Climate Change in Alaska: Adaptation and Hydrologic Changes

I'm here in Anchorage for the aforementioned AWRA conference; you can access the conference  information here.

We had two excellent keynoters yesterday morning: 1) Larry Hartig, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Chair, Executive Sub-Cabinet on Climate Change; and 2) Dr. John Walsh, Chief Scientist of the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

Hartig spoke on Climate Change in Alaska, How Do We Meet the Challenges Ahead?. He discussed the challenges the state faces, and how it is coping. Loss of winter sea ice is a big issue, because it increases erosion and the vulnerability of coastal communities to winter storms. Over 30 communities, many of them native communities, are impacted; a dozen are considering moving.

What was most important about Hartig's talk was the process that the state is following to identify adaptation mechanisms and make recommendations to the governor and legislature. Although Alaska obviously has some unique issues, I urge you to peruse the WWW site of the Executive Sub-Cabinet on Climate Change to see what Alaska's doing. It might be a helpful template. 

Click here to see some more photos.

Dr. Walsh's talk dealt with some of the hydroclimatic aspects of climate change: Climate Change and the Arctic Hydrologic Cycle.

He indicated that the northern high latitudes have had huge increases in winter temperatures in the past 60 years. Some Alaska stations have shown increases as high as 9 degrees F (5 degrees C); spring temperatures have increased although not as much. 

The growing season in interior Alaska has lengthened by 50%.

In the past 150 years, the average length of the North American winter has declined by about 2.5 weeks, as measured by the first freeze date and the river/ice breakup.

Over that same period, precipitation (P) and runoff (R) have increased; spring snow cover has declined.  

Walsh's conclusions regarding the northern high latitudes:

1. In the past 50-60 years, mean annual temperatures have increased
2. Some areas are drying/browning
3. P, R, and ET are likley to increase, although soil moisture will decline
4. Models predict that Alaska will warm, sea ice will decline, and the hydrologic cycle will change, as indicated in (3) 

Major uncertainties are the roles of: ET, permafrost thaw, sea ice loss, and storm changes. 

One major certainty: changes are ahead.

Presentations and videos/audios of these and the other talks will be placed online at the AWRA site, probably in a few weeks. [Disclosure notice: I am on the AWRA Board of Directors and the Technical Committee for this conference.]

"For the first time in history, my community has had to use air conditioners. Imagine that, air conditioners in the Arctic." -- Inuit leader Sheila Watt-Cloutier 

Comments

[repairman23]

Air conditioners in the Arctic!!! Sounds funny... Good post.