Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
Encyclopedia
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) is a study describing the ongoing climate change
in the Arctic
and its consequences: rising temperatures, loss of sea ice
, unprecedented melting of the Greenland ice sheet
, and many impacts on ecosystem
s, animals, and people. The ACIA is the first comprehensively researched, fully referenced, and independently reviewed evaluation of Arctic climate change and its impacts for the region and for the world. The project was guided by the intergovernmental Arctic Council
and the non-governmental International Arctic Science Committee
. Three hundred scientists participated in the study over a span of three years.
The 140-page synthesis report Impacts of a Warming Arctic was released in November 2004, and the scientific report later in 2005.
The ACIA Secretariat is located at the International Arctic Research Center
at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
.
As an annual follow-on activity to the 2006 NOAA State of the Arctic report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
's Arctic Report Card presents annually updated, peer-reviewed information on recent observations of environmental conditions in the Arctic relative to historical records. The conclusion for 2010 is that a return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely. Record temperatures across Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a reduced summer sea ice cover, record snow cover decreases and links to some Northern Hemisphere weather support this conclusion.
In April 2008, the World Wildlife Fund's report, Arctic Climate Impact Science – An Update Since ACIA was launched at the meeting of the Arctic Council
. It provides a large, updated review of Arctic climate impact science since the 2005 ACIA. The full report can be freely downloaded from the WWF web site.
ACIA called for improved capacity to monitor and understand changes in the Arctic and to improve and enhance long-term Arctic biodiversity monitoring. In response to this recommendation the Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna (CAFF) Working Group of the Arctic Council has embarked upon the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. The ABA will be used to identify gaps in the data record, identify the main stressors and key mechanisms driving change. It will synthesize existing data and research on Arctic biodiversity to form a baseline which will provide policy makers and conservation managers with a synthesis of the most current scientific research and traditional ecological knowledge. It will provide a much needed description of the current state of the Arctic’s ecosystems and biodiversity. The ABA will serve as a baseline for use in global and regional assessments of Arctic biodiversity and form a key piece in the process of understanding what is happening and focusing efforts on those areas where it is most needed. The availability of such information in an easily accessible format will be of great value to the governments, organisations, and peoples of the Arctic region in their struggle to ensure the sustainability of arctic biodiversity and arctic communities.
In further response to the ACIA call for better monitoring CAFF has established the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). The CBMP is an international network of scientists, government agencies, Indigenous organizations and conservation groups working together to harmonize and integrate efforts to monitor the Arctic's living resources. Its goal is to facilitate more rapid detection, communication, and response with respect to the significant biodiversity-related trends and pressures affecting the circumpolar world. The CBMP is the cornerstone program of the Arctic Council's Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group.
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
and its consequences: rising temperatures, loss of sea ice
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
, unprecedented melting of the Greenland ice sheet
Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...
, and many impacts on ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s, animals, and people. The ACIA is the first comprehensively researched, fully referenced, and independently reviewed evaluation of Arctic climate change and its impacts for the region and for the world. The project was guided by the intergovernmental Arctic Council
Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.- History of the Arctic Council :...
and the non-governmental International Arctic Science Committee
International Arctic Science Committee
The International Arctic Science Committee is a non-governmental organization which is composed of international science groups participating in arctic science research. IASC is an International Scientific Associate of ICSU, and was established in 1990...
. Three hundred scientists participated in the study over a span of three years.
The 140-page synthesis report Impacts of a Warming Arctic was released in November 2004, and the scientific report later in 2005.
The ACIA Secretariat is located at the International Arctic Research Center
International Arctic Research Center
The International Arctic Research Center, or IARC, established in 1999, is a research institution focused on integrating and coordinating study of climate change in the Arctic. The primary partners in IARC are Japan and the United States...
at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
.
Subsequent studies
The NOAA State of the Arctic Report 2006 updates some of the records of the ACIA report. Taken collectively, the observations presented in the NOAA report show convincing evidence of a sustained period of warm temperature anomalies in the Arctic, supported by continued reduction in sea ice extent, observed at both the winter maximum and summer minimum, and widespread changes in Arctic vegetation. The warming trend is tempered somewhat by shifts in the spatial patterns of land temperatures and ocean salinity and temperature. While there are still large region to region and multiyear shifts in the Arctic climate, the large spatial extent of recent changes in air temperature, sea ice, and vegetation is greater than observed in the 20th century. The NOAA report is a review of environmental conditions during the past five years relative to those in the latter part of the 20th century, conducted by an international group of twenty scientists who developed a consensus on information content and reliability.As an annual follow-on activity to the 2006 NOAA State of the Arctic report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
's Arctic Report Card presents annually updated, peer-reviewed information on recent observations of environmental conditions in the Arctic relative to historical records. The conclusion for 2010 is that a return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely. Record temperatures across Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a reduced summer sea ice cover, record snow cover decreases and links to some Northern Hemisphere weather support this conclusion.
In April 2008, the World Wildlife Fund's report, Arctic Climate Impact Science – An Update Since ACIA was launched at the meeting of the Arctic Council
Arctic Council
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum which addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.- History of the Arctic Council :...
. It provides a large, updated review of Arctic climate impact science since the 2005 ACIA. The full report can be freely downloaded from the WWF web site.
ACIA called for improved capacity to monitor and understand changes in the Arctic and to improve and enhance long-term Arctic biodiversity monitoring. In response to this recommendation the Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna (CAFF) Working Group of the Arctic Council has embarked upon the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. The ABA will be used to identify gaps in the data record, identify the main stressors and key mechanisms driving change. It will synthesize existing data and research on Arctic biodiversity to form a baseline which will provide policy makers and conservation managers with a synthesis of the most current scientific research and traditional ecological knowledge. It will provide a much needed description of the current state of the Arctic’s ecosystems and biodiversity. The ABA will serve as a baseline for use in global and regional assessments of Arctic biodiversity and form a key piece in the process of understanding what is happening and focusing efforts on those areas where it is most needed. The availability of such information in an easily accessible format will be of great value to the governments, organisations, and peoples of the Arctic region in their struggle to ensure the sustainability of arctic biodiversity and arctic communities.
In further response to the ACIA call for better monitoring CAFF has established the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). The CBMP is an international network of scientists, government agencies, Indigenous organizations and conservation groups working together to harmonize and integrate efforts to monitor the Arctic's living resources. Its goal is to facilitate more rapid detection, communication, and response with respect to the significant biodiversity-related trends and pressures affecting the circumpolar world. The CBMP is the cornerstone program of the Arctic Council's Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group.
External links
- Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
- RealClimate - an examination of the climate skeptic's charges against the ACIA