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Climate change represents one of the most pressing societal and scientific challenges of our time. While much of the current research on climate change focuses on future prediction, some of the strongest signals of warming can already be seen in Arctic and alpine areas, where temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and in the oceans, where the combination of rising temperatures and acidification due to increased CO 2 concentrations has had catastrophic consequences for sensitive marine organisms inhabiting coral reefs. The scientific papers highlighted as part of this anniversary issue represent some of the most impactful advances in our understanding of the consequences of anthropogenic climate change. Here, we reflect on the legacy of these papers from the biotic perspective.

Rapid climate and socioeconomic changes are transforming Arctic human-earth systems. An integral part of these systems is mobility, which encompasses the transport of humans and goods into, out of, and between Arctic regions. Impacts of climate and socioeconomic drivers on Arctic mobility are heterogenous. Methodologies are needed to quantify these impacts in measures that can be linked with broader socioeconomic systems. This article reviews existing methods and organizes them into a conceptual framework to understand trends and gaps in the literature. We found methods quantifying impacts of a range of climate drivers on most transportation modes present in the Arctic, but few methods focused on socioeconomic drivers. In addition, underrepresented were methods explicitly considering adaptive capacity of transportation systems. We provide insight into the data and relationships relevant to understanding impacts of Arctic change on transportation systems, laying a foundation for future work that investigates how these impacts fit into broader human-arth systems., (© 2023. Battelle Memorial Institute and Rowland, under exclusive licence to Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.)

Recently, the developments of ethics and politics in the Arctic region have again become an issue for international discussion. One main issue is the problem of climate change and sustainability of the Arctic region. This problem is linked to the issue of exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic region, not at least in Greenland. Indeed, the general issue is how we should define ethics of the environment and sustainability as a general principle for the Arctic region. It is important to discuss what is at stake and how we define the problem in relation to the different participating stakeholders. This paper deals with these problems as a case for global ethics and it proposes a vision of ethical and political responsibility for sustainable development in order to deal with such problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic is currently experiencing the most rapid warming on Earth. Arctic species communities are expected to be restructured with species adapted to warmer conditions spreading poleward and, if already present, becoming more abundant. We tested this prediction using long-term monitoring data (2009-2018) from nine of the most common seabird species breeding in the High Arctic Svalbard archipelago. This region is characterized by rapidly warming ocean temperatures, declining sea-ice concentrations and an increasing influence of Atlantic waters. Concurrent with these environmental changes, we found a shift in the Svalbard seabird community, with an increase in abundance of boreal species (defined here as species breeding commonly in temperate environments) and a decline in Arctic species (species breeding predominantly in the Arctic). Combined with previous observations from lower trophic levels, our results confirmed that part of the Arctic fauna is moving from an arctic to a boreal (or north temperate) state, a process referred to as a "borealization." Spatial variations exist among colonies for some species, indicating that local conditions may affect the trajectories of specific populations and potentially counterbalance the consequences of large-scale climate warming., (© 2021 The Authors. Ecology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Ecological Society of America.)

Cities located in the Arctic often have extreme geographic and environmental contexts and unique sociopolitical and economic trajectories that, when combined with amplified effects of climate change in the region, impact future sustainable development. Well-recognized and standardized sustainable development indicator (SDI) frameworks such as ISO 37120 or UN-Habitat City Prosperity Index are often used to compare data across cities globally using comprehensive sets of indicators. While such indexes help characterize progress toward development and guide short- and long-term decision-making, they often lack relevance to specific contexts or characterize future visions of urban growth. To evaluate the extent of these deficiencies and to provide a comparative analysis of approaches to sustainable urban growth in the Arctic, this paper analyzes city planning documents for five northern cities - Anchorage (USA), Utqiagvik (USA), Reyjavik (ISL), Iqaluit, (CAN), Whitehorse, (CAN) - for goals, targets, and indicators and compare these to thematic areas and indicators defined by ISO 37120:2018 Sustainable Cities and Communities. The results confirm that although international SDI frameworks may be useful for comparative analysis of cities across diverse regions, they exclude important local factors that influence goal-oriented urban sustainability planning strategies employed in the Arctic region., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The present paper seeks to lay bare how the grim realities of settler colonialism and petro-capitalism have a tolling effect on the indigenous ways of life. The present era, termed the 'Anthropocene' or 'Capitalocene,' as it is the capitalist concern of some of the privileged anthropos that inflict socio-economic and ecological injustices on earth, heralds the birth of cautionary literature that deconstructs anthropocentric fixation to purge