Walrus group on "sikupik" courtesy of Gary Hufford (left), King Eider migration along the sea ice edge courtesy of Lisa Baraff (center), USCG Healy in the
Bering Sea courtesy of Gary Hufford (right).
Marine & Coastal Impacts
Related ACCAP Webinars
Tuesday, December 6, 2011; 10-11am Alaska Local Time
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
BIOMAP ALASKA: CITIZEN SCIENCE FOR ALASKA'S OCEANS
Maribeth S. Murray, International Arctic Research Center, UAF; Howard Ferren, Alaska SeaLife Center; and Philip Loring, ACCAP
Investigators from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska Sea Life Center are developing a citizen-science initiative to collect local ecological information on the marine ecosystems along the Alaska region of the Chukchi and Bering seas. Using a web-based tool community members will be able to contribute their observations of the marine environment and of species of interest including those that may be extending historical ranges or that may be considered invasive. A companion marine species identification guide, including photographs and English, Yup'ik, and Iñupiaq translations, will be developed to aid identifications. The information contributed will be publicly available and useful to the development of ecosystem-based fisheries management in Alaska. Join this webinar to learn more about this unique stakeholder outreach and survey program.
View the webinar video (52 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar podcast
Presentation/Slides: BIOMAP Alaska: Citizen Science for Alaska's Oceans
Take the BIOMAP Alaska Species of Concern survey
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH IN THE BERING SEA
Mike Sigler, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau
Fish harvests in the Arctic Ocean are small, yet the largest U.S. commercial fisheries lie immediately south in the Bering Sea. Bering Sea pollock quotas recently fell due to poor recruitment during a run of warm years (2001-2005) only to be followed by a run of cold years (2006-2010) and increased pollock abundance. A large ecosystem study aims to understand and forecast these changes. The Bering Sea project is funded by the North Pacific Research Board and the National Science Foundation (http://bsierp.nprb.org/). Join us to learn more about climate impacts on Alaska fisheries.
View the webinar video (50 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar podcast
Presentation/Slides: Integrated ecosystem research in the Bering Sea
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
SALMON STREAM TEMPERATURES: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
Sue Mauger, Science Director, Cook Inletkeeper
Will changing air temperature and precipitation patterns influence stream temperatures? Are Alaska's salmon streams warmer than they used to be? And will they get any warmer? Through the Stream Temperature Monitoring Network, Cook Inletkeeper is leading a collaborative effort to collect the data that will help answer these questions. The Temperature Network is a multi-year regional monitoring program designed to capture recent annual variation and will play an important role in identifying the most temperature-sensitive salmon streams in Cook Inlet. With this information, state and federal resource managers can prioritize habitat protection and restoration efforts to ensure Alaska wild salmon endure as thermal change continues.
View the webinar video (52 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar podcast
Presentation/Slides: Salmon Stream Temperatures: Past, Present and Future
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT WALRUS AND SEA ICE: THE SEA ICE FOR WALRUS OUTLOOK (SIWO) PROJECT
Gary Hufford, National Weather Service, Alaska Region
A weather forecast and sea ice information for northern Bering Sea and Bering Strait subsistence communities called Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) is updated weekly with information on sea ice conditions and weather relevant to the walrus. SIWO includes: an assessment of current ice conditions using up-to-date satellite imagery; a 10-day outlook of wind conditions; written observations of ice conditions from Alaska Native hunters; and comments from sea ice experts and other contributors. SIWO is available through Web and Facebook sites. Join this webinar to hear about what we have learned about walrus distribution and habitat from a blend of western science and traditional knowledge, how this information provides the foundation for creating SIWO, and how you can contribute to the outlook.View the webinar video (46 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar podcast
Presentation/Slides: What We know About Walrus and Sea Ice: The Sea Ice For Walrus Outlook (SIWO) Project
Read the Alaska Newspapers Inc. Article: Ice-forecasting project uses Facebook to improve safety for walrus hunters and whalers
Read the Turnstyle News Article: If Arctic Sea Ice Disappears… What Happens To The Walrus?
To view the latest Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook, click here.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
WHAT DOES THE NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY MEAN FOR THE ARCTIC REGION?
