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Arctic is Warming Faster than Expected - Over 400 Scientists and Partners Gather to Discuss the Impacts of Climate Change on the Canadian Arctic

VICTORIA, BC, Dec. 15 - The Arctic, considered to be the barometer of global climate change, is warming faster than expected. With many varied and widespread environmental, socio-economic, human health and cultural impacts, there is an urgent need to understand and prepare for these changes. It is this urgency that brought together over 400 representatives of university, industry, Inuit communities and government and non-government organisations to attend the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting in Victoria, BC, the largest and most comprehensive Arctic science meeting in Canada. This meeting was jointly held with the 14th Annual Results Workshop of the Northern Contaminants Program.

ArcticNet brings together scientists in the natural, human health and social sciences and decision makers with their partners in Inuit organizations, northern communities, government and industry to help Canadians face the impacts and opportunities of climate change and globalization in the Arctic. Over 100 ArcticNet researchers and 300 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research associates and technicians from 27 Canadian universities and 5 Federal departments collaborate on 27 research projects with more than 100 partner organizations from Canada, the USA, Japan, Denmark, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, Greenland and France.

Highlights of the 2006 Annual Meeting include:

• As predicted by climate models, the reduction in the extent of the Arctic sea-ice cover is accelerating. Specialists fear that a tipping point has been reached as evidence accumulates that the "albedo" effect is kicking in;
• The spectacular penetration of Atlantic water along the Siberian coast harbingers an "atlantification" of the Arctic Ocean that will bring the progressive replacement of the unique Arctic fauna by Atlantic animals;
• The Northwest Passage was open to navigation for several weeks in late summer and fall 2006 with the research icebreaker Amundsen sailing unhindered through straits that are usually impassable;
• Permafrost and coastal erosion are also accelerating, threatening the infrastructure of the Canadian North;
• For reasons thought to be associated with climate change, the concentration of mercury in the western Arctic is increasing in key animal species such as the beluga;
• Although Inuit are still well protected against chronic diseases and diabetes compared to other aboriginal groups, some warning signs, especially in women, raise concern;
• The emergence of animal transmitted diseases in the Inuit population due to change in vector distribution might increase and deserves continuous monitoring;
• Inuit experts are increasingly involved in the full research process to the greater benefit of science and adaptation in the Canadian Arctic.

The urgency to better understand and prepare for these upcoming changes in Arctic Canada is reflected in three recent funding announcements. Université Laval and the University of Manitoba were awarded $10.9 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation Leading Edge Fund in collaboration with the Government of Quebec and Government of Manitoba to improve and increase research equipment onboard the Canadian research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen. Complementing this investment is a $3 million Canada Foundation for Innovation and Government of Quebec grant awarded to the Centre d'études nordiques of Université Laval to build a series of research stations throughout the eastern Canadian Arctic to augment land-based monitoring of environmental variables. ArcticNet was also recently awarded an $815K grant through the International Partnerships Initiative of the Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada. This grant will allow ArcticNet and Canada to increase and consolidate their joint research and networking efforts with other large Arctic research networks in Norway, Russia, the USA and France to better understand the effects of climate change on the circumpolar Arctic system.

ArcticNet is made possible through funding from the Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada. The Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada (www.nce.gc.ca) is a joint initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and Industry Canada. Further information on ArcticNet can be found on the ArcticNet web site (www.arcticnet.ulaval.ca) and information on the Northern Contaminants Program can be found at the following web site (www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ncp).

For further information: Jaime Dawson, ArcticNet, Office: (905) 635-4595, Cell: (905) 407-6808, Email: jaime.dawson@arcticnet.ulaval.ca.

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From http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2006/12/15/north-conference-wrap.html

Permafrost hot topic at Arctic conference
December 15, 2006 - CBC News

Scientists at a major Arctic conference in Victoria say northerners should prepare for a changing landscape because of melting permafrost and erosion.

More than 400 researchers, northerners and aboriginal representatives met in the B.C. capital this week to discuss issues that impact the northern environment.

Michel Allard, a permafrost specialist with the Center for Northern Studies at Laval University, warned that northern communities will have to improve their planning to deal with significant changes in the permafrost.

Permafrost is soil that remains under 0 C year round and can extend hundreds of metres deep.

It makes up almost half of Canada's land mass and is found in all three territories and the northern regions of most provinces.

Allard said a 2 C increase in ground temperature has led to more melting. Researchers have also found that permafrost areas are shrinking dramatically across the Arctic.

Quebec towns readying for changes

Some towns and hamlets in northern Quebec are already preparing for the changes by drawing up new maps that show where it's safe to build and areas where construction should be avoided, he said.

Nicole Couture is studying erosion along the Beaufort Sea coastline in the Yukon as part of her doctoral studies at McGill University.

Couture said her team estimates that about two million tonnes of sediment are being eroded every year along a 250-kilometre stretch of coast.

"The reason that the Yukon coast is particularly susceptible to erosion is that it has a lot of ground ice," she explained. "The ice is very easy to erode away, much more … than just frozen sediment would be."

Erosion is a natural, ongoing process, but Couture said the process has accelerated with the melting permafrost and rise in sea levels.

Another factor, Couture said, is that shrinking sea ice allows bigger waves and storm surges to gouge the shoreline.

Both Couture and Allard said the key to dealing with the changers is for northerners to plan ahead and adapt.

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