the earth off the catastrophic impacts of rapacious human activities. In order to examine how capitalism and its resultant climate emergency have spurred environmental activists and authors to reflect upon this theme, the paper undertakes a close textual analysis of The Breathing Hole (2020) by Colleen Murphy (b. 1954), a contemporary Quebecois playwright. By employing indigenous ecocriticism and non-human turn in literary studies, the study examines how the playwright jettisons the standardised category of the Anthropos by prioritising the non-human character, Angu'ruaq, an anthropomorphised polar bear. Attempts have been made to highlight how the capitalist motive of the neo-colonial agents leaves a breach in the fabric of the succouring connection between the indigenous Inuit existence and the non-human beings in the Nunavut territory of the Canadian Arctic. The findings of the paper demonstrate how the playwright approaches contemporary eco-crisis using indigenous ecodrama. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political conflicts or geopolitical tensions can create uncertainty in addressing climate change and environmental management in the Arctic. Dissecting how actors interact with each other and form networks is important for understanding ecological and environmental management challenges during geopolitical tensions, as well as promoting better governance. We construct transboundary networks for Arctic climate change governance (ACCG) from 2013 to 2021 based on the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT). Further, we used network descriptive statistical analysis and Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models (TERGM) to explore the structure of ACCG networks and the key factors influencing cooperation formation. The findings suggest that the overall cooperation density of the ACCG is low, and the dominant position of core actors is continuously strengthening. Non-state actors are less likely to be seen as partners and their participation depends largely on cooperation with states. The results also show that actors with similar stances and problem exposure are more likely to cooperate, but those exposed to high latitudes often choose not to cooperate; first-comers are more likely to perceive as cooperating yet they are inclined to establish internal cooperation. Additionally, two geographically proximate actors are more likely to cooperate. This indicates that under geopolitical tensions, the ACCG faces challenges not only due to the limited capacity of non-state actors to perform transboundary functions but also because the cooperation mechanisms are influenced by regional political logic. Accordingly, we further suggest policy recommendations from developing binding international frameworks to guide transboundary cooperation, enhancing cooperation among non-state actors, and ensuring the representativeness and fairness of non-Arctic actors' participation. This research provides insights into transboundary environmental management under political tensions, while also offering new pathways for analysing large-scale environmental governance structures., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

As the Arctic and its rivers continue to warm, a better understanding of the possible future impacts on people would benefit from close partnership with Indigenous communities and scientists from diverse fields of study. We present efforts by the Arctic Rivers Project to conduct community‐engaged research to increase collective understanding of the historical and potential future impacts of climate change on rivers, fish, and Indigenous communities. Working in central to northern Alaska and the Yukon Territory in Canada, the project seeks to engage with Indigenous communities in ethical and equitable ways to produces science that is useful, useable, and used that may serve as an example for future research efforts. Toward this goal, we formed an Indigenous Advisory Council and together developed project‐specific knowledge co‐production protocols. This paper provides a novel model of design and implementation to co‐produce knowledge with communities across a large study domain. Plain Language Summary: The Arctic and rivers located in the Arctic and subarctic are warming due to climate change. To understand the impacts this warming will have on people, partnering with impacted Indigenous communities in the region is important. It is also important that these partnerships are ethical and equitable and produce science that is actionable. This paper discusses efforts undertaken by a specific project, the Arctic Rivers Project, to conduct ethical and equitable research with Indigenous communities and generate science that is useful to those communities. Through this research our goal is to better understand potential future impacts of climate change on rivers, fish, and Indigenous communities in central northern Alaska and the Yukon Territory in Canada. To achieve this goal, the project formed an Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC) and together developed guidelines for how we can work collaboratively with Indigenous communities. Our specific process of forming an IAC and guidelines is, to our knowledge, a new way to approach collaborative research when working across a large geographic area. We present our process here so that it may provide an example for other research efforts. Key Points: Arctic climate information can be made useful, useable, and used by equitably accounting for diverse community adaptation needs through knowledge co‐productionInstitutional and community capacity, including means and ability, is necessary for equitable knowledge co‐production to occurWe present an approach for co‐producing knowledge with Indigenous communities that can serve as an example for other scientific efforts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early studies, northern vegetation response to global warming recognised both increases in biomass/cover and shrinking of species' distributional ranges. Subsequent field measurements focussed on vegetation cover and biomass increases ("greening"), and more recently decreases ("browning"). However, satellite