The effects of changing environment and human activities on the Arctic: Drivers and challenges in Svalbard (Short Communication)

Climate change brings several layers of challenges to the Arctic. On the one hand, we can observe increased human activities that create potential for economic development – especially in mining, oil and gas industry, shipping, fisheries and tourism. On the other hand, these economic benefits pose a risk to the environment, local populations and traditional livelihood of the Indigenous peoples. In the following three years (2020-2022), recently established interdisciplinary team investigates the impact of climate change and human activities on natural environment in the Arctic. The team is composed of eight scientists with different specialization from three faculties of the Masaryk University – Faculty of Social Studies, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Law. The research focuses on both the challenges and risk assessment in terrestrial ecosystems. The relation of natural environment changes to the human-to-environment interaction is investigated, as well as the consequences for the geopolitical, legal and security developments in the Arctic region. Based on gained findings, risks analysis and recommendations for mitigating the impact of environmental changes on the natural environment and population in the specific Arctic territories will be done. The research directly contributes to encouraging interdisciplinary innovative approach with high added value and international impact. These innovative aspects of the project lie in the interdisciplinary character of the Arctic research across different specializations – natural science, social science and law, which has not been combined and investigated yet. Additionally, the project is unique due to its specific science communication and dissemination of research findings, which aims at four levels of audiences – (i) academic community, (ii) policymakers, (iii) general public, and (iv) students.

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Quantitatively distinguish the impact of climate change and human activities on the vegetation changes in Mainland China based on the improved residual method

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2283 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yahai Zhang ◽

Aizhong Ye

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Activities ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Mainland China ◽

Vegetation Changes ◽

Ecological Protection ◽

The Impact

&#160; &#160; &#160; &#160; Knowledge of the current severe global environmental changes, vegetation has faced the dual challenges posed by climate change and human activities. Quantitatively distinguishing the influence of climate change and human activities on vegetation changes is a key to develop adaptive ecological protection policies. This study used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and meteorological data from 1982 to 2015 to analyze the characteristic of vegetation changes and the relationship with climate factors in Mainland China. The contribution rates of climate change and human activities to vegetation dynamics are further calculated by the improved trend method of residual analysis. The results show that 68.81% vegetation of Mainland China is in a state of sustainable increase and cultivated vegetation (CV) and grass are the main greening vegetation types. The impact of human activities (54.45%-75.27%) on vegetation changes in Mainland China is higher than climate change (24.73%-45.46%). Human activities mainly affect grass, mixed coniferous broad-leaved forest (MCBF) and cultivated vegetation (CV), while swamp is more sensitive to climate change. The improved residual trend method considering temporal and spatial dimensions can reduce the uncertainty of the methods. This study provides a theoretical basis for future government implementation of ecological management.

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A MODELING SYSTEM FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RISK ASSESSMENT, MANAGEMENT AND HEDGING IN COASTAL AREAS

Proceedings of International Conference "Managinag risks to coastal regions and communities in a changinag world" (EMECS'11 - SeaCoasts XXVI) ◽

10.31519/conferencearticle_5b1b9398d1adf1.08545898 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Sergei Soldatenko ◽

Genrikh Alekseev ◽

Alexander Danilov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Risk Assessment ◽

Coastal Areas ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

System Structure ◽

The Arctic ◽

Risk Modeling ◽

Wide Range ◽

Adverse Weather ◽

The Impact

Every aspect of human operations faces a wide range of risks, some of which can cause serious consequences. By the start of 21st century, mankind has recognized a new class of risks posed by climate change. It is obvious, that the global climate is changing, and will continue to change, in ways that affect the planning and day to day operations of businesses, government agencies and other organizations and institutions. The manifestations of climate change include but not limited to rising sea levels, increasing temperature, flooding, melting polar sea ice, adverse weather events (e.g. heatwaves, drought, and storms) and a rise in related problems (e.g. health and environmental). Assessing and managing climate risks represent one of the most challenging issues of today and for the future. The purpose of the risk modeling system discussed in this paper is to provide a framework and methodology to quantify risks caused by climate change, to facilitate estimates of the impact of climate change on various spheres of human activities and to compare eventual adaptation and risk mitigation strategies. The system integrates both physical climate system and economic models together with knowledge-based subsystem, which can help support proactive risk management. System structure and its main components are considered. Special attention is paid to climate risk assessment, management and hedging in the Arctic coastal areas.

