Arctic Climate Issues 2011

112 Pages·2012·49.34 MB·English

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Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP)
Educational use: This report (in part or in its entirety) and other SWIPA products available from www.amap.no/swipa can be used freely as
teaching materials and for other educational purposes.
The only condition of such use is acknowledgement of AMAP/SWIPA as the source of the material according to the recommended citation.
In case of questions regarding educational use, please contact the AMAP Secretariat ([email protected]).
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Arctic climAte issues 2011:
Changes in arCtiC snow,
water, iCe and Permafrost
ii
Arctic Climate Issues 2011:
Changes in Arctic Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost
ISBN 978-82-7971-073-8
© Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, 2012
Published by
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Gaustadalléen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway (www.amap.no)
Citation
AMAP, 2012. Arctic Climate Issues 2011: Changes in Arctic Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost. SWIPA 2011
Overview Report.
Ordering
AMAP Secretariat, Gaustadalléen 21, N-0349 Oslo, Norway
This report is also published as an electronic document, available from the AMAP website at www.amap.no
Production
Author
Lynn Dicks ([email protected]), with contributions from Rosamunde Almond ([email protected]),
Anna McIvor ([email protected])
Production management
Carolyn Symon ([email protected]), Simon Wilson (AMAP Secretariat)
Scientific and linguistic editing
Carolyn Symon
Lay-out and technical production
Burnthebook Design, Derby DE24 8HR, United Kingdom (burnthebook.co.uk)
Design and production of computer graphics
Simon Duckworth ([email protected]), Simon Wilson (AMAP Secretariat), Frits Steenhuisen (Arctic Centre,
University of Groningen), Hugo Ahlenius ([email protected]), John Bellamy ([email protected]),
Kerry Haywood ([email protected])
Cover photograph
An aerial view of blue ponds formed in a glacial ice sheet. Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
Photo: © Kennan Ward/Corbis
Printing
Narayana Press, Gylling, DK-8300 Odder, Denmark (www.narayanapress.dk) a swan-labelled printing company, 541 562
AMAP Working Group:
Russel Shearer (Chair, Canada), Fred Wrona (Canada), Mikala Klint (Denmark), Henrik Larsen (Denmark), Morten Skovgaard
Olsen (Vice-chair, Denmark), Outi Mähönen (Vice-chair, Finland), Helgi Jensson (Iceland), Per Døvle (Norway), Yuri Tsaturov
(Russia), Tove Lundeberg (Sweden), Tom Armstrong (USA), Jan-Idar Solbakken (Permanent Participants of the indigenous
peoples organisations).
AMAP Secretariat:
Lars-Otto Reiersen, Simon Wilson, Yuri Sychev, Janet Pawlak, Jan René Larsen, Inger Utne.
Arctic Council Member States and Permanent Participants of the Council:
Canada, Denmark/Greenland/Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, United States, Aleut International
Association (AIA), Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC), Gwitch’in Council International (GCI), Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC),
Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), Saami Council.
Arctic climAte issues 2011
iii
Preface
This report presents a summary of the findings of the Snow, AMAP and its partner organizations would like to express their
Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) assessment. appreciation to all those experts that have contributed their time,
This assessment was performed between 2008 and 2011 by the effort and data to the SWIPA assessment; and especially to the
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) in close lead authors and members of the SWIPA Integration Team.
cooperation with the International Arctic Science Committee Special thanks are also due to the scientific writers, led by Lynn
(IASC), the World Climate Research Programme / Climate and Dicks for their work in condensing the large amount of scientific
Cryosphere (WCRP/CliC) Project and the International Arctic material into this readable overview report.
Social Sciences Association (IASSA). The support of the Arctic countries and non-Arctic countries
The SWIPA assessment was a follow-up to the Arctic Climate implementing research and monitoring in the Arctic is vital to
Impact Assessment (ACIA)1 published in 2005. The ACIA the success of AMAP. The AMAP work is essentially based on
represents the benchmark against which this updated assessment ongoing activities within these countries, and the countries also
of change in the Arctic cryosphere has been developed. provide the necessary support for most of the experts involved
The SWIPA assessment was conducted by an international group in the preparation of the AMAP assessments. In particular,
of over 200 scientists, experts and knowledgeable members of AMAP would like to thank Canada, Denmark, Norway and the
the Arctic indigenous communities (see Acknowledgments). Nordic Council of Ministers for their financial support to the
Lead authors and international experts who independently SWIPA work, and to sponsors of programs and projects that have
reviewed the SWIPA assessment report were selected through delivered data for use in this assessment. Special thanks are given
an open nomination process, and a SWIPA Integration Team to those experts involved in International Polar Year (IPY) projects
was responsible for scientific oversight and coordination of who made their results available for the SWIPA assessment.
all work related to the preparation of the SWIPA scientific The AMAP Working Group is pleased to present its assessment
assessment report. to the Arctic Council and the international science community.
