{"id":14030,"date":"2018-10-22T03:31:04","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T03:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=14030"},"modified":"2018-10-23T03:34:32","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T03:34:32","slug":"in-alaska-everyones-grappling-with-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/in-alaska-everyones-grappling-with-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"In Alaska, everyone’s grappling with climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nancy Fresco<\/a>, University of Alaska Fairbanks<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Coastal villages are washing into the Bering Sea, trees are sprouting in the tundra and shipping lanes are opening in an ocean that was once locked in ice. In Alaska, climate change isn\u2019t a distant or abstract concern<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a climate change researcher at the International Arctic Research Center<\/a> at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks<\/a>, I see a lot of compelling data \u2013 and also hear a lot of compelling stories. Both data and stories are important. <\/p>\n

For everyone from the National Park Service to the military, from the oil industry to city managers to traditional hunters, adapting to climate change is the new reality in Alaska.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n The Aggie Creek Fire near Fairbanks in 2015.<\/span>
\n NOAA\/Philip Spor<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s happening \u2013 and fast<\/h2>\n

Almost 12 years ago, we embarked upon a new research effort at our state university. The idea was simple: Meet the needs of those planning for our state\u2019s future by providing information on climate change that was local, relevant and scientifically valid. <\/p>\n

First named the Scenarios Network for Alaska Planning (SNAP)<\/a>, we soon had to add the word \u201cArctic\u201d to our name, because we realized that Canada and other countries from the polar region were as eager for long-term forecasts of climate change trends as Alaska was. <\/p>\n

In the Arctic and sub-Arctic, climate change is accelerated and its effects are profound. This is primarily the result of what is known as the \u201calbedo effect\u201d: As we lose reflective ice and snow due to warming, more heat-absorbing dark ground and water are exposed. Thus, local warming gets even more extreme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just where climate change effects are extreme, data is often limited. Few weather stations offer long-term reliable histories. Populations are sparse. So we glean information from a variety of sources and combine that with<\/a> historical data and the accumulated knowledge of people who live on the landscape. All point incontrovertibly to a warming environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n The \u2018drunken forest,\u2019 where trees lean and tilt when the permafrost under them thaws.<\/span>
\n National Park Service<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Widespread effects<\/h2>\n

The ways in which this change plays out are as diverse as the people and landscapes of Alaska. <\/p>\n

Our state includes not only Arctic tundra underlain by the permanently frozen ground called \u201cpermafrost,\u201d but also vast stretches of spruce, birch, aspen, alder and willow trees: the boreal forest. To the west, the windy Aleutian islands stretch out into the Pacific, and to the southeast, Alaska hugs the coast of British Colombia and boasts dense and towering coastal rainforest.<\/p>\n

Across the state, hundreds of small communities \u2013 primarily Alaska Native villages \u2013 are not connected to the road system. Accessible only by air, sea, river or winter trails, these communities maintain traditional subsistence lifestyles<\/a> based on hunting, fishing and gathering food and other resources<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the state\u2019s coffers are enriched by money from oil and gas extraction \u2013 which are both primary sources of climate change, an irony that has not gone unnoticed<\/a> by those struggling to craft long-term plans for Alaska.<\/p>\n

With 6,640 miles of coastline, Alaska is an ocean-dependent state. Due to loss of sea ice<\/a> that protects soft soils from seasonal storms, huge stretches of this coastline are washing into the Bering Sea. For communities at risk of erosion, all other concerns pale in comparison. At stake are not only structures and money, but also traditions, a sense of place, and even lives. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a>
\n Thawing permafrost caused this buckling on the Alaska Highway.<\/span>
\n USDA\/NRCS\/Joe Moore<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Shishmaref<\/a>, an Inupiat village with about 500 residents, homes have slipped off cliff edges and a hunter fell through thin ice. Relocation<\/a> is costly and a last-ditch option<\/a>. <\/p>\n

On the coast of the Arctic Ocean, walruses, seals and polar bears<\/a> are no longer finding the ice they need to rest, hunt, mate and breed. The shortening sea ice seasons<\/a> are also threatening traditional hunting practices<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Even for inland residents, the health of the ocean is crucial, because the salmon caught in Alaska\u2019s rivers<\/a> fatten in the open ocean. Should climate change render the ocean too acidic<\/a> due to changing atmospheric carbon, the tiny sea snails on which the salmon feed would be at risk because they may no longer be able to form their shells.<\/p>\n