CHANGES IN ARCTIC CLIMATE AND CENTRAL U.S. WEATHER PATTERNS Is There a Link?

• Main Authors: Wilhite, Donald A., Morrow, Kimberly C., Shulski, Martha
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2017
• Subjects: Climate; Earth Sciences; Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Sciences; Hydrology; Other Earth Sciences; Water Resource Management; Arctic; Morrow; Arctic Council
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/droughtfacpub/109; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/droughtfacpub/article/1114/viewcontent/Wilhite_BAMS_2017_Changes_in_arctic.pdf

Earlier snowmelt, decreasing soil moisture, decreased corn yields, increasing extreme precipitation events—these are some of the weather effects currently observed in the central United States that might well have their origin in the rapidly warming Arctic. These and other implications of Arctic warming were among the topics discussed at a fall 2015 workshop, Implications of a Changing Arctic on Water Resources and Agriculture in the Central U.S (Wilhite and Morrow 2016). The United States assumed chairmanship of the Arctic Council in April 2015, making the workshop topic timely. Given the importance of the Midwest and Great Plains region as a breadbasket of the world, the goal of the workshop was to explore how changing Arctic weather patterns may affect agriculture, water resources, and other sectors. The workshop provided an opportunity to identify possible adaptation and mitigation measures in response to these changes in severe weather patterns and extreme climate events, as well as to ascertain future research needs and to discuss how management decisions and policy options may need to be altered in the region in response to a changing climate.