State of the Arctic Report Released Online
The report is available at:
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/PDF/rich2952/rich2952.pdf
A new State of the Arctic Report has been released at:
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/PDF/rich2952/rich2952.pdf
This report is a review of environmental conditions during the past five
years relative to those in the latter part of the 20th century. The
review was conducted by an international group of twenty scientists who
developed a consensus on information content and reliability. The report
updates some of the records from the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
Taken collectively, the observations presented in the 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.
Further information can be obtained from the lead authors:
Jacqueline A. Richter-Menge
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
Phone: 603-646-4266
E-mail: jrichtermenge [at] crrel.usace.army.mil
James E. Overland
Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Phone: 206-526-6795
E-mail: James.E.Overland [at] noaa.gov
Andrey Proshutinsky
Department of Physical Oceanography
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Phone: 508-289-2796
E-mail: aproshutinsky [at] whoi.edu
Vladimir E. Romanovsky
Geophysical Institute
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Phone: 907-474-7459
E-mail: ffver [at] uaf.edu