observations show that more than 50% of arctic vegetation has not changed significantly despite rapid warming. While absence of change in remote sensing data does not necessarily mean no ecological change on the ground, the significant proportion of the Arctic that appears to be stable in the face of considerable climate change points to a greater need to understand Arctic ecosystem stability. In this paper, we performed an extensive review of the available literature to seek balances or imbalances between research focussing on "greening", "browning" and "stability/no change". We find that greening studies dominate the literature though two relatively small areas of the Arctic are disproportionately represented for this main change process. Critically, there are too few studies anywhere investigating stability. We highlight the need to understand the mechanisms driving Arctic ecosystem stability, and the potential longer-term consequences of remaining stable in a rapidly changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last four decades, organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts have shown high potential as tracers of past sea-surface conditions during the Quaternary. These microfossils relate to the pelagic productivity of both phototrophic and heterotrophic protist organisms and are recovered in high numbers in almost all marine environment settings from the nearshore and estuarine systems to the distal continental margin. In polar environments, where other conventional proxies are rare or absent, dinoflagellate cysts showed a relatively high diversity of species and a close relationship with sea-ice cover duration, winter and summer temperature, and salinity, enabling quantitative reconstructions of several oceanic variables over time. From the temperate to the tropical latitudes of the Atlantic Ocean, their modern distribution highlights a response to primary productivity and seasonal contrasts in surface temperature. They also have proven that they could be used as tracers of eutrophication in stratified systems and can also highlight human impact on their distribution. In this paper, we present an overview of dinoflagellate cysts as ecological tracers in recent and past sediments of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. We provide examples of their use as proxies in paleoclimatic-palaeoceanographic studies at glacial to interglacial time scales, with emphasis on the last ice age to recent (last 25 kyr), the northern North Atlantic and western-eastern tropic North Atlantic. We also discuss their potential as tracers of anthropogenic stress in coastal environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cloud feedback may result in amplification or damping of Arctic warming. Two common techniques used to diagnose the top‐of‐the‐atmosphere cloud feedback are the Adjusted Cloud Radiative Effect (AdjCRE) method and the Cloud Radiative Kernel (CRK) method. We apply both to CMIP5 and CMIP6 model data, finding that the AdjCRE calculated Arctic shortwave cloud feedback is twice as correlated with sea ice loss in CMIP5, and four times in CMIP6, as the CRK method. We find that the CRK method produces Arctic all‐sky residual percentages exceeding 20% in 15 of 18 models. We use the CRK method to decompose the feedback in CMIP5 and CMIP6 finding that its median value changed from negative to positive driven by a less‐negative cloud optical depth feedback. Despite its lack of closure, we conclude that the CRK method is better suited for Arctic SW feedbacks as it is less impacted by surface albedo changes. Plain Language Summary: The cloud feedback is the process by which cloud property changes in a warming climate can either further enhance warming or damp it. The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe, and one of the largest sources of uncertainty in its climate projections is the cloud feedback. There are two popular methods to calculate the cloud feedback: the Adjusted Cloud Radiative Effect technique, and the Cloud Radiative Kernel technique. In this paper we compare the two methods in a suite of climate models by considering the extent to which changes in Arctic sea ice impact the cloud feedbacks. From this analysis we conclude that the Cloud Radiative Kernel method is less affected by sea ice loss. We then apply the Cloud Radiative Kernel technique to data from the two most recent generations of global climate models to investigate how polar day Arctic cloud feedbacks have changed between these generations. We find that the median value of these Arctic feedbacks is slightly positive in the newest generation of models, a change from slightly negative in the previous generation that is largely fueled by a weakening of the feedback associated with changes in cloud optical depth. Key Points: The Cloud Radiative Kernel method is less sensitive to surface albedo changes than the Adjusted Cloud Radiative Effect techniqueThe Cloud Radiative Kernel method provides poor radiative closure in a suite of global climate modelsThe median shortwave Arctic cloud feedback in recent climate models is slightly positive due to a weakened cloud optical depth feedback [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sea ice albedo can amplify global climate change and affect the surface energy in the Arctic. In this paper, the data from Visible and Infra-Red Radiometer (VIRR) onboard Fengyun-3C satellite are applied to derive the Arctic sea ice albedo. Two radiative transfer models, namely, 6S and FluxNet, are used to simulate the reflectance and albedo in the shortwave band. Clear sky sea ice albedo in the Arctic region (60°~90°N) from 2016 to 2019 is derived through the physical process, including data preprocessing, narrowband to broadband conversion, anisotropy correction, and atmospheric correction. The results are compared with aircraft measurements and AVHRR Polar Pathfinder-Extended (APP-x) albedo product and OLCI MPF product. The bias and standard deviation of the difference between VIRR albedo and aircraft measurements are −0.040 and 0.071, respectively. Compared with APP-x product and OLCI MPF product, a good consistency of albedo is shown. And analyzed together with melt pond