Unusually low temperatures in the Arctic ozone layer have recently initiated massive ozone depletion. The Arctic appears to be heading for a record loss of this trace gas that protects Earth's surface against ultraviolet radiation from the sun. "Our measurements show that at the relevant altitudes about half of the ozone that was present above the Arctic has been destroyed over the past weeks," says one researcher. Although in the long term the ozone layer is likely to recover thanks to extensive environmental policy measures enacted for its protection, special attention should be devoted to sufficient UV protection in spring this year (Science Daily, 3/14/11).

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass at an accelerating pace, according to a new study. The findings of the study suggest these ice sheets are overtaking ice loss from Earth's mountain glaciers and ice caps to become the dominant contributor to global sea level rise, much sooner than model forecasts have predicted. "What is surprising is this increased contribution by the ice sheets is already happening. If present trends continue, sea level is likely to be significantly higher than levels projected by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007," said the lead author (Science Daily, 3/8/11).

More fresh water is pouring into the Arctic Ocean as glaciers melt, raising concern among some scientists. The fresh water content of the upper layer of the Arctic Ocean has increased by about 20 per cent since the 1990s, say scientists. They predict this increase may alter the world's ocean currents, with potentially disastrous results. This fresh water from melting glaciers that pours into the upper layer of the Arctic Ocean is likely to flow out into the North Atlantic. There, it may impact global ocean circulation and disrupt the flow of the Gulf Stream. If that happens, places like Greenland, Iceland, Norway and parts of Europe, which are warmed by this powerful ocean current, could actually cool off (Nunatsiaq News, 3/19/11) .

Alaska Natives Aid in Climate Change Observations

Under a $250,000 project funded by the U.S. Center for Disease Control, dozens of Alaska natives have been asked to document changes in weather, harvesting, health, as well as food and water safety. Created by the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the project will collect data from eight villages in Southeast, Interior, and Northwest Alaska. The observers will be asked a number of questions every month for one year. These surveillance systems will be used to detect potential disease outbreaks in Alaska, and will be the first system to link climate change with health (Alaska Dispatch, 3/30/11).

King Crabs Invade Antarctica

King crabs up to 10 inches long are moving into an undersea habitat of creatures that haven't seen sharp teeth or claws for the past 40 million years. Warmer waters around the Antarctic peninsula have lowered a physiological barrier that had previously kept the crabs in check. "If you look at the warming trends on the peninsula, you would expect that the crabs would come in 40 or 50 years," one scientist said. "But, boom, they're already here." Another scientist said, "Yes, there is some cause for concern in that the rate of [environmental] change is greater than has been the case in recent millions of years. Obviously, for animals to tolerate or adapt to things in a very short period of time is going to be tricky" (Washington Post, 3/20/11).

Climate change in the Arctic could change the balance of power between humans, animals, and the germs or pathogens that make them both sick, according to a new paper by a University of Alaska Fairbanks microbiologist. The rates of predicted climate change for the Arctic could spell disaster for this longstanding host-pathogen balance. A warmer Arctic could increase survival of organisms that carry disease and decrease survival of the animals they infect - including animals used as subsistence food by people living in the Arctic (SitNews, 3/19/11).

Archaeological treasures that have been frozen for millennia are being destroyed because of climate change, according to Edinburgh University researchers. Remains in some of the coldest places on earth are being exposed as warmer temperatures cause ice and hardened ground to thaw. Scientists at the university's business school studied cases of damaged remains in three locations around the world: in the Altai Mountains in central Asia, in an Inuit village in Alaska, and in the Rocky Mountains. Scientists said the materials at risk included ancient tombs, artifacts, and human remains (BBC, 3/10/11).

Climate change could take the US Navy into treacherous waters. It will have to raise its game in a thawing Arctic and prepare coastal bases to cope with rising sea levels, concludes a new study carried out for the navy by the National Research Council. The results of the study conclude that the Arctic is a key challenge for the US. Maritime boundaries that determine who controls resources are already in dispute in the area. "The possibility of conflict is low, but it is still real," said one of the study authors. That makes the presence of the US Navy or Coast Guard desirable to support the nation's interests and protect its citizens in the area (New Scientist, 3/10/11).

A new study has found that warming temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic may be behind the phytoplankton peak occurring up to 50 days earlier than usual. Earlier timing of the annual algal bloom - a crucial marine event that leads to the production of zooplankton, which become a food resource for fish - could hold major consequences for the entire food web and carbon cycle in the region. Scientists plotted the yearly spring phytoplankton bloom in the Arctic and found that the peak of the bloom has been occurring earlier each year for more than 10 years (Science Daily, 3/3/11) .

Researchers have recently found a surprising amount of plastic in the guts of Arctic seabirds. Fulmers are strong flyers that skim the surface swallowing tasty tidbits, and 84 percent of those examined during a new study had plastics in their guts. "We are so concerned about the melting ice," said one scientist. "Yet one of the consequences of melting ice is more shipping and more tourism and that is directly impacting the wildlife through plastics ingestion (VanCouver Sun, 3/5/11).

In Arctic villages, melting ice cellars are causing food poisoning as whale meat rots, and the first cases of giardia have been recorded, just as beavers show up for the first time. Climate change presents new risks for food care, sanitation, and well-being in the Arctic, but little research has been done in remote villages experiencing some of the biggest temperature swings. That's beginning to change, thanks to a pair of new reports that meld scientific data with local observations in the Northwest Alaska communities of Point Hope and Kivalina. "These reports mostly identify potential problems related to climate," one researcher said. "Hopefully by illuminating that, the research community can partner with local leadership and come up with specific responses," (Alaska Newspapers Inc., 3/2/11).

Based on 16 different climate projections, a new study shows that the areas of the Arctic now dominated by polar and sub-polar climate types will decline and will be replaced by more temperate climates - changes that could affect a quarter to nearly half of the Arctic, depending on future greenhouse gas emission scenarios, by the year 2099. Changes to Arctic vegetation will naturally follow shifts in the region's climates: Tundra coverage would shrink by 33 to 44 percent by the end of the century while coniferous forests and needle-leaf trees would push northward into the breach, the study shows (Science Daily, 3/3/11).

Canada's Fraser River is heating up because of climate change and an increasing number of salmon are dying in the warmer water from diseases or parasites or are simply dropping dead from cardiac collapse, a federal judicial inquiry has been told. One scientist said that sometimes 50 percent of the salmon that return to the river die before they reach the spawning beds. Another scientist reports that because the Fraser has increased in temperature, salmon are changing the timing of their spawning migrations in an effort to avoid warm water. And once in the river they are seeking out cold-water refuges, sometimes going up tributaries to sink to the bottoms of lakes or schooling where cold streams enter the Fraser (Globe and Mail, 3/8/11).

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