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The Impact of Climate Change on the Resistance of Rice Near-Isogenic Lines with Resistance Genes Against Brown Planthopper

Rice ◽

10.1186/s12284-021-00508-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yun-Hung Kuang ◽

Yu-Fu Fang ◽

Shau-Ching Lin ◽

Shin-Fu Tsai ◽

Zhi-Wei Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Resistance Genes ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Gene Pyramiding ◽

Brown Planthopper ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Near Isogenic Lines ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Isogenic Lines ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background The impact of climate change on insect resistance genes is elusive. Hence, we investigated the responses of rice near-isogenic lines (NILs) that carry resistance genes against brown planthopper (BPH) under different environmental conditions. Results We tested these NILs under three environmental settings (the atmospheric temperature with corresponding carbon dioxide at the ambient, year 2050 and year 2100) based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change prediction. Comparing between different environments, two of nine NILs that carried a single BPH-resistant gene maintained their resistance under the environmental changes, whereas two of three NILs showed gene pyramiding with two maintained BPH resistance genes despite the environmental changes. In addition, two NILs (NIL-BPH17 and NIL-BPH20) were examined in their antibiosis and antixenosis effects under these environmental changes. BPH showed different responses to these two NILs, where the inhibitory effect of NIL-BPH17 on the BPH growth and development was unaffected, while NIL-BPH20 may have lost its resistance during the environmental changes. Conclusion Our results indicate that BPH resistance genes could be affected by climate change. NIL-BPH17 has a strong inhibitory effect on BPH feeding on phloem and would be unaffected by environmental changes, while NIL-BPH20 would lose its ability during the environmental changes.

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Thirty-Nine-Year Wave Hindcast, Storm Activity, and Probability Analysis of Storm Waves in the Kara Sea, Russia

Water ◽

10.3390/w13050648 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 648

Author(s):

Stanislav Myslenkov ◽

Vladimir Platonov ◽

Alexander Kislov ◽

Ksenia Silvestrova ◽

Igor Medvedev

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Pareto Distribution ◽

Linear Trend ◽

Wind Waves ◽

Kara Sea ◽

The Arctic ◽

Storm Events ◽

Storm Activity ◽

Significant Linear Trend ◽

The Impact

The recurrence of extreme wind waves in the Kara Sea strongly influences the Arctic climate change. The period 2000–2010 is characterized by significant climate warming, a reduction of the sea ice in the Arctic. The main motivation of this research to assess the impact of climate change on storm activity over the past 39 years in the Kara Sea. The paper presents the analysis of wave climate and storm activity in the Kara Sea based on the results of numerical modeling. A wave model WAVEWATCH III is used to reconstruct wind wave fields for the period from 1979 to 2017. The maximum significant wave height (SWH) for the whole period amounts to 9.9 m. The average long-term SWH for the ice-free period does not exceed 1.3 m. A significant linear trend shows an increase in the storm wave frequency for the period from 1979 to 2017. It is shown that trends in the storm activity of the Kara Sea are primarily regulated by the ice. Analysis of the extreme storm events showed that the Pareto distribution is in the best agreement with the data. However, the extreme events with an SWH more than 6‒7 m deviate from the Pareto distribution.

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Climate Change in the Arctic—The Need for a Broader Gender Perspective in Data Collection

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020628 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 628

Author(s):

Arja Rautio ◽

Natalia Kukarenko ◽

Lena Maria Nilsson ◽

Birgitta Evengard

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Data Collection ◽

Human Health ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Theoretical Background ◽

The Arctic ◽

Gender Analysis ◽

Roles And Responsibilities ◽

Disaggregated Data

Climate change in the Arctic affects both environmental, animal, and human health, as well as human wellbeing and societal development. Women and men, and girls and boys are affected differently. Sex-disaggregated data collection is increasingly carried out as a routine in human health research and in healthcare analysis. This study involved a literature review and used a case study design to analyze gender differences in the roles and responsibilities of men and women residing in the Arctic. The theoretical background for gender-analysis is here described together with examples from the Russian Arctic and a literature search. We conclude that a broader gender-analysis of sex-disaggregated data followed by actions is a question of human rights and also of economic benefits for societies at large and of the quality of services as in the health care.

