Arctic Undergoing Most Unprecedented Transition in Human History
https://eos.org/articles/arctic-undergoing-most-unprecedented-transition-in-human-history
Source: By Randy Showstack, Eos/AGU.
Excerpt: The Arctic continues to undergo dramatic change due to atmospheric and ocean warming, and the region “is no longer returning to the extensively frozen region of recent past decades,” according to the 2018 Arctic Report Card issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2018 on Tuesday. ...Here are some of the main findings in the report: In 2018, surface air temperatures in the Arctic continued to warm at more than twice the rate relative to the rest of the globe. The year 2018 was the second warmest year on record in the Arctic ...second only to 2016. ...Arctic sea ice cover, which reached a winter maximum value extent of 14.48 million square kilometers on 17 March 2018, was the second lowest maximum extent in the 39-year record, following 2017. ...Older sea ice, which tends to be thicker and more resilient to changes in atmospheric and oceanic heat content compared to younger and thinner ice, declined by 95% between March 1985 and March 2018. ...The warming Arctic Ocean may be experiencing an increase in the extent and magnitude of toxic harmful algal blooms, which poses threats to human and ecosystem health. ...The abundance of migratory herds of caribou and wild reindeer in circum-Arctic tundra areas has declined 56% in the past 2 decades, dropping from 4.7 million to 2.1 million animals. Five herds in the Alaska-Canada region have declined by more than 90% and show no sign of recovery....
Source: By Randy Showstack, Eos/AGU.
Excerpt: The Arctic continues to undergo dramatic change due to atmospheric and ocean warming, and the region “is no longer returning to the extensively frozen region of recent past decades,” according to the 2018 Arctic Report Card issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2018 on Tuesday. ...Here are some of the main findings in the report: In 2018, surface air temperatures in the Arctic continued to warm at more than twice the rate relative to the rest of the globe. The year 2018 was the second warmest year on record in the Arctic ...second only to 2016. ...Arctic sea ice cover, which reached a winter maximum value extent of 14.48 million square kilometers on 17 March 2018, was the second lowest maximum extent in the 39-year record, following 2017. ...Older sea ice, which tends to be thicker and more resilient to changes in atmospheric and oceanic heat content compared to younger and thinner ice, declined by 95% between March 1985 and March 2018. ...The warming Arctic Ocean may be experiencing an increase in the extent and magnitude of toxic harmful algal blooms, which poses threats to human and ecosystem health. ...The abundance of migratory herds of caribou and wild reindeer in circum-Arctic tundra areas has declined 56% in the past 2 decades, dropping from 4.7 million to 2.1 million animals. Five herds in the Alaska-Canada region have declined by more than 90% and show no sign of recovery....