fraction, an obvious negative relationship can be seen. After processing the 4-year data, an obvious annual trend can be observed. Due to the influence of snow on the ice surface, the average surface albedo of the Arctic in March and April can reach more than 0.8. Starting in May, with the ice and snow melting and melt ponds forming, the albedo drops rapidly to 0.5–0.6. Into August, the melt ponds begin to freeze and the surface albedo increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, engineering, and society increasingly require integrative thinking about emerging problems in complex systems, a notion referred to as convergence science. Due to the concurrent pressures of two main stressors—rapid climate change and industrialization, Arctic research demands such a paradigm of scientific inquiry. This perspective represents a synthesis of a vision for its application in Arctic system studies, developed by a group of disciplinary experts consisting of social and earth system scientists, ecologists, and engineers. Our objective is to demonstrate how convergence research questions can be developed via a holistic view of system interactions that are then parsed into material links and concrete inquiries of disciplinary and interdisciplinary nature. We illustrate the application of the convergence science paradigm to several forms of Arctic stressors using the Yamal Peninsula of the Russian Arctic as a representative natural laboratory with a biogeographic gradient from the forest‐tundra ecotone to the high Arctic. Plain Language Summary: This paper represents a synthesis of conceptual analyses, case study analyses, and practical thoughts on the application of convergence science in Arctic change studies. During a virtual workshop in 2020, a diverse, multi‐national team of authors consisting of social scientists, engineers, earth system scientists, and ecologists came together to formulate broad, scientifically, and societally important questions on how the Arctic system in the Yamal Peninsula of Western Siberia responds to pressures of rapidly changing climate and increasing industrialization. The team "engineered" a novel approach for expert (representing a disciplinary domain) and non‐expert (representatives of other disciplines) communication and at the workshop conclusion developed several convergence science questions of high appeal. Three of such questions are presented in this manuscript to illustrate how the search and identification of appropriate mechanistic linkages are critical to the development of system‐level understanding of stressor impact propagation. The need to understand underlying disciplinary and cross‐disciplinary mechanisms connecting Arctic system elements is viewed to be an inherent part of the convergence science approach. Through pursuit of such understanding, the approach naturally leads to other novel emerging questions, thereby stimulating further application of the process of integrative thinking. Key Points: Arctic research demands convergence science as essential method to understand impacts from novel stressorsAn integrative approach is developed by a diverse team to formulate questions that cannot be fully addressed within disciplinary studiesA convergence science analysis is illustrated for three questions applicable to Yamal, Russian Arctic, a microcosm of the changing Arctic [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate factors including soil temperature and moisture, incident solar radiation, and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration are important environmental controls on methane (CH4) emissions from northern wetlands. We investigated the spatiotemporal distributions of the influence of these factors on northern high latitude wetland CH4 emissions using an enhanced version of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) land surface model. We simulated CH4 emissions from wetlands across the pan-Arctic domain over the period 1948-2006, yielding annual average emissions of 35.1 ± 6.7 TgCH4 yr-1 for the period 1997-2006. We characterized historical sensitivities to air temperature, precipitation, incident long- and short-wave radiation, and atmospheric [CO2] as a function of average summer air temperature and precipitation. Emissions from relatively warm and dry wetlands in the southern (permafrost-free) portion of the domain were positively correlated with precipitation and negatively correlated with air temperature, while emissions from wetter and colder wetlands further north (permafrost) were positively correlated with air temperature. Over the entire period 1948-2006, our reconstructed CH4 emissions increased by 20 %, over 90% of which can be attributed to climate change. An increasing trend in summer air temperature explained the majority of the climate-related variance. We estimated future emissions in response to 21st century warming as predicted by CMIP5 model projections to result in end of century CH4 emissions 42% higher than our reconstructed 1997-2006 emissions, accompanied by the northward migration of warmer- and drier-than optimal conditions for CH4 emissions, implying a reduced role for temperature in driving future increases in emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance of the water, energy, and food (WEF) nexus is significant in the Arctic, where environmental changes are occurring at an accelerated pace, intensifying resource dynamics and geopolitical implications. Against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving Arctic landscape shaped by the global climate change, melting ice, and resource exploration, the WEF nexus emerges as a vital framework for understanding and addressing the region's complex resource interdependencies. Nonetheless, legal research in this context is still in its early stages, and, specifically in the context of the Arctic, we did not find any such research. This study assesses a nexus approach to WEF in Arctic's transdisciplinary and multifaceted environment from an international law perspective to address the intricate dynamics that shape the resilience and security of WEF resources in an increasingly interconnected and accessible Arctic. Our objective in this study is to