2012 Arctic Report Card Tracking recent environmental changes

Martin Jeffries1, J. E. Overland2, J. A. Richter-Menge3, and N. N. Soreide2

1 Office of Naval Research & University of Alaska Fairbanks, Arlington, VA2 NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USA

3 US Army Corps of Engineers, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

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Arctic Report Card 2012

• Sponsored by the Arctic Research Program in the NOAA Climate Program Office

• 6th annual update of the Arctic Report Card (first published in 2006)

• 20 essays developed by 141 authors from 15 different countries

• Independent peer-review organized by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) of the international Arctic Council

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http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcartd/3

Headlines

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcartd/4

Highlights

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcartd/5

Video

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcartd/6

Detailed Essays

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcartd/7

WHAT’S NEW IN 2012?Arctic Report Card 2012

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Record-setting changesoccurring repeatedly & faster than expected

Record low Arctic sea ice extent & thickness

Record losses of Greenland ice sheet

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Record low June snow extent in North America and Eurasia

Greenland ice sheet lossRecord-setting surface melting, ice area and volume losses.

Stan

dard

ized

Mel

t In

dex

(SM

I)

Area

-ave

rage

d al

bedo

(Jun

-Aug

)

MeltReflectivity

Loss of ice sheet massJul 8, 2012 Jul 12, 2012

Melt Area

Rare July melt event impacted 97% of

surface area

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Sea ice extentThe continued decline in sea ice is indicative of a shift to a

new state of reduced sea ice coverage

September 16, 2012

The minimum Arctic sea ice extent in 2012 was nearly half the values seen from 1979-2000.

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Older, thicker sea ice continues to be

replaced by younger, thinner sea ice

January 1987

January 2012

http://www.climatewatch.noaa.gov/article/2012/arctic-sea-ice-getting-thinner-younger

Older, thicker sea ice shown in white

Sea ice thickness

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Snow extentJune snow extent in the northern hemisphere set record lows

repeatedly in the past 5 years in N America and Eurasia.

June 1971-2000 June 2012

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June snow extent has decreased faster (-17.6 % /decade) than September sea ice extent (-13% /decade)

Impacts the length of the growing season, the timing and dynamics of spring river

runoff, the ground thermal regime, and wildlife population dynamics.

Changes in Arctic marine ecosystemMassive plankton blooms under thinning ice pack.

New habitat for algae in “melt holes” in sea ice

Whale population impacts are

uncertain. With sea ice declining, gray

whales are remaining in the

Arctic longer

Seabirds , indicators of changing marine conditions,

are showing changes in diet, foraging behavior and survival rates.

Under-ice phytoplankton bloom

Shifts in primary and secondary production have direct impacts on benthic

communities 14

“… profound, continuing changes in the Arctic marine ecosystem”

LandTundra, adjacent to the expanding ocean open in summer, is seeing an increase in biomass, greenness, length of growing season and summer warmth.

Permafrost temperature below the tundra land surface is increasing partially due to greater summer warmth following the earlier retreat of the snow cover in spring

Permafrost temperatures

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Land

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Melting permafrost impacts infrastructure,

river runoff, vegetation, growing season, turndra fires

Land animals

Lemming (small rodent) population density decreasing, may be influenced by

snow characteristics

Arctic fox population linked to lemming (food) abundance and northward territorial expansion

of the larger Red fox.

Strong regional variation in caribou and reindeer populations.

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Record low Arctic sea ice extent & thickness

Record losses of Greenland ice sheet

Record low June snow extent in North America and Eurasia

Record losses of Greenland ice sheet

Record low June snow extent in North America and Eurasia

Arctic Report Card 2012www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard

Multiple, record-breaking and recurring changesprovide strong evidence that the Arctic system

is entering a new state 18