King Eider migration along the ice edge in Barrow (left), Polar Bear tracks in the snow (middle), Rainbow over the pack ice (right) all courtesy of Lisa Baraff.
Sea Ice
Related ACCAP Webinars
OUTCOMES OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL'S ARCTIC MARINE SHIPPING ASSESSMENT
Lawson Brigham, Distinguished Professor of Geography & Arctic Policy, UAF and Chair, Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment of the Arctic Council
In response to unprecedented changes occurring in the circumpolar Arctic, in 2004 the Arctic Council called for the Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) working group to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Arctic marine shipping. The Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) 2009 Final Report represents the results of this four year study. Findings and recommendations were negotiated and approved by the Ministers of the Arctic States on April 29, 2009 and take into consideration Arctic marine geography, changes in sea ice and climate, history of marine transport, governance of Arctic marine shipping, current marine use in the Arctic, Arctic marine infrastructure, human and environmental considerations and impacts, and Arctic marine shipping futures scenarios to 2020. This presentation is an overview of the AMSA findings, presented by Dr. Lawson Brigham.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Outcomes of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment
Read the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner's story
Read The New York Times Green Inc. Blog story
Read the Nome Nugget story
Read the UAF School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences story
The 2009 final report of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) is now available.
Click here to download a copy of the report (26M PDF)
Click on a chapter title to download individual chapters (PDF): Front and Back Covers; Table of Contents; Executive Summary and Recommendations; Introduction; Arctic Marine Geography, Climate, and Sea Ice; History of Marine Arctic Transport; Governance of Arctic Shipping; Current Marine Use and the AMSA Shipping Database; Scenarios, Futures, and Regional Futures to 2020; Human Dimensions; Environmental Considerations and Impacts; Arctic Marine Infrastructure.
SEA ICE CHANGE AROUND ALASKA AND IMPACTS ON HUMAN ACTIVITIES
Hajo Eicken, University of Alaska
The Arctic sea-ice cover is rapidly transforming, with sustained northward retreat of the summer ice edge and thinning of the pack ice. The seas around Alaska have experienced some of the largest changes anywhere in the Arctic. The talk will discussed some of the causes of such change and what this may mean for coastal communities, marine ecosystems and industrial activities.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Sea Ice Change and Impacts on Human Activities
LAST ICE: THE FATE OF BERING SEA MAMMALS IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Gary Hufford, National Weather Service
Sea ice in the Bering Sea is beginning to recede apparently in response to climate change. Walrus and Ribbon Seals seek ice floes as habitat where they breed, give birth and haulout to rest. This makes the walrus and ribbon seal vulnerable to and an indicator of climate change. There is also evidence that the walrus may play a role in the productivity of the Bering Sea by releasing nutrients trapped in pore waters of the bottom sediment when they feed. Learn more about the potential implications of loss of these species.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Last Ice: The Fate of Bering Sea Mammals in Response to Climate Change
Related ACCAP Research Projects
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| Robert, Paniq Kaleak, Lewis Nuvuk Brower, Matthew Druckenmiller, Archie Ygayaq Ahkiviana, Harry Kupaaq Brower, Jr.
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Sea Ice Manual Development
Alaska’s Arctic coasts are experiencing some of the most rapid and dramatic change in the sea-ice and coastal regime anywhere in the Arctic. Along with reductions in ice extent and a more dynamic, possibly less predictable ice regime, come significant increases in natural resource exploration and development activities. Observed and projected increases in marine shipping in coastal waters raise questions about national and environmental security. Accurate sea ice information is also critical for safety in subsistence whaling activities. As a consequence of these activities, local and state government and other stakeholders find themselves with an increasing number of decisions related to permitting and oversight. At the same time, the amount and complexity of available data is also increasing, but this data is not necessarily accessible or obviously relevant.
As a follow-up to a training workshop held in November 2008, ACCAP is preparing a written manual for use by local search and rescue organizations, Alaska Clean Seas, regional government and other federal agencies.
List of Online Resources (pdf) from ACCAP's 2008 Sea‐Ice Workshop for Accessing and Using Online Information
Contact Brook Gamble for the Sea Ice Workshop Summary
ACCAP Sea Ice Project
Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline, more than that in the rest of the U.S. Alaska is also the only state in which large portions of the coastline are affected by sea ice. Sea ice is present along or close to the northern coast for 8-10 months of the year, and it affects much of the western coastline for at least several months of most years. The presence of sea ice is a major factor in the lives of many western and northern Alaskan coastal communities, for whom a stable ice cover is essential as a buffer against coastal storms, as a platform for offshore activity, and as a marine environmental feature essential for the survival of animals such as walrus, polar bears and seals. Coastal flooding and erosion, exacerbated in recent years by the retreat of sea ice, has been highlighted in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. In addition, information on present and forecasted sea ice conditions is vital for several of Alaska’s major industries: fishing, marine transportation and offshore resource extraction. These needs point to the importance of a synthesis of information on Alaskan sea ice conditions to serve the climate services and operational forecasting sectors, and, ultimately, stakeholders affected by sea ice.
Links and Resources
Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) AOOS is building a network of observation platforms and forecast models. The goal of this network is to provide information products and tools to improve our understanding of Alaska’s ocean ecosystem and allow us to make better decisions about our use of the marine environment.
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment An international project of the Arctic Council and the International Arctic Science Committee to evaluate and synthesize knowledge on climate variability, climate change, and increased ultraviolet radiation and their consequences.
The Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Final Report (AMSA) is now available. To download by individual chapters in .PDF format, see the OUTCOMES OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL'S ARCTIC MARINE SHIPPING ASSESSMENT webinar in the "Related ACCAP Webinars" section above.
Arctic ROOS: Arctic Regional Ocean Observing System The Arctic ROOS web site presents daily updated maps and plots of the arctic sea ice from
satellite observations and ice forecasts from ice-ocean modeling.
Arctic Sea-Ice Monitor by AMSR-E Sattelite images of sea ice extent, available by date. You can also view the annual curves of ice extent and download sea ice extent from June 2002 to the present at this site.
Barrow Sea Ice Observatory Includes links to data archives, the Sea Ice Webcam, and radar images that are updated every 10 minutes.
Hajo Eicken and the Floating Ice Group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
List of Online Resources (pdf) from ACCAP's 2008 Sea‐Ice Workshop for Accessing and Using Online Information
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) NSIDC manages and distributes scientific data, creates tools for data access, supports data users, performs scientific research, and educates the public about the cryosphere.
SEARCH August 2009 Sea Ice Outlook Report
Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONET) This interdisciplinary project observes seasonal ice in the context of environmental, (geo)political and socio-economic change in the North.
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