Cheryl Rosa, Deputy Director, US Arctic Research Commission, Anchorage, Alaska
Mary Boatman, Ocean Policy Advisor, National Ocean Council, Executive Office of the President
In July 2010, President Obama announced a commitment to implement a new National Ocean Policy. What does this mean for the Arctic region, which was specifically highlighted in a “priority objective” in the National Ocean Policy? Efforts to address our stewardship responsibilities in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent coastal areas, in the face of climate-induced and other environmental changes, would greatly benefit from input from local and regional experts. We welcome your input to help identify the critical actions that need to be taken to address environmental stewardship needs in the region. Please join us to learn about the National Ocean Policy efforts to develop a strategic action plan for the changing conditions in the Arctic, and to share your comments, questions, and ideas.
View the webinar video (46 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar podcast
Presentation/Slides: Developing a national ocean policy
Question & Answer summary from the webinar
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN SEA LEVEL CHANGE IN ALASKA
Jeff Freymueller, Geophysical Institute and Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Projections of global average sea level predict significant sea level rise over the next century, due mainly to thermal expansion of the oceans and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets. But the effects of changing sea level in any one place are not determined by the global average, but by the local change in relative sea level -- the level of the sea relative to the level of the land. Transporting water to the ocean from melting glaciers and ice sheets changes Earth's gravity field and causes uplift of the surface due to removal of the ice load. Both of these effects cause regional variations in relative sea level, which can be larger in magnitude than the global average rise. In addition, vertical tectonic motions along large regions of the Alaska coast are more rapid than sea level change. As a result, different parts of the Alaska coast experience both relative sea level rise and fall. In this talk, Dr Freymueller will discuss regional variations in sea level change in Alaska.
View the webinar video (42 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar podcast
Presentation/Slides: Regional variations in sea level change in Alaska
April 20, 2010
THE SKY IS NOT FALLING, BUT THE OCEAN IS RISING; A skeptic’s view of sea ice loss and marine mammals
Brendan P. Kelly, Research Scientist National Marine Mammal Laboratory, NOAA and Professor, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Over the past 12 million years, a diversity of mammals evolved specializations for exploiting Arctic sea ice. Other marine mammals—lacking adaptations to ice—have been isolated from one another by sea ice and have evolved along separate paths in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. For the past 10,000 years, Arctic people have developed cultures around the seasonal availability of Arctic marine mammals. Today, 11 ice-associated marine mammal species face unprecedented rapid loss of a continent-sized habitat as Arctic sea ice diminishes. A skeptical analysis (a first principal of science) of ecological and evolutionary data indicate that rapid changes in food resources, predation, competition, and interbreeding threaten many species as well as traditional ways of life among Arctic people. Responding to these changes will require sound analyses, mitigation, and adaptation.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: The sky is not falling, but the ocean is rising; A skeptic's view of sea ice loss and marine mammals
Read the Anchorage Daily News story: Melting Arctic ice could foster species interbreeding
Read the Calgary Herald story: Arctic species may survive ice melt by interbreeding
Read the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner story: Some scientists think receding sea ice could lead to species mingling
Read the Nunatsiaq News story: Biologist sees mammal hybrids as Arctic warms
Read the Siku News story: Climate change may bring new Arctic species
Read the Vancouver Sun story: Warming Arctic will give rise to mammal hybrids
Read the Windsor Star story: Melting ice cover feeds warming trend: Report
March 23, 2010
OCEAN ACIDIFICATION: WHAT IT MEANS TO ALASKA
Jeremy Mathis, Professor, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Since the Industrial Revolution approximately 1/3 of all human CO2 emissions have been absorbed by the ocean. While this process has mitigated global temperature increases it has had a profound effect on the chemistry of the surface ocean, making the water more acidic. This phenomenon is exacerbated in the cold, highly productive waters in the continental shelf seas surrounding Alaska. Recent observations have shown that the bottom waters over the shelves of the Chukchi and Bering Seas, as well has the Gulf of Alaska become undersaturated with respect to aragonite in late summer and fall. These undersaturated waters could be corrosive to shell building organisms such as clams, oysters, and crabs. Here, the controls and seasonal distribution of ocean acidification around Alaska will be discussed in the context of the import commercial fisheries.
