In this July 24, 2017 file photo, an iceberg floats past Bylot Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual Arctic Report Card, released on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, shows how warming temperatures in the Arctic are transforming the region's geography and ecosystems. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
By Christina Larson
This year's vast wildfires in far northeastern Russia were linked to broader changes in a warming Arctic, according to a report Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Wildfires are a natural part of many boreal ecosystems. But the extent of flames during the 2020 fire season was unprecedented in the 2001-2020 satellite record, and is consistent with the predicted effects of climate change, said Alison York, a University of Alaska Fairbanks fire scientist and a contributor to the annual Arctic Report Card.
The recent wildfires were exacerbated by elevated air temperatures and decreased snow cover on the ground in the Arctic region, the report found.
The past year — from October 2019 to September 2020 — was the second warmest on record in the Arctic, the report said. And the extent of snow on the ground in June across the Eurasian Arctic was the lowest recorded in 54 years.
Under those conditions, trees and plants “are just more flammable,” said York.
“The Arctic isn’t just this collection of components, it’s really an integrated system,” said Dartmouth sea ice scientist Don Perovich, who contributed to the report. "When something happens to one part of the system, it has cascading effects," he said.
Satellites recorded the second lowest extent of sea ice in September since record-keeping began 42 years ago, the report found.
Melting ice is both a result of increased temperatures and an accelerator of further changes, Perovich said. “As sea ice thins, more light can penetrate into the ocean, with unclear impacts for ecosystems,” he said.
As snow and ice cover decreases, the land and ocean surfaces also absorb more heat.
“Changes in the Arctic climate are important because the Arctic acts as a refrigerator for the rest of the world — it helps cool the planet,” said Lawrence Mudryk, a report contributor and a climate scientist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, a governmental research group.
“How much of the Arctic continues to be covered by snow and sea ice reflects part of how efficiently that refrigerator is working,” he said.
Last year's report included essays and research contributed by the Arctic's Indigenous communities for the first time. But in 2020, close collaboration between visiting scientists and Indigenous communities was not possible because of travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
Report contributor Matthew Druckenmiller, a climate scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, said efforts to involve Indigenous communities would resume after the pandemic subsides.
The consequences of a warming Arctic are already felt far beyond the region.
“The Arctic continues to be a warning siren of how our Earth system is changing and it is important for policymakers and the public to understand that the impacts don’t stay in the Arctic with the polar bears,” said University of Georgia meteorology professor Marshall Shepherd, who was not involved in the report.
“We feel them, too, through changes in our weather patterns, sea level rise, and fisheries."
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
With a rising number of COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant, the FDA is making big moves. First, Pfizer's COVID-19 booster has been authorized for those ages 12 to 15. The agency also reduced the amount of time to wait between receiving a second vaccine dose and booster from six months to five. Finally, a third primary series dose of Pfizer's shot is approved for immunocompromised children five to 11 years old. Professor Peter Pitts joins Cheddar News to discuss.
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Deborah Brosnan, President of Deborah Brosnan & Associates, joins Cheddar Climate, where she explains why global warming brought about 'a year of reckoning' in 2021 and why previously unprecedented weather events could become the norm going forward.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Dr. Anita Gupta, Adjunct assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, shares her forecast for the healthcare industry in 2022; Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, breaks down the latest progress, trends, and innovations in wearable health tech; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Hacking our Biome.'
Dr. Anita Gupta, Adjunct assistant professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, joins Cheddar Reveals to share her forecast for the healthcare industry in 2022.
Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the latest progress, trends, and innovations in wearable health tech.
Washington DC and the surrounding areas saw a record breaking snow storm Monday as a strong storm system works its way across the eastern U.S. The extreme weather event caused extensive damage in the greater Washington area, leaving thousands in the region without power. Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist, AccuWeather, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the fierce storm.
Sweta Chakraborty, U.S. President of We Don't Have Time and climate change expert, joins Cheddar News to discuss how mining the proper resources for the clean energy sector is crucial.
Over the past year alone, we've seen an increasing push-back on fossil fuels, legislation to reduce plastic pollution, greater protection over our worlds' forests, and a growing number of companies working to reduce total carbon footprint. To discuss the sustainability trends that defined 2021 and the changes individuals can make in 2022, J.D. Durkin is joined by Ashlee Piper, a sustainability expert and author of 'Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet,' joins Cheddar News.
