiss notes that frozen tundra holds over 400 gigatons of methane. Were the arctic tundra to thaw by global warming or tundra fire, massive quantities of this carbon and methane would be released into the atmosphere. These released gases would contribute to the greenhouse effect more than all of human activity combined.
- Wildflowers in the Arctic are prolific and tenacious
Vegetation sensitivities.
The rising temperatures and changing weather patterns in the Arctic have led to a number of changes in the nature of the tundra itself. One of these is the increased frequency and size of fires, and unprecedented fires north of the Arctic Circle. Experts predict that these changes will lead to a change in the tundra as we know it. This has far reaching implications on animal, insect and human life in the eco-system, including significant impacts on the already dwindling caribou population.
These changes impact far more than the caribou however. The Arctic used to be considered a “sink” for carbon, meaning that plants took in carbon during photosynthesis and locked down carbon in the frozen soil. Evidence suggests that increased shrubs in the Arctic due to warming trends significantly increase the chance of a tundra fire.
Animal sensitivities. The three Arctic mammals determined to be most sensitive to climate change are the polar bear, the narwhal and the hooded seal. Sensitivities are based on the narrowness and distribution of feeding requirements, seasonal dependence on ice, and reliance on ice for prey or predator avoidance.
The effects of climate change are also expected to significantly alter fish migration patterns, driving fish to further and further north latitudes, and causing extinction among species. As much as 60% of the world fish population is expected to change its migration patterns as the fish seek cooler waters. Thus resource redistribution is not only concerning from a biological standpoint, but also from the political perspective.
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