View the webinar video (46.7 MB MP4)
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Ocean Acidification: What it means to Alaska
Read the Alaska Journal of Commerce story: Research expands to "sister" issue of global warming
October 6, 2009
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ALASKA FISHERIES
Mike Sigler, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau
Fish harvests in the Arctic Ocean are small, yet the largest U.S. commercial fisheries lie immediately south in the Bering Sea. Some groundfish and crabs have moved northward. This trend is predicted to continue. A large ecosystem study of the Bering Sea aims to understand and forecast these changes. The Bering Sea project is funded by the North Pacific Research Board and the National Science Foundation (http://bsierp.nprb.org/). Join us to learn more about climate impacts on Alaska fisheries.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Climate Change and Alaska Fisheries
June 24, 2009
OUTCOMES OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL'S ARCTIC MARINE SHIPPING ASSESSMENT
Lawson Brigham, Distinguished Professor of Geography & Arctic Policy, UAF and Chair, Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment of the Arctic Council
In response to unprecedented changes occurring in the circumpolar Arctic, in 2004 the Arctic Council called for the Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) working group to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Arctic marine shipping. The Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) 2009 Final Report represents the results of this four year study. Findings and recommendations were negotiated and approved by the Ministers of the Arctic States on April 29, 2009 and take into consideration Arctic marine geography, changes in sea ice and climate, history of marine transport, governance of Arctic marine shipping, current marine use in the Arctic, Arctic marine infrastructure, human and environmental considerations and impacts, and Arctic marine shipping futures scenarios to 2020. This presentation is an overview of the AMSA findings, presented by Dr. Lawson Brigham.
Listen to the Webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Outcomes of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment
Read the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner's story
Read The New York Times Green Inc. Blog story
Read the Nome Nugget story
Read the UAF School of Natural Resources & Agricultural Sciences story
The 2009 final report of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) is now available.
Click here to download a copy of the report (26M PDF)
Click on a chapter title to download individual chapters (PDF): Front and Back Covers; Table of Contents; Executive Summary and Recommendations; Introduction; Arctic Marine Geography, Climate, and Sea Ice; History of Marine Arctic Transport; Governance of Arctic Shipping; Current Marine Use and the AMSA Shipping Database; Scenarios, Futures, and Regional Futures to 2020; Human Dimensions; Environmental Considerations and Impacts; Arctic Marine Infrastructure.
March 17, 2009
THE ALASKA MARINE INFORMATION SYSTEM PROJECT BROWSER AND DATABASE
Dr. Mark Johnson, University of Alaska Fairbanks and
Molly McCammon, Alaska Ocean Observing System
The Alaska Ocean Observing System and the North Pacific Research Board are collaborating to develop the Alaska Marine Information System (AMIS) to catalog and display project information and data. The AMIS Project Browser allows users to search for projects and data by geography, time, funding agency, principal investigator, and data types. AMIS also provides visualization tools for displaying past, current and future projects with their geographic areas and sampling locations displayed on a map. AMIS provides users with data and the project metadata to download. AMIS enhances coordination and efficient use of funding resources by linking visually and through text the status of projects across Alaska. Join us in this webinar to learn how to use and contribute to the AMIS project. Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: The Alaska Marine Information System Project Browser and Database
September 23, 2008
CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE OCEAN: ACIDIFICATION BY ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE
Dr. Jeff Short, Auke Bay Laboratory,
National Marine Fisheries Service
The surface layer of the world's oceans have been acidified by 30% in the last 60 years due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Continued unconstrained CO2 emissions may triple ocean acidity by 2100. Such a fundamental and abrupt geochemical shift has significant impacts on marine life, including possible mass extinctions. Cool temperatures and upwelling make Alaskan coastal waters among the most vulnerable to acidification effects, which already threaten shellfish and corals. Many additional, more subtle effects are likely but difficult to predict. Join us for this webinar to learn more about the implications of ocean acidification for Alaska.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Download Presentation: Climate Change in the Ocean: Acidification by Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Listen to radio coverage of this teleconferece:
Ocean acidity threatens Alaska waters. Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock. KCAW Raven Radio, aired Sept 23, 2008.
December 18, 2007
LAST ICE: THE FATE OF BERING SEA MAMMALS IN RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Gary Hufford, National Weather Service
Sea ice in the Bering Sea is beginning to recede apparently in response to climate change. Walrus and Ribbon Seals seek ice floes as habitat where they breed, give birth and haulout to rest. This makes the walrus and ribbon seal vulnerable to and an indicator of climate change. There is also evidence that the walrus may play a role in the productivity of the Bering Sea by releasing nutrients trapped in pore waters of the bottom sediment when they feed. Join us for this webinar to learn more and and discuss the potential implications of loss of these species.