The SWIPA Overview report is produced under the responsibility
of the AMAP Working Group. The scientific basis for all
information presented in this overview report can be found in
the fully-referenced and peer-reviewed SWIPA technical and
scientific background report Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in
the Arctic (SWIPA): Climate and the Cryosphere2. A notation of
Morten Skovgaard Olsen (SWIPA Chair)
which chapters of the full technical report have been principally
drawn upon for the overview presented here is indicated in the
bottom corner of the first page of the relevant numbered sections.
The Executive Summary of this report, including
recommendations for policy-makers was presented to
the Arctic Council Ministers at their meeting in Nuuk,
Greenland, in May 2011. Since its presentation, the trends
Russel Shearer (AMAP Chair)
documented in the SWIPA assessment have continued,
with 2012 seeing record temperatures and loss of sea ice
in the Arctic.
Other SWIPA outreach products include films (available with
different languages) specifically developed for policy-makers,
summarizing the main findings of the SWIPA assessment, and
a short summary for educational use. All SWIPA reports and Lars-Otto Reiersen (AMAP Executive Secretary)
films are available from the AMAP Secretariat and on the AMAP
website www.amap.no.
Oslo, October 2012
1 ACIA, 2005. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Cambridge University Press. v + 1042pp.
2 AMAP, 2011. Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA): Climate Change and the Cryosphere. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP),
Oslo, Norway. xii + 538pp.
iv
Acknowledgments
Genrikh Alekseev, Knut Alfredsen, Michel Allard, Maria Robie Macdonald, Andy Mahoney, Alexander Makshtas, Sergei
Ananicheva , Oleg Anisimov, Katey Walter Anthony, Anthony S. Marchenko, Shawn Marshall, James Maslanik, Lars Mathiasen,
Arendt, Derek Armitage, Michael Baffrey, Jonathan Bamber, A. David McGuire, James McNamara, Mark F. Meier, Walter N.
David Barber, Roger G. Barry, Spyros Beltaos, Jacob Bendtsen, Meier , Rae Melloh, Brian Menounos, Anna V. Meshcherskaya,
Terry Bidleman, Cecilia Bitz, Helgi Björnsson, Sylvie Blangy, Christine Michel, Alexander Milner, R. Dan Moore, Sue E. Moore,
Bodil Bluhm, Carl E. Bøggild, Tobias Bolch, Barrie Bonsal, Breck Yaroslav Muravyev, Julian Murton, Son Nghiem, Marcel Nicolaus,
Bowden, Raymond S. Bradley, Michael van den Broeke, Ross Matt Nolan, Dirk Notz, Naum G. Oberman, Morten Skovgaard
D. Brown, Erik Buch, Olga N. Bulygina, Igor Buzin, Vladimir Olsen, Bob E.H. van Oort, Taha Ouarda, Paul Overduin, James E.
Buzin, Terry V. Callaghan, F. Stuart Chapin III, William L. Overland , Finnur Palsson, Mark Parsons, Janet Pawlak , Christina
Chapman, Jens H. Christensen, Torben R. Christensen, Hanne Pedersen, Leif Toudal Pedersen, Donald Perovich, Marina N.
