Title: In Barrow, Alaska, climate change in action | NOAA Climate.gov
Headings: In Barrow, Alaska, climate change in action
In Barrow, Alaska, climate change in action
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The way sea ice used to be
Changes in sea ice lead to local climate change
Climate consequences for people, livelihoods, and property
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Content: Weather Bureau observers reported in 1933 that there was no open water visible by October 17, and in 1936 very little open water was visible on October 30. From a climate point of view, the lack of ice sea in autumn does not guarantee record warm temperatures every October, but it increases the odds. Without the cooling influence of the ice, there are many more ways the weather can be unusually warm. In early October 2012, the sea ice edge was some 500 miles north of Barrow, and the first ten days of October were the warmest on record. The distant ice edge was not the sole cause of the record warmth, but was a contributing factor. Climate consequences for people, livelihoods, and property
Societal expectations of the risks and opportunities inherent to place—the lifestyles, jobs, or recreation that are possible—form over a collective lifetime of experience. In Barrow, those expectations are being upended. Sea ice returning a month or more later than in past decades has a disproportionate effect on subsistence hunters as usable daylight drops to almost none by late November. ( The last sunrise of the year in Barrow is on November 18.) Dramatically warmer autumn air temperatures are allowing the permafrost that underlies Barrow to thaw to a greater depth than in the past, destabilizing roads and buildings as well traditional subterranean freezers.