Listen to the webinar Podcast
Presentation/Slides: Last Ice: The Fate of Bering Sea Mammals in Response to Climate Change
Links and Resources
New ACCAP Ocean Acidification Video
ACCAP has produced a new four-minute video on ocean acidification in Alaska. We worked with UAF's Dr. Jeremy Mathis to describe what ocean acidification is and how it might impact Alaska.
To download the ACCAP ocean acidification video, click here
To view the video on YouTube click here
Please e-mail ACCAP to request a DVD
Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) AOOS is building a network of observation platforms and forecast models. The goal of this network is to provide information products and tools to improve our understanding of Alaska’s ocean ecosystem and allow us to make better decisions about our use of the marine environment.
Alaska Sea Grant Supports wise use and conservation of Alaska's seas and coasts through research, education, and extension.
Alaska Sea Grant Adapting to Climate Change in Coastal Alaska Resources Adaption tools, fact sheets and videos. This Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program (MAP) project brings a marine-dependent community perspective to climate change adaptation issues.
Alaska SeaLife Center Alaska’s only public aquarium and ocean wildlife rescue center. Research projects include dedicated programs for pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), eiders, sea otters and salmon. Newly added to the suite of species-focused programs is an oceanographic program that will compliment a more ecosystem-based approach towards understanding the Alaska marine environments. From early education to Elderhostel, the Alaska SeaLife Center educational programs and presentations are designed to expand the public's knowledge of Alaska's marine ecosystems.
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment An international project of the Arctic Council and the International Arctic Science Committee to evaluate and synthesize knowledge on climate variability, climate change, and increased ultraviolet radiation and their consequences.
The Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Final Report (AMSA) is now available. To download by individual chapters in .PDF format, see the OUTCOMES OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL'S ARCTIC MARINE SHIPPING ASSESSMENT webinar in the "Related ACCAP Webinars" section above.
Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment: Considering a Roadmap Forward The report details next steps in arctic shipping policies and is the result of a workshop hosted by UAF in October 2009 as part of the University of the Arctic's Institute for Applied Circumpolar Policy. The workshop drew nearly 70 experts from Canada, China, Denmark, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States to examine the 17 recommendations outlined in the Arctic Council's 2009 Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment.
COSEE Alaska: People, Oceans, and Climate Change A regional center in a network, focused on weaving together traditional knowledge and western science to share place-based knowledge of ocean climate change in the north.
Identifying key climate change information for marine and coastal ecological research Presentation with detailed notes by Karsten Shein, Applied Climatologist with NOAA. Part of a NOAA One Science Seminar.
New York Times May 2009 article about glacial retreat and sea level changes in Juneau, Alaska
NOAA Coastal Climate Adaptation Website: Learn what others are doing, share strategies, get basic information.
NOAA sea level trends in Alaska Station location map, data, and tide predictions for 15 stations state-wide are available.
NOAA Historical Tide Data Select desired data by station ID, station name, or choose locations on an interactive map of the United States. Select plotted or raw data from each station by date or interval and specify the units and time zone of the output.
North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) NPRB supports a wide range of marine research in an effort to build a clear understanding of the North Pacific, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean ecosystems and enable effective management and sustainable use of marine resources.
The ocean and climate change: Tools and guidelines for action Report from the IUCN Global Marine Programme. The purpose of this report is to engage, inform and guide decision makers with regard to the development and implementation of marine and coastal climate change strategies and programs. Sections include scientific background information, action recommendations for mitigation strategies, ecosystem-based adaptation, and cross-cutting issues.
Planning for Climate Change Workshop Materials 2009 Workshop sponsored by the National Esturine Research Reserve System (NERRS). All of the workshop's written materials, PowerPoint presentations, and streaming video are available at this site. Planners with other agencies or institutions are welcome to offer this workshop and use the training materials provided.
Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Tools from the NOAA Coastal Services Center. This site has information on community and risk vulnerability assessment tools (CVAT), vulnerability assessment techniques and applications, and training, including a customizable, one-day course designed to help coastal managers use CVAT to assess a community's risk and vulnerability to hazards.
Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook A resource for Alaska Native subsistence hunters, coastal communities, and others interested in sea ice and walrus. The SIWO is updated weekly with information on sea ice conditions relevant to walrus in the Northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea regions of Alaska.
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