H. Christiansen, John J. Clague, John Graham Cogley, Jonathan Petrushina, William Tad Pfeffer, Gareth K. Phoenix, Reinhard
Colman, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Halvor Dannevig, Klaus Dethloff, Pienitz, Igor Polyakov, John Pomeroy, Birger Poppel , Simon
Yonas Dibike, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Claude Duguay, Mark B. Prinsenberg, Terry Prowse , Volker Rachold , Valentina Radi ,
Dyurgerov, Hajo Eicken, Richard L.H. Essery, Bernd Etzelmuller, Vladimir Radionov, Arja Rautio, Vyacheslav N. Razuvaev, Lars-Otto
Mark Fahnestock, Bruce C. Forbes, Donald Forbes, Mads C. Reiersen , James D. Reist , Paul Renaud, Svetlana A. Reneva, David
Forchhammer, James Ford, Povl Frich, Dmitry Frolov, Stefan A. Robinson, Odd Rogne, Peter Romanov, Vladimir Romanovsky,
Fronzek, Nikolaus Gantner, Tony Gaston, Shari Gearheard, Minik Rosing, Bruno Rudolf, Stine Rybråten, Søren Rysgaard, Niels
Sebastian Gerland , David Gilichinsky, Andrey Glazovsky, M. Schmidt, Edward A.G. Schuur, Igor Semiletov, Mark C. Serreze,
Vladimir N. Golubev, Barry Goodison , Rolf Gradinger, Mats Natalia Shakhova, Martin Sharp , Vladimir Shevchenko, Alexander
A. Granskog , Andrea Grant-Friedman, Thomas C. Grenfell, I. Shiklomanov, Igor A. Shiklomanov†, Nikolay I. Shiklomanov,
Grete K. Hovelsrud , Pavel Y. Groisman, Christian Haas, Jon-Ove Koji Shimada, Drew Shindell, Andrey B. Shmakin, Matthew Shupe,
Hagen, Crispin Halsall, Larry Hinzman, Regine Hock, Marika Peter Sköld, Sharon Smith, Vasily Smolyanitsky, Sergey A. Sokratov,
Holland, Kim Holmén , Richard E. Honrath†, Hans-Wolfgang Steven Solomon†, Konrad Steffen, Morten Stickler, Matthew Sturm,
Hubberten, Steven Hudson, Ole Humlum, George Hunt, Henry Carolyn Symon, Jörn Thiede, Henning Thing , Robert Thomas,
Huntington, Jun Inoue, Arne Instanes, Janet Intrieri, Hester Martin Truffer, Cornelis van der Veen, Andrei A. Velichko, Timo
Jiskoot, Tómas Jóhannesson, Margareta Johansson , M. Torre Vihma, Warwick F. Vincent, Valery Vuglinsky , John E. Walsh , Muyin
Jorgensen, Edward Josberger, Glenn P. Juday, Roland Kallenborn, Wang, Stephen G. Warren, Jan Weckström, Mark Wensnahan, Gesa
Vladimir M. Kattsov, Frank Kauker, Jeffrey R. Key , Lene Kielsen- Weyhenmeyer, Jeremy L. White, Simon Wilson, Gabriel J. Wolken,
Holm, Takashi Kikuchi, Alexander Klepikov , Atte Korhola, Kit Ming-ko Woo, Eric F. Wood, Mattias de Woul, Fred Wrona, Daqing
M. Kovacs, Alexander Krenke, Peter Kuhry, James Kuptana, Ron Yang , Jinlun Zhang, Yu Zhang.
Kwok, Niklas Labba, Joan Nymand Larsen , Seymour Laxon,
Antoni Lewkowicz, Leif Lia, Ronald Lindsay, Amy L. Lovecraft,
† Deceased
Arctic climAte issues 2011
v
Executive Summary and Key Messages
SWIPA Summary for policymakers
AMAP’s new assessment of the impacts of climate change on Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) brings
together the latest scientific knowledge about the changing state of each component of the Arctic ‘cryosphere’. It examines how
these changes will impact both the Arctic as a whole and people living within the Arctic and elsewhere in the world.
‘Cryosphere’ is the scientific term for that the Greenland Ice Sheet and Arctic ice
part of the Earth’s surface that is seasonally caps and glaciers over the past ten years
or perennially frozen. It includes snow, are dramatic and represent an obvious
frozen ground, ice on rivers and lakes, departure from the long-term patterns.
glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets and sea ice. Some elements of the cryosphere, such as
The cryosphere structures the physical the extent of snow, ice over water, and the
environment of the Arctic. It provides dynamics of glaciers and ice streams vary
services to humans such as freshwater greatly over short timescales (seasonally,
supplies and transport routes. The or from year to year) and from place to
cryosphere is an integral part of the climate place. Other aspects of the cryosphere,
system, and affects climate regionally such as the extent of permafrost and large
and globally. ice sheets, vary and change over decadal
The SWIPA Assessment follows on from time scales and large areas. Distinguishing
the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment long-term change from natural variability
(ACIA), published in 2005. It aims to requires data to be collected at many
update the findings from ACIA and to locations over many years and carefully
provide more in-depth coverage of issues analyzed. Detecting these cryospheric
related to the Arctic cryosphere. responses to changing climate presents
The observed changes in sea ice on different challenges and requires long
the Arctic Ocean and in the mass of term records as well as high frequency
observations.