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Early Holocene ocean conditions off the Zachariæ Isstrøm, Northeast Greenland

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15076 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Joanna Davies ◽

Anders Møller Mathiasen ◽

Kristiane Kristensen ◽

Christof Pearce ◽

Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Ice Sheet ◽

Greenland Ice Sheet ◽

Atlantic Water ◽

The Arctic ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Ice Shelf ◽

Outlet Glacier ◽

The Impact

The polar regions exhibit some of the most visible signs of climate change globally; annual mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has quadrupled in recent decades, from 51 &#177; 65 Gt yr&#8722;1 (1992-2001) to 211 &#177; 37 Gt yr&#8722;1 (2002-2011). This can partly be attributed to the widespread retreat and speed-up of marine-terminating glaciers. The Zachariae Isstr&#248;m (ZI) is an outlet glacier of the Northeast Greenland Ice Steam (NEGIS), one of the largest ice streams of the GrIS (700km), draining approximately 12% of the ice sheet interior. Observations show that the ZI began accelerating in 2000, resulting in the collapse of the floating ice shelf between 2002 and 2003. By 2014, the ice shelf extended over an area of 52km2, a 95% decrease in area since 2002, where it extended over 1040km2. Paleo-reconstructions provide an opportunity to extend observational records in order to understand the oceanic and climatic processes governing the position of the grounding zone of marine terminating glaciers and the extent of floating ice shelves. Such datasets are thus necessary if we are to constrain the impact of future climate change projections on the Arctic cryosphere.A multi-proxy approach, involving grain size, geochemical, foraminiferal and sedimentary analysis was applied to marine sediment core DA17-NG-ST8-92G, collected offshore of the ZI, on &#160;the Northeast Greenland Shelf. The aim was to reconstruct changes in the extent of the ZI and the palaeoceanographic conditions throughout the Early to Mid Holocene (c.a. 12,500-5,000 cal. yrs. BP). Evidence from the analysis of these datasets indicates that whilst there has been no grounded ice at the site over the last 12,500 years, the ice shelf of the ZI extended as a floating ice shelf over the site between 12,500 and 9,200 cal. yrs. BP, with the grounding line further inland from our study site. This was followed by a retreat in the ice shelf extent during the Holocene Thermal Maximum; this was likely to have been governed, in part, by basal melting driven by Atlantic Water (AW) recirculated from Svalbard or from the Arctic Ocean. Evidence from benthic foraminifera suggest that there was a shift from the dominance of AW to Polar Water at around 7,500 cal. yrs. BP, although the ice shelf did not expand again despite of this cooling of subsurface waters.

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Regional variability of acidification in the Arctic: a sea of contrasts

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-11-293-2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 293-308 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

E. E. Popova ◽

A. Yool ◽

Y. Aksenov ◽

A. C. Coward ◽

T. R. Anderson

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Primary Production ◽

Arctic Ocean ◽

Canadian Arctic ◽

Atmospheric Co2 ◽

The Arctic ◽

Canadian Arctic Archipelago ◽

Regional Variability ◽

The Arctic Ocean ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The Arctic Ocean is a region that is particularly vulnerable to the impact of ocean acidification driven by rising atmospheric CO2, with potentially negative consequences for calcifying organisms such as coccolithophorids and foraminiferans. In this study, we use an ocean-only general circulation model, with embedded biogeochemistry and a comprehensive description of the ocean carbon cycle, to study the response of pH and saturation states of calcite and aragonite to rising atmospheric pCO2 and changing climate in the Arctic Ocean. Particular attention is paid to the strong regional variability within the Arctic, and, for comparison, simulation results are contrasted with those for the global ocean. Simulations were run to year 2099 using the RCP8.5 (an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) scenario with the highest concentrations of atmospheric CO2). The separate impacts of the direct increase in atmospheric CO2 and indirect effects via impact of climate change (changing temperature, stratification, primary production and freshwater fluxes) were examined by undertaking two simulations, one with the full system and the other in which atmospheric CO2 was prevented from increasing beyond its preindustrial level (year 1860). Results indicate that the impact of climate change, and spatial heterogeneity thereof, plays a strong role in the declines in pH and carbonate saturation (Ω) seen in the Arctic. The central Arctic, Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Baffin Bay show greatest rates of acidification and Ω decline as a result of melting sea ice. In contrast, areas affected by Atlantic inflow including the Greenland Sea and outer shelves of the Barents, Kara and Laptev seas, had minimal decreases in pH and Ω because diminishing ice cover led to greater vertical mixing and primary production. As a consequence, the projected onset of undersaturation in respect to aragonite is highly variable regionally within the Arctic, occurring during the decade of 2000–2010 in the Siberian shelves and Canadian Arctic Archipelago, but as late as the 2080s in the Barents and Norwegian seas. We conclude that, for future projections of acidification and carbonate saturation state in the Arctic, regional variability is significant and needs to be adequately resolved, with particular emphasis on reliable projections of the rates of retreat of the sea ice, which are a major source of uncertainty.

