Evidence and implications of recent climate change in northern Alaska and arctic regions

• Main Authors: Larry D. Hinzman, Neil D. Bettez, W. Robert Bolton, F. Stuart Chapin, Mark B. Dyurgerov, Chris L. Fastie, Brad Griffith, Robert D. Hollister, Allen Hope, Henry P. Huntington, Anne M. Jensen, Gensuo J. Jia, Torre Jorgenson, David R. Klein, Walter C. Oechel, Thomas E. Osterkamp, Charles H. Racine, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Robert S. Stone, Douglas A. Stow, Matthew Sturm, Craig E. Tweedie, George L. Vourlitis, Marilyn D. Walker, Donald A. Walker, Patrick J. Webber, Jeffrey M. Welker, Kevin S. Winker
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Arctic; Climate change; permafrost; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.545.7067; http://doc.nprb.org/web/BSIERP/Hinzman_et_al_05_climate change in Arctic.pdf

Abstract. The Arctic climate is changing. Permafrost is warming, hydrological processes are chang-ing and biological and social systems are also evolving in response to these changing conditions. Knowing how the structure and function of arctic terrestrial ecosystems are responding to recent and persistent climate change is paramount to understanding the future state of the Earth system and how humans will need to adapt. Our holistic review presents a broad array of evidence that illustrates con-vincingly; the Arctic is undergoing a system-wide response to an altered climatic state. New extreme and seasonal surface climatic conditions are being experienced, a range of biophysical states and pro-cesses influenced by the threshold and phase change of freezing point are being altered, hydrological and biogeochemical cycles are shifting, and more regularly human sub-systems are being affected.