Arctic Warming Becoming Pronounced
NOAA Survey Indicates Global Warming Effects are More Noticeable
Oct 17, 2008
If global warming is indeed a reality, researchers say that the Arctic would be the first to show its devastating effects. This is due to the ecosystem of the region is much more sensitive to changes in climate than elsewhere on the planet.
“It’s a sensitive system and often reflects changes in relatively fast and dramatic ways," oceanographer James Overland said. The Seattle-based researcher works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is the author of the Arctic Report Card, an annual report on the region's environmental health.
Higher Temperatures Lead to Massive Sea Ice Loss
Possibly the most troubling sign is much above normal autumn temperatures, which prolong the period of typical ice loss. With temperatures running almost nine degrees above normal -- a record -- and it staying warmer later into the season, significantly more ice is melting and it is not refreezing completely in the shorter cold season.
2007 ranked as the warmest year in the Arctic on record, and continues a general trend that has seen rising temperatures over the past 40 years or so. Environmentalists could argue that the warming trend roughly coincides with the expansion in industrialization into developing nations, thus releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases are generally believed to be the lead cause of global warming.
Atmosphere, Sea Ice, and Greenland Top Scientists' Worry
The Arctic Report Card splits the facets of the region into six categories: atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, Greenland, biology, and land. Each is then assigned a color code: yellow for mixed signals, indicating possible effects from warming; and red for problems that can be strongly attributed.
In 2007, only atmosphere and sea ice were coded red. This year, with Greenland's surface ice pack apparently melting at an alarming rate, researchers added it to the list of problem areas. Ice in 2007 melted for about two months longer than normal, and temperatures averaged anywhere from three to five degrees above normal.
Wildlife Also Affected by Changing Climate
Various studies have highlighted the struggles ahead for Arctic wildlife from the changing climate, and NOAA's study was no different. It said it expected population and habitat affects to continue for some time. Polar bears seem to be eating less and have lower survival rates in the Hudson Bay, and caribou and reindeer numbers appear to be on the decline.
Other effects noted by researchers:
- Sea surface temperatures in the Arctic Ocean are running as much as nine degrees above seasonal normals.
- Fisheries in the Bering and Barents Seas are experiencing "ecosystem reorganizations," meaning fishing in the future here could be more uncertain.
- Permafrost areas continue to warm in the 2000s, but not to the extent they did in the 1990s. Researchers note that the arctic has become increasingly more "green."
Either way, regardless of what side a person takes in the global warming debate, the Arctic is warming. And due to the fragile nature of the world's northernmost ecosystem, the effects of a warming climate are going to be seen here first.
 |