introduce international law as an overarching network of international rules and principles, legal instruments, and relevant institutions as a starting point to address the WEF governance intricacies in the Arctic, facilitating the harmonization of diverse interests, ensuring equitable access to resources, and promoting sustainable development. We argue that international law constitutes the essential means to address a nexus approach to WEF and its issues and complexities in a transboundary context within the Arctic. By examining existing international legal frameworks applicable to the Arctic and related instruments, policies, journals, and other publications, this paper seeks to canvas how international law is in support of a nexus approach to WEF in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the best indicators of the periglacial environment, ice-wedge polygons (IWPs) are important for arctic landscapes, hydrology, engineering, and ecosystems. Thus, a better understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics and evolution of IWPs is key to evaluating the hydrothermal state and carbon budgets of the arctic permafrost environment. In this paper, the dynamics of ground surface deformation (GSD) in IWP zones (2018–2019) and their influencing factors over the last 20 years in Saskylakh, northwestern Yakutia, Russia were investigated using the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Google Earth Engine (GEE). The results show an annual ground surface deformation rate (AGSDR) in Saskylakh at −49.73 to 45.97 mm/a during the period from 1 June 2018 to 3 May 2019. All the selected GSD regions indicate that the relationship between GSD and land surface temperature (LST) is positive (upheaving) for regions with larger AGSDR, and negative (subsidence) for regions with lower AGSDR. The most drastic deformation was observed at the Aeroport regions with GSDs rates of −37.06 mm/a at tower and 35.45 mm/a at runway. The GSDs are negatively correlated with the LST of most low-centered polygons (LCPs) and high-centered polygons (HCPs). Specifically, the higher the vegetation cover, the higher the LST and the thicker the active layer. An evident permafrost degradation has been observed in Saskylakh as reflected in higher ground temperatures, lusher vegetation, greater active layer thickness, and fluctuant numbers and areal extents of thermokarst lakes and ponds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) monitoring for an advanced understanding of snow cover processes and structure. For this purpose, the study uses the Hansbreen (SW Spitsbergen) records that are among the longest and the most comprehensive snow-cover GPR monitoring records available on Svalbard. While snow depth (HS) is frequently the only feature derived from high-frequency radio-echo sounding (RES), this study also offers an analysis of the physical characteristics (grain shape, size, hardness, and density) of the snow cover structure. We demonstrate that, based on GPR data (800 MHz) and a single snow pit, it is possible to extrapolate the detailed features of snow cover to the accumulation area. Field studies (snow pits and RES) were conducted at the end of selected accumulation seasons in the period 2008–2019, under dry snow conditions and HS close to the maximum. The paper shows that although the snow cover structure varies in space and from season to season, a single snow pit site can represent the entire center line of the accumulation zone. Numerous hard layers (HLs) (up to 30% of the snow column) were observed that reflect progressive climate change, but there is no trend in quantity, thickness, or percentage contribution in total snow depth in the study period. HLs with strong crystal bonds create a "framework" in the snowpack, which reduces compaction and, consequently, the ice formation layers slow down the rate of snowpack metamorphosis. The extrapolation of snow pit data through radar profiling is a novel solution that can improve spatial recognition of snow cover characteristics and the accuracy of calculation of snow water equivalent (SWE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time‐lapse cameras have been widely used as a tool to monitor the timing of seasonal vegetation growth. These simple, relatively inexpensive systems can provide high‐frequency observations of leaf development and demography which are critical data sets needed to characterize plant phenology from species to landscapes. This is important for understanding how plants are responding to global changes, as well as for validating satellite‐derived phenology products.However, in remote regions including the high‐latitude Arctic, deploying time‐lapse cameras could be challenging. The remoteness and lack of widespread power and telecommunications infrastructure limit options for the installation, maintenance and retrieval of data and equipment, and make it difficult for cameras to survive in extreme weather (e.g. long cold winters). To improve our understanding of Arctic phenology, new technologies are required to address these challenges.Here, we present a novel, low‐power, compact, lightweight time‐lapse camera system, called power‐interval camera automation module (PiCAM). The PiCAM was designed with explicit consideration to simplify deployment (i.e. without a need for external power supplies) of camera systems and to address the challenges of camera survival in harsh Arctic environments. In this paper, we describe the design, setup and technical details of the PiCAM and provide a roadmap for how to build and operate these systems. As proof of concept, we deployed 26 PiCAMs at three low‐Arctic tundra sites on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska in early August 2021 for characterizing Arctic plant phenology.Of the 26 PiCAMs, 70% remained active at the point of our revisit in late July 2022 despite the extreme winter temperatures they experienced (< −30°C, heavy snow cover). We extracted key plant phenology metrics from the PiCAMs and captured strong differences across key Arctic plant species. We showed that the PiCAM has the potential to be widely used for monitoring plant phenology across the broader Arctic region, addressing