The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications
Abstract The Arctic is undergoing rapid climate change and is projected to experience the most warming this century of any world region. We review the societal aspects of these current and projected changes. Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge holders living in communities across the Arctic hav...
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crwiley:10.1002/wcc.735 2024-09-15T18:02:10+00:00 The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications Ford, James D. Pearce, Tristan Canosa, Ivan Villaverde Harper, Sherilee ArcticNet 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wcc.735 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wcc.735 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/wcc.735 https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wcc.735 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor WIREs Climate Change volume 12, issue 6 ISSN 1757-7780 1757-7799 journal-article 2021 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.735 2024-08-22T04:18:17Z Abstract The Arctic is undergoing rapid climate change and is projected to experience the most warming this century of any world region. We review the societal aspects of these current and projected changes. Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge holders living in communities across the Arctic have detected unprecedented increases in temperature, altered precipitation regimes, and changing weather patterns, documenting impacts on terrestrial and marine environments. These local observations situate climate change as one of multiple interacting stressors. Arctic societies have exhibited resilience to climate change, but vulnerabilities are emerging at the nexus of changing environmental conditions and socioeconomic pressures. Infrastructure is highly susceptible to permafrost thaw, coastal erosion, and sea level rise, compounded by the age of infrastructure, maintenance challenges, and cost of adapting. Livelihoods and cultural activities linked to subsistence harvesting have been affected by changes to wildlife, with coping mechanisms undermined by long‐term processes of land dispossession and landscape fragmentation. Reduced sea ice coverage and changing ice dynamics are creating opportunities for enhanced shipping, oil and gas production, and deep‐water fisheries. Legal, infrastructural, economic, and climatic challenges are expected to constrain such developments, with concerns over the distribution of potential benefits. Adaptation is already taking place in some sectors and regions, with efforts directly targeting climate impacts and also addressing underlying determinants of vulnerability. Barriers and limits to adapting are evident. Research that develops projections of future climate impacts is advancing, but studies examining the implications of such changes for communities or economies remain in their infancy. This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Regional Reviews Article in Journal/Newspaper Climate change Ice permafrost Sea ice Wiley Online Library WIREs Climate Change 12 6 |
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Abstract The Arctic is undergoing rapid climate change and is projected to experience the most warming this century of any world region. We review the societal aspects of these current and projected changes. Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge holders living in communities across the Arctic have detected unprecedented increases in temperature, altered precipitation regimes, and changing weather patterns, documenting impacts on terrestrial and marine environments. These local observations situate climate change as one of multiple interacting stressors. Arctic societies have exhibited resilience to climate change, but vulnerabilities are emerging at the nexus of changing environmental conditions and socioeconomic pressures. Infrastructure is highly susceptible to permafrost thaw, coastal erosion, and sea level rise, compounded by the age of infrastructure, maintenance challenges, and cost of adapting. Livelihoods and cultural activities linked to subsistence harvesting have been affected by changes to wildlife, with coping mechanisms undermined by long‐term processes of land dispossession and landscape fragmentation. Reduced sea ice coverage and changing ice dynamics are creating opportunities for enhanced shipping, oil and gas production, and deep‐water fisheries. Legal, infrastructural, economic, and climatic challenges are expected to constrain such developments, with concerns over the distribution of potential benefits. Adaptation is already taking place in some sectors and regions, with efforts directly targeting climate impacts and also addressing underlying determinants of vulnerability. Barriers and limits to adapting are evident. Research that develops projections of future climate impacts is advancing, but studies examining the implications of such changes for communities or economies remain in their infancy. This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Regional Reviews |
author2 |
ArcticNet |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ford, James D. Pearce, Tristan Canosa, Ivan Villaverde Harper, Sherilee |
spellingShingle |
Ford, James D. Pearce, Tristan Canosa, Ivan Villaverde Harper, Sherilee The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications |
author_facet |
Ford, James D. Pearce, Tristan Canosa, Ivan Villaverde Harper, Sherilee |
author_sort |
Ford, James D. |
title |
The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications |
title_short |
The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications |
title_full |
The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications |
title_fullStr |
The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications |
title_full_unstemmed |
The rapidly changing Arctic and its societal implications |
title_sort |
rapidly changing arctic and its societal implications |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wcc.735 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wcc.735 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/wcc.735 https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wcc.735 |
genre |
Climate change Ice permafrost Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Climate change Ice permafrost Sea ice |
op_source |
WIREs Climate Change volume 12, issue 6 ISSN 1757-7780 1757-7799 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.735 |
container_title |
WIREs Climate Change |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
6 |
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1810439521389510656 |