Why the Arctic cryosphere is changing
The Arctic is warming. Surface air of the observed increase in global average
The past six years (2005–2010)
temperatures in the Arctic since 2005 temperatures since the mid-20th century is
have been the warmest period
have been higher than for any five- very likely [> 90% probability] due to the
ever recorded in the Arctic.
year period since measurements began observed increase in anthropogenic GHG
Higher surface air temperatures around 1880. The increase in annual [greenhouse gas] concentrations”.
are driving changes in the average temperature since 1980 has been
Climate-cryosphere interactions
cryosphere. twice as high over the Arctic as it has
may now be accelerating warming
been over the rest of the world. Evidence
Key finding 1
from lake sediments, tree rings and The greatest increase in surface air
ice cores indicates that Arctic summer temperature has happened in autumn,
There is evidence that two temperatures have been higher in the past in regions where sea ice has disappeared
components of the Arctic few decades than at any time in the past by the end of summer. This suggests that
cryosphere – snow and sea ice – 2000 years. Previously unseen weather the sea is absorbing more of the sun’s
patterns and ocean currents have been energy during the summer because of
are interacting with the climate
observed, including higher inflows of the loss of ice cover. The extra energy is
system to accelerate warming.
warm water entering the Arctic Ocean being released as heat in autumn, further
Key finding 2 from the Pacific. These changes are the warming the Arctic lower atmosphere.
main drivers of change in the Arctic Over land, the number of days with snow
cryosphere. cover has changed mostly in spring. Early
In attributing the cause of warming snow melt is accelerated by earlier and
in the Arctic, SWIPA refers to the findings stronger warming of land surfaces that
of the Fourth Assessment Report from are no longer snow-covered.
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate These processes are termed
Change (IPCC). This states that “Most ‘feedbacks’. Snow feedbacks are
vi
well known. The sea ice feedback further and/or accelerated warming, and
has been anticipated by climate just one leads to cooling. The intensity
scientists, but clear evidence for it of feedbacks between the cryosphere and
has only been observed in the Arctic in climate are not yet well quantified, either
the past five years. within the Arctic or globally. This lends
A number of other potential feedback considerable uncertainty to predictions of
mechanisms at play in the Arctic have how much and how fast the cryosphere
been identified. These mechanisms can and the Arctic environment will change.
alter the rate or even direction of climate
change and associated changes in the
cryosphere. Of those feedbacks expected
to have strong effects, seven lead to
How the Arctic cryosphere is changing
The extent and duration of snow cover Large bodies of ice are
The extent and duration of snow
have decreased throughout the Arctic. The melting faster
cover and sea ice have decreased
Arctic land area covered by snow in early
across the Arctic. Temperatures Net loss of mass from the Greenland Ice
summer has reduced by 18% since 1966.
Sheet has increased from an estimated 50
in the permafrost have risen by Coastal areas of Alaska and northern
Gt per year (50 000 000 000 metric tonnes
up to 2 °C. The southern limit of Fennoscandia have seen the strongest
per year) in the period 1995–2000 to ~200
permafrost has moved northward decreases in the number of days with
Gt per year in the period 2004–2008. The
snow cover. The change is largely caused
in Russia and Canada. current loss (~200 Gt per year) represents
by snow melting earlier in the spring.
enough water to supply more than one
Key finding 3
Snow depth has decreased in some areas
billion city-dwellers.
such as the North American Arctic, but
Nearly all glaciers and ice caps in the
The largest and most permanent has increased in others such as northern
Arctic have shrunk over the past 100 years.
Russia.
bodies of ice in the Arctic – multi-
The rate of ice loss increased over the past
year sea ice, mountain glaciers, Permafrost – permanently frozen ground
decade in most regions, but especially in
– underlies most of the Arctic land area
ice caps and the Greenland Ice Arctic Canada and southern Alaska. Total
and extends under parts of the Arctic
Sheet – have all been declining loss of ice from glaciers and smaller ice
Ocean. Temperatures in the permafrost
faster since 2000 than they did in caps in the Arctic probably exceeded 150
have risen by up to 2 °C over the past two to
Gt per year in the past decade, similar to
the previous decade. three decades, particularly in colder sites
the estimated amount being lost from the
(typical permafrost temperatures range
Key finding 4 Greenland Ice Sheet.
