No, we're not talking Christmas decorations or a children's playground game. Last week, NOAA released it's annual
Arctic Report Card update for 2011, in which it uses a traffic signal analogy to depict the severity of observed changes within climate issue areas. This year, the focus is on sea ice melting and the global heat balance of the planet, which is regulated by the polar ice cap. The public service announcement
video reminds us that one of the biggest challenges is understanding and predicting the strength of positive feedback loops, where changes only lead to further amplified changes until a tipping point is reached. This year, issues scoring a red light status indicating significant changes include sea ice extent, atmospheric temperatures, and hydrology.
So many changes are occurring within the polar regions that it is difficult for researchers to even identify baseline information before a new baseline seems to take its place. And, oftentimes benefits such as increased productivity within the food chain from having more open water areas are far outweighed by the downfall of diminishing sea ice cover. Polar bears, walruses, and several seals depend completely on the sea ice for resting, mating, and raising their young. While it will be a long time before no sea ice forms, even subtle changes impact these creatures. Ice can form later in the season, and if there is less of it, more stressful competition for space would likely occur. (Imagine bars closing in DC in an economic downturn - there just wouldn't be enough happy hours to go around!). The animals are thinking,
Hey, you, get off my cloud, don't hang around 'cause two's a crowd!
Jokes aside, noticeable changes are happening and much of NOAA research is at the forefront of documenting these trends. Walruses are hauling out on beaches instead of ice, and traditionally isolated bowhead whale populations are showing signs of genetic mixing. In the face of budget cuts and denying funding for a
Climate Service program, NOAA cannot continue to meet high public expectations of delivering influential research and knowledge. One of the trickiest things to predict is how changes might actually benefit some species or areas (think previously mentioned damselfish!) and have strong negative impacts on others. Visit
NOAA's Arctic Page to see polar
web cams,
maps, and learn about the
northern lights and how NOAA develops collaborations to document changes in the region. Read the full Report Card
here.
No, we're not talking Christmas decorations or a children's playground game. Last week, NOAA released it's annual Arctic Report Card update for 2011, in which it uses a traffic signal analogy to depict the severity of observed changes within climate issue areas. This year, the focus is on sea ice melting and the global heat balance of the planet, which is regulated by the polar ice cap. The public service announcement video reminds us that one of the biggest challenges is understanding and predicting the strength of positive feedback loops, where changes only lead to further amplified changes until a tipping point is reached. This year, issues scoring a red light status indicating significant changes include sea ice extent, atmospheric temperatures, and hydrology. 
So many changes are occurring within the polar regions that it is difficult for researchers to even identify baseline information before a new baseline seems to take its place. And, oftentimes benefits such as increased productivity within the food chain from having more open water areas are far outweighed by the downfall of diminishing sea ice cover. Polar bears, walruses, and several seals depend completely on the sea ice for resting, mating, and raising their young. While it will be a long time before no sea ice forms, even subtle changes impact these creatures. Ice can form later in the season, and if there is less of it, more stressful competition for space would likely occur. (Imagine bars closing in DC in an economic downturn - there just wouldn't be enough happy hours to go around!). The animals are thinking, Hey, you, get off my cloud, don't hang around 'cause two's a crowd! 
Jokes aside, noticeable changes are happening and much of NOAA research is at the forefront of documenting these trends. Walruses are hauling out on beaches instead of ice, and traditionally isolated bowhead whale populations are showing signs of genetic mixing. In the face of budget cuts and denying funding for a Climate Service program, NOAA cannot continue to meet high public expectations of delivering influential research and knowledge. One of the trickiest things to predict is how changes might actually benefit some species or areas (think previously mentioned damselfish!) and have strong negative impacts on others. Visit NOAA's Arctic Page to see polar web cams, maps, and learn about the northern lights and how NOAA develops collaborations to document changes in the region. Read the full Report Card here. 
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