Climate Change and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Which Species Are Most At Risk? caribou, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge © Mark Kelly/AlaskaStock LLC/National Geographic Stock The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Climate change; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.233.5192; http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/gw/climate_change_and_the_arctic_national_wildlife_refuge_which_species_are_most_at_risk.pdf

is in meltdown mode. Like much of its home state of Alaska, the 19-million-acre refuge—America’s second largest—has warmed more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 50 years, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The northern part of the state, where the refuge is located, is projected to warm more quickly than anywhere on the continent. As a result of warmer air, which holds more moisture, the refuge is already seeing more snow and freezing rain events that leave vital food plants thickly encased in ice. Coastal erosion is also on the rise as protective sea ice retreats earlier, exposing the region’s shores to damaging storm