from -16 °C to just below 0 °C, depending
Arctic sea-ice decline has been faster
on the location). The depth of soil above
Model projections reported by during the past ten years than in the
the permafrost that seasonally thaws
the Intergovernmental Panel each year has increased in Scandinavia, previous 20 years. This decline in sea-
ice extent is faster than projected by
on Climate Change (IPCC) in Arctic Russia west of the Urals, and
the models used in the IPCC’s Fourth
2007 underestimated the rates of inland Alaska. The southern limit of the
Assessment Report in 2007. The area of
permafrost retreated northward by 30 to
change now observed in sea ice.
sea ice persisting in summer (polar pack
80 km in Russia between 1970 and 2005,
Key finding 5 and by 130 km during the past 50 years ice) has been at or near record low levels
every year since 2001. It is now about one
in Quebec.
third smaller than the average summer
Ice cover on lakes and rivers in the
sea-ice cover from 1979 to 2000. New
Northern Hemisphere is breaking-
observations reveal that average sea-ice
up earlier than previously observed.
thickness is decreasing and the sea-ice
Studies of sediments in High Arctic lakes
cover is now dominated by younger,
indicate that the duration of ice cover on
thinner ice.
some lakes has declined significantly over
the past 100 years. The rates of change in
lake and river ice conditions vary across
the Arctic, although there are few long-
term systematic observations.
Arctic climAte issues 2011
vii
More change is expected
Maximum snow depth is expected Average Arctic autumn-winter 10–20% less time each year over most of
temperatures are projected to increase the Arctic, due to earlier melting in spring.
to increase over many areas by
by between 3 and 6 °C by 2080, even Models project continued thawing
2050, with greatest increases over
using scenarios in which greenhouse of permafrost.
Siberia. Despite this, average
gas emissions are projected to be
Projections show that sea-ice thickness
snow cover duration is projected lower than they have been for the
and summer sea-ice extent will continue
to decline by up to 20% by 2050. past ten years.
to decline in the coming decades, although
Key finding 6 The climate models used for SWIPA do considerable variation from year to year
not include possible feedback effects will remain. A nearly ice-free summer
within the cryosphere system that may is now considered likely for the Arctic
The Arctic Ocean is projected to
release additional stores of greenhouse Ocean by mid-century. This means there
become nearly ice-free in summer gases from Arctic environments. will no longer be any thick multi-year ice
within this century, likely within
Arctic snowfall and rain are projected consistently present.
the next thirty to forty years. to increase in all seasons, but mostly in Climate model projections show a 10–30%
Key finding 7 winter. Despite this, Arctic landscapes reduction in the mass of mountain glaciers
are generally expected to dry out more and ice caps by the end of the century.
during summer. This is because higher
The Greenland Ice Sheet is expected to
air temperatures mean that more water
melt faster than it is melting now, but no
evaporates, snow melt finishes earlier, and
current models can predict exactly how
water flow regimes are altered.
this and other land-based ice masses
With increasing snowfall, all projections in the Arctic will respond to projected
show maximum snow depth during changes in the climate. This is because
winter increasing over many areas. ice dynamics and complex interactions
The greatest increases (15–30% by between ocean, snow, ice and the
2050) are expected in Siberia. Even atmosphere are not fully understood.
so, snow will tend to lie on the ground for
How these changes affect Arctic ecosystems and people
Changes in the cryosphere Changes in the cryosphere cause microbial communities. Many animals,
fundamental changes in Arctic including bowhead whales, depend on
cause fundamental changes
ecosystems tiny crustaceans that thrive near the sea
to the characteristics of Arctic
ice. This food source is changing as the
ecosystems and in some cases Changes in the amount of snow and the
ice edge recedes.
structure of the snowpack affect soils,
loss of entire habitats. This has
plants and animals. Some species, such These changes to ecosystems directly
consequences for people who as pink-footed goose, benefit from less affect supplies of water, fish, timber,
receive benefits from Arctic snow cover in spring. But animals grazing traditional/local foods and grazing land
ecosystems. through snow, such as reindeer/caribou, used by Arctic people. For example, it has
suffer if winter rainfall creates an ice-crust been suggested that stocks of some sub-
Key finding 8
over the snow. This is already happening Arctic and Arctic-adapted fish species,
more often in northern Canada and including commercially important
The observed and expected future Scandinavia. species, could change as sea ice recedes.
changes to the Arctic cryosphere Uncertainty about changing supplies of
Less snow and faster melting are causing
living natural resources makes it difficult
impact Arctic society on many summer drought in forests, wetlands, and
to plan for the future.
levels. There are challenges, lakes supplied by snow melt. Thawing
particularly for local communities permafrost is also causing wetlands in Forestry may benefit from thawing
some areas to drain and dry out, while permafrost in areas where there is
and traditional ways of life. There
creating new wetlands elsewhere. enough water for trees to grow, but
are also new opportunities.
insect pests are increasingly causing
The loss of ice cover over rivers, lakes
Key finding 9 problems. Some hunted animals, such
and seas is changing animal and plant
as seals and walruses, are declining
communities in the water.
in numbers as ice conditions change.