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Aid, Governance and Public Finance Fraud: Evidence from Angola

Politeja ◽

10.12797/politeja.17.2020.69.02 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (6(69)) ◽

pp. 19-50

Author(s):

Weronika J. Krawczyk

Keyword(s):

Public Finance ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Political Corruption ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Academic Community ◽

Development Aid ◽

Financial Flows ◽

Ruling Elites ◽

The Impact

This article examines the process of public finance fraud leading to unjust enrichment of ruling elites in Angola, a resource-rich, yet ironically povertytrapped country, owing to decades of rule of José Eduardo dos Santos. It analyses the phenomenon of political corruption in the Angolan context, translating into mismanagement of public revenues coming from natural resources as a means of attaining private economic benefits and consolidating power. Moreover, by examining cross-border inter-company networks aimed at concealing public assets behind front companies, the author attempts to establish a connection between corruption and illicit financial flows. Ultimately, since political corruption is intrinsically linked to governance, the article looks at the impact of the latter on social development as well as on the effectiveness of development aid granted to Angola. It was written based on secondary resources including existing literature and material evidence. Its findings and conclusions correspond with the overall theory postulated by the academic community, maintaining that natural resources and aid have negative impact on governance, institutional accountability, and in consequence on human development, especially in countries characterised by despotic rule.

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Arctic Plant Responses to Climate Warming: It’s Not all about Nitrogen

Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings ◽

10.24908/iqurcp.9993 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Sanna Masud

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

The Arctic ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Experimental Warming ◽

Nutrient Pools ◽

Research Attention ◽

Low Arctic ◽

Total Plant ◽

The Impact ◽

Deciduous Shrub

Climate change is increasing air and soil temperatures in the Arctic, likely enhancing microbial activity. Consequently, increased decomposition rates of soil organic matter and increasing nutrient supply to tundra vegetation can be expected. The impacts of experimental warming and fertilization on growth have been investigated by studying the availability of macronutrients such as N, P and C. However, other macronutrients such as S, Ca, Mg, K, and micronutrients such as Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn have received little research attention to determine their function, biogeochemical cycling, and effect on vegetation growth in response to warming. This study investigated the impact of experimental warming responses on availability and accumulation of the latter nutrients in the principal plant species located in mesic birch hummock tundra near Daring Lake, Northwest Territories in the Canadian Low Arctic Tundra. Plants were sampled in 2011 from the replicated summer greenhouse treatment that was established in 2004. In response to warming, the principal evergreen shrub (Rhododendron) had the most enhanced growth, followed by the deciduous shrub (Birch). Since the total plant pools of these nutrients were also enhanced in the evergreen, my results strongly suggest that availability of these nutrients was not limiting growth. By contrast, the birch total plant nutrient pools were not enhanced and significant decreases in Mg, S, and K leaf concentrations were observed, suggesting that these elements may be limiting birch growth. Together, our results suggest that plant growth response to climate change in the low Arctic may depend on previously overlooked nutrient elements, and that deciduous shrub growth may be constrained relative to the evergreen response as the arctic climate warms.

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8. Arctic futures

10.1093/actrade/9780198819288.003.0008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 137-142

Author(s):

Klaus Dodds ◽

Jamie Woodward

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Economic Development ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

The Arctic ◽

Small Community ◽

Arctic Amplification ◽

Arctic Council ◽

Svalbard Archipelago ◽

Governance Model

‘Arctic futures’ discusses the future of the Arctic that starts in the Norwegian territory of Svalbard wherein the Global Seed Vault functions as an Arctic sanctuary for the genetic diversity of crops. The Svalbard archipelago is a hotspot of Arctic amplification as rapid warming has been keenly felt by the small community. However, the environmental changes, no matter how stark and widespread, will not dampen interest in economic development and strategic posturing. Arctic states and northern peoples remain eager to improve their social and economic conditions as well as adapt to ongoing climate change. The Arctic is a haven of international peace and cooperation as the Arctic Council is cited as a governance model that others could emulate.

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