the need for ground‐based understanding of Arctic phenological diversity to develop knowledge of plant response to climate change and to validate remote sensing products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The Arctic is rapidly warming posing a significant threat to underlying permafrost. Permafrost degradation has already resulted in extensive damage to the Arctic's built infrastructure, putting communities and industries at risk. Projected climate warming will further reduce the capacity of permafrost to support infrastructure, thereby requiring a rethinking of construction and development of permafrost regions in the future. This paper focuses on three Arctic regions with a substantial presence of population and infrastructure on permafrost: USA (Alaska), Canada, and Russia. The three regions' permafrost construction practices are examined in order to identify best practices and major gaps. We identify a lack of standardized, codified construction guidelines; an absence of permafrost-geotechnical monitoring in communities; barriers to integrating climate scenarios into future planning; limited data sharing; and low numbers of permafrost professionals as major constraints limiting the region's resilience in the face of climate change. Refining building practices and standards, implementing operational permafrost monitoring systems, developing downscaled climate projections, and integrating local knowledge will minimize the impacts of permafrost degradation under rapidly warming climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic Ocean freshwater storage increased since the mid‐1990s, but the cause was unknown. Jahn and Laiho (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL088854) use ensemble runs of a coupled climate model to suggest that the observed increase is anthropogenic. The paper quantifies when the anthropogenic signals should emerge from the noise of natural variability. This result contextualizes research on the Arctic Ocean freshwater system and sketches an unprecedented opportunity. Future work should elucidate mechanisms, seek to observe the anthropogenic freshwater changes, and investigate the impacts on biogeochemistry and the North Atlantic Ocean circulation. Plain Language Summary: The Arctic is a region of clear man‐made climate change. Changes in the Arctic Ocean salinity and currents have been seen, but the cause was unknown. A new paper shows that the changes are probably due to man‐made climate change. The reason is they only occur in a climate model with man‐made climate forcing. This is an important result because it helps scientists focus their research into how the changes work. It also points to a valuable opportunity to watch the Arctic Ocean respond to man‐made climate change. There might be important future impacts on North Atlantic oceanography and North Atlantic climate that scientists can now look for. Key Points: A recent paper shows that observed increases in Arctic Ocean freshwater storage are anthropogenicThe paper anticipates future anthropogenic changes, which are testable predictions for observersThere are widespread impacts of anthropogenic freshwater change, both within the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over decadal-centennial timescales, only a few mechanisms in the carbon-climate system could cause a massive net redistribution of carbon from land and ocean systems to the atmosphere in response to climate warming. The largest such climate-vulnerable carbon pool is the old organic carbon (OC) stored in Arctic permafrost (perennially frozen) soils. Climate warming, both predicted and now observed to be the strongest globally in the Eurasian Arctic and Alaska, caused thaw-release of old permafrost carbon from local tundra sites. However, a central challenge for the assessment of the general vulnerability of this old OC pool is to deduce any signal integrating its release over larger scales. Here we examine radiocarbon measurements of molecular soil markers exported by the five Great Russian-Arctic Rivers (Ob, Yenisey, Lena, Indigirka and Kolyma), employed as natural integrators of carbon release processes in their watersheds. Average radiocarbon ages of n-alkanes increased east-to-west from 6400 yr BP in Kolyma to 11 400 yr BP in Ob, consistent with a warmer climate and more degraded organic matter westward. The dynamics of Siberian permafrost can thus be probed via radiocarbon river signals. Old permafrost carbon is at present vulnerable to mobilization over continental scales. Climate-induced changes in the radiocarbon fingerprint of released permafrost carbon will likely depend on changes in both permafrost coverage and Arctic soil hydraulics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic tundra consists of diverse habitats that differ in dominant vegetation, soil moisture regimes, and relative importance of organic vs. inorganic nutrient cycling. The Arctic is also the most rapidly warming global area, with winter warming dominating. This warming is expected to have dramatic effects on tundra carbon and nutrient dynamics. We completed a meta‐analysis of 166 experimental warming study papers to evaluate the hypotheses that warming changes tundra biogeochemical cycles in a habitat‐ and seasonally specific manner and that the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycles will be differentially accelerated, leading to decoupling of elemental cycles. We found that nutrient availability and plant leaf stoichiometry responses to experimental warming were variable and overall weak, but that both gross primary productivity and the plant C pool tended to increase with growing season warming. The effects of winter warming on C fluxes did not extend into the growing season. Overall, although warming led to more consistent increases in C fluxes compared to N or P fluxes, evidence for decoupling of biogeochemical cycles is weak and any effect appears limited to heath habitats. However, data on many habitats are too sparse to be able to generalize how warming might decouple biogeochemical cycles, and too few year‐round warming studies exist to ascertain whether the season under which warming occurs alters how ecosystems