IV- Driving Applications IV-24 Evaluating Impacts of Arctic Climate Change on National Security

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Canada; Climate change; Ice; permafrost; Alaska; Siberia
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.511.1536; http://est.sandia.gov/consequence/docs/Strickland_CCIM_Highlights-ppiv24-25_2009.pdf

Within its national security mission, Sandia National Laboratories is evaluating the impact of climate change on the Arctic as well as impacts that will potentially cascade to other parts of the globe because of those in the Arctic. The Arctic region is rapidly changing in a way that will affect the rest of the world. Parts of Alaska, western Canada, and Siberia are currently warming at twice the global rate. This warming trend is accelerating snow and ice loss, permafrost deterioration, coastal erosion, and other phenomena that are a direct consequence of climate change. Within its national security mission, Sandia is evaluating the impact of climate change on the Arctic as well as impacts that will potentially cascade to other parts of the globe because of those in the Arctic. In this paper, we summarize some of the underlying climate drivers and national security implications associated with the changing Arctic [1 to 5].