The loss of large areas of sea ice represents
Others are moving to new locations,
devastating habitat loss for some
so hunters have to travel further to
ice-adapted species, including polar
reach them.
bear, seals, walrus, narwhal and some
viii
Transport options and access to Cryospheric change affects Arctic thaws, rapid erosion can occur. Along the
resources are radically changed livelihoods and living conditions coasts bordering the Laptev and Beaufort
seas, coastal retreat rates of more than
by differences in the distribution Access to northern areas via the sea is
two metres per year have been recorded.
and seasonal occurrence of snow, increasing during the summer as sea ice
A number of Inuit villages in Alaska are
water, ice and permafrost in the disappears; allowing increased shipping preparing to relocate in response to the
and industrial activity. Offshore oil and
Arctic. This affects both daily encroaching sea.
gas activities will benefit from a longer
living and commercial activities. In the short term, increased glacier
open water season, although threats from
melt creates new opportunities for
Key finding 10 icebergs may increase due to increased
hydroelectricity generation. This has
iceberg production. The International
potential benefits for industry. In the
Maritime Organization is devising new
Arctic infrastructure faces
longer term, the volume of meltwater will
mandatory guidelines for ships operating
increased risks of damage due decrease as glaciers shrink, potentially
in ice-covered waters. Sea-ice decline
to changes in the cryosphere, affecting electricity production.
creates challenges for local residents who
particularly the loss of permafrost use the ice as a platform for travel and Melting ice and snow release contaminants
and land-fast sea ice. hunting; these challenges may include that have been stored for many years,
travelling farther over uncertain ice allowing the contaminants to re-enter the
Key finding 11
conditions and increased hazards. environment. Exposure of people and top
predators to contaminants that accumulate
On land, access to many areas is becoming
in food chains could further increase.
more difficult as ice roads melt earlier and
freeze later and as permafrost degrades. Increased access to the Arctic creates new
Industrial operations reliant on ice roads economic opportunities. Cruise ship
will need to concentrate heavy load tourism is increasing. More people are
transport into the coldest part of the year. coming to witness the effects of climate
Shorter seasons where ice and snow roads change on Arctic glaciers, for example
can be used severely impact communities at the Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland.
that rely on land transport of goods to Increased tourism may challenge lifestyles
maintain reasonable retail costs and and services in local communities as
ensure economic viability, particularly in well as increase the demand for effective
northern Canada and Russia. Some land infrastructure (e.g., air services, marine
areas become more accessible for mining navigation aids, and other safety measures).
as glaciers and ice caps recede. Loss of Arctic wildlife and change of
scenery may adversely affect the tourist
Thawing permafrost is causing increased
industry in the long term.
deformation of buildings, roads, runways
and other man-made structures in some Cryospheric change combined with rapid
areas, although poor design in the past is development creates opportunities and
a contributing factor. New design methods challenges for Arctic residents. Traditional
are being developed that consider the knowledge can help to detect change and
likelihood of environmental change. adapt to it. While traditional knowledge
Buildings and other infrastructure are at continues to evolve, it is a challenge to
risk from heavier snow loads and floods ensure that this knowledge is being passed
caused by the release of ice jams in rivers on to younger generations as lifestyles
or sudden emptying of glacial lakes. change. Some aspects of traditional
knowledge become less applicable as the
Two-thirds of the Arctic coastline is held
cryosphere and other components of the
together and protected by ice. When land-
Arctic system change even more rapidly
fast sea ice melts earlier and permafrost
and become less predictable.
Why changes in the Arctic matter globally
Changes in the Arctic cryosphere warming of the Earth’s surface and the
have impacts on global climate air above it. There is evidence that this is
and sea level happening over the Arctic Ocean as the
sea ice retreats, as well as on land as snow
When highly reflective snow and ice
melts earlier.
surfaces melt away, they reveal darker
land or ocean surfaces that absorb more Overall emissions of methane and
of the sun’s energy. The result is enhanced carbon dioxide from the Arctic could
Arctic climAte issues 2011