respond to warming. Coordinated field campaigns are necessary to more robustly document tundra habitat‐specific responses to realistic climate warming scenarios in order to better understand the mechanisms driving this heterogeneity and identify the tundra habitats, communities, and soil pools most susceptible to warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of 30 years of permafrost thermal monitoring in the Tiksi area in the eastern Russian Arctic. At a stone ridge site, the mean annual temperatures in the upper 30 m of the ground have increased by 1–2.4 °C compared to the first years of observations, with trends of °C/yr. At the same time, its change was uneven. In the last 20 years, the rate of increase has increased compared with the first decade of observations. At wet tundra sites in the foothill plain, the mean annual temperatures at the top of permafrost have increased by 2.4–2.6 °C between 2005 and 2022 at rates of 0.11–0.15 °C/yr, and the active layer thicknesses have increased at rates of 0.05–0.41 cm/yr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fjord systems are transition zones between land and sea, resulting in complex and dynamic environments. They are of particular interest in theArctic as they harbour ecosystems inhabited by a rich range of species and provide many societal benefits. The key drivers of change in the European Arctic (i.e., Greenland, Svalbard, and Northern Norway) fjord socio-ecological systems are reviewed here, structured into five categories: cryosphere (sea ice, glacier mass balance, and glacial and riverine discharge), physics (seawater temperature, salinity, and light), chemistry (carbonate system, nutrients), biology (primary production, biomass, and species richness), and social (governance, tourism, and fisheries). The data available for the past and present state of these drivers, aswell as futuremodel projections, are analysed in a companion paper. Changes to the two drivers at the base of most interactions within fjords, seawater temperature and glacier mass balance, will have the most significant and profound consequences on the future of European Arctic fjords. This is because even though governance may be effective at mitigating/adapting to local disruptions caused by the changing climate, there is possibly nothing that can be done to halt the melting of glaciers, the warming of fjord waters, and all of the downstream consequences that these two changes will have. This review provides the first transdisciplinary synthesis of the interactions between the drivers of changewithinArctic fjord socio-ecological systems. Knowledge of what these drivers of change are, and how they interact with one another, should provide more expedient focus for future research on the needs of adapting to the changing Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The currently-observed increase in human activity in the Arctic accelerates the negative impact on the environment as well as increases the risk of threats to mankind itself. This paper reviews and summarises a selection of studies on the interaction between humans and the environment in the Arctic coastal zone, which is impacted by a warming climate and associated geohazards. The paper presents a general description of human presence in the Arctic, identifies and describes the processes that are threatening the infrastructure, and the anthropogenic processes that have a negative impact on the Arctic. It considers the possible future economic opportunities, and presents the sustainable requirements for modern human activity in the Arctic. The paper demonstrates the urgent need to develop a common, Arctic-wide strategy based on sustainable development. The time has come to change human perception of the Arctic because, in the near future, it may be considered as a refuge for climate change refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and predicting Arctic change and its impacts on global climate requires broad, sustained observations of the atmosphere-ice-ocean system, yet technological and logistical challenges severely restrict the temporal and spatial scope of observing efforts. Satellite remote sensing provides unprecedented, pan-Arctic measurements of the surface, but complementary in situ observations are required to complete the picture. Over the past few decades, a diverse range of autonomous platforms have been developed to make broad, sustained observations of the ice-free ocean, often with near-real-time data delivery. Though these technologies are well suited to the difficult environmental conditions and remote logistics that complicate Arctic observing, they face a suite of additional challenges, such as limited access to satellite services that make geolocation and communication possible. This paper reviews new platform and sensor developments, adaptations of mature technologies, and approaches for their use, placed within the framework of Arctic Ocean observing needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid extensive magmatism may have a profound effect on global climate by liberating and releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere through contact metamorphism of lithologically heterogeneous host rocks and degassing of magma and associated lava flows. The high Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard offers accessible, superbly exposed outcrops revealing Early Cretaceous magmatism associated with the High Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP). In this contribution, we investigate the onshore‐offshore intrusive complex of central Spitsbergen formed due to HALIP activity, that is, the Diabasodden Suite. This is the most "data‐rich" part of Svalbard due to past petroleum exploration and research drilling. In this area, the predominantly dolerite intrusions are emplaced in a range of host rocks ranging from Permian carbonate‐dominated successions to organic‐rich shale‐dominated successions of Middle Triassic and Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous age. Two hundred sixty five individual igneous intrusions, covering 72 km2, are exposed onshore in the study area. This equates to approximately 0.14–2.5 km3 of emplaced magma. In addition, subsurface characterization using borehole, seismic and magnetic data indicates that an area of additional ca. 3,000 km2 is affected by magmatism (magma volume 3.2–195.2 km3). Wireline logs in boreholes characterize both intrusions and associated aureoles. Aureoles with very low resistivity indicate occurrence of organic‐rich shales suggesting past fluid circulation and de‐gassing. This study forms the foundation for quantifying HALIP‐related magmatism in the data‐poorer parts of Svalbard, and other circum‐Arctic basins. Plain Language Summary: Volcanic eruptions are known to influence global climate today. In the past, even greater volcanic eruptions have happened than we know today, and some of these likely caused major global climatic shifts and contributed to mass extinctions. Volcanic eruptions are fed by a complex of sub‐surface magma pathways. If magma in such "plumbing systems" does not reach the Earth's surface, it will solidify horizontally (as sills) or vertically (as dykes). Together dykes and sills form an igneous complex that heats up the surrounding rocks and may cause the release of gas during this process. If this happens relatively near to the surface, this gas may escape to the atmosphere and contribute to global climate change. The key variables that control the extent of climate effects include the emplacement depth, the spatial extent of the magmatism and the lithology of the host rocks. In this paper, we examine the igneous complex of dykes and sills in Spitsbergen in the high Arctic. We use borehole, seismic and field data to calculate how much magma was emplaced in this area and discuss whether it may have contributed to global climate change approximately 125 million years ago. Key Points: Igneous intrusions are well exposed in central Spitsbergen across a range of host rocksTwo‐hundred sixty five intrusions cover 72 km2 of the onshore part, and a further 3,000 km2 of intrusions are characterized by geophysical dataIgneous intrusions and associated aureoles are characterized by wireline data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a bifurcation analysis of a simple energy balance model (EBM) for the future climate of the Earth. The main focus is on the following question: can the nonlinear processes intrinsic to atmospheric physics, including natural positive feedback mechanisms, cause a mathematical bifurcation of the climate state, as a consequence of continued anthropogenic forcing by rising greenhouse gas emissions? Our analysis shows that such a bifurcation could cause an abrupt change to a drastically different climate state in the EBM, which is warmer and more equable than any climate existing on Earth since the Pliocene epoch. In previous papers, with this EBM adapted to paleoclimate conditions, it was shown to exhibit saddle-node and cusp bifurcations, as well as hysteresis. The EBM was validated by the agreement of its predicted bifurcations with the abrupt climate changes that are known to have occurred in the paleoclimate record, in the Antarctic at the Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) and in the Arctic at the Pliocene–Paleocene transition (PPT). In this paper, the EBM is adapted to fit Anthropocene climate conditions, with emphasis on the Arctic and Antarctic climates. The four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) considered by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) are used to model future CO2 concentrations, corresponding to different scenarios of anthropogenic activity. In addition, the EBM investigates four naturally occurring nonlinear feedback processes which magnify the warming that would be caused by anthropogenic CO2 emissions alone. These four feedback mechanisms are ice–albedo feedback, water vapour feedback, ocean heat transport feedback, and atmospheric heat transport feedback. The EBM predicts that a bifurcation resulting in a catastrophic climate change, to a pre-Pliocene-like climate state, will occur in coming centuries for an RCP with unabated anthropogenic forcing, amplified by these positive feedbacks. However, the EBM also predicts that appropriate reductions in carbon emissions may limit climate change to a more tolerable continuation of what is observed today. The globally averaged version of this EBM has an equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) of 4.34 K, near the high end of the likely range reported by the IPCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic is warming and losing sea ice. Happening at a much faster rate than previously expected, these changes are causing multiple ecosystem feedbacks in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) initiative was developed by early-career scientists as an integrative, international, multidisciplinary, long-term pan-Arctic network to study changes and feedbacks among the physical and biogeochemical components of the Arctic Ocean and their ultimate impacts on biological productivity on different timescales. In 2012, ART jointly organized with the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists their second science workshop—Overcoming Challenges of Observation to Model Integration in Marine Ecosystem Response to Sea Ice Transitions—at the Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences, in Sopot. This workshop aimed to identify linkages and feedbacks between atmosphere–ice–ocean forcing and biogeochemical processes, which are critical for ecosystem function, land–ocean interactions and productive capacity of the Arctic Ocean. This special thematic cluster of Polar Research brings together seven papers that grew out of workgroup discussions. Papers examine the climate change impacts on various ecosystem elements, providing important insights on the marine ecological and biogeochemical processes on various timescales. They also highlight priority areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent retreat of nearly all glaciers and ice caps (GICs) located in Arctic regions is one of the most clear and visible signs of ongoing climate change. This paper synthesizes published records of Holocene GIC fluctuations from lake archives, placing their recent retreat into a longer-term context. Our