What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic.
That was the message of a presentation earlier this week by two federal scientists focusing on satellite imagery and fisheries.
Jeff Key of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Satellite and Information Service's Center for Satellite Applications and Research said new satellite technology allows scientists to measure not only the atmosphere, the sea ice extent and even cloud cover, but also the thickness of ice, all of which help increase the understanding of climate change's impacts on the Arctic.
Satellites are also tracking how vegetation is changing -- some areas are showing an increase in of over 10 percent plant growth -- which can have an impact on greater warming of the regions where tundra is being replaced by larger vegetation, like shrubs.
Key said the use of satellite imagery was vital to understanding the changes occurring now in the Arctic, changes that would have impacts not only in the region where they are occurring, but in mid-latitudes, too, where polar jet stream shifts now are causing more extreme weather patterns.
"No single space agency provides all the centers that we really need to robustly monitor the Arctic," he said. "We need to continue to promote international cooperation."
Ed Farley of NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center followed with a presentation on the impact of sea ice on the fat that's available to fish. Zooplankton, Farley said, are a main source of food for fish in the Arctic, including the walleye pollock, a fish responsible for a half-billion-dollar industry that's known for its use in fake crab and fish sticks.
But zooplankton survival seems to be dependent on sea ice survival, especially the large zooplankton, which are the most fatty. In years when the sea ice retreated early, such as 2002-2005, the biomass of the pollock dropped significantly. Starting in 2007, the sea ice expanded and the pollock stocks recovered. Scientists now believe the pollock survival is related to the available large zooplankton and the fat they provide the larger fish.
In the Chukchi Sea, the Arctic cod is also impacted by water temperature and ice retreat. Arctic cod are a primary source of food for many marine mammals in the region, including seals.
"As we continue to warm in the Arctic, and there are more periods in time with early ice retreat, there could be real consequences for other marine mammals," he said.
Arctic cod prefer temperatures between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius, he said, and climate change predictions are that the water in the Chukchi Sea will warm to between 10 to 13 degrees Celsius in the next 20 to 30 years.
"That's too warm for Arctic cod," he said. "They will either move out of the area or they will not make it."
The scientists said the most recent weather monitoring shows a potential for a return to the ice retreat trend seen a decade ago in coming years.
As scientists continue to monitor the impacts of changes to sea ice on the weather and oceans of the Arctic, the implications for the country and the globe reach far beyond the region, they said.
"The more information we have about changes in the Arctic, the better," Key said.
This story first appeared in The Arctic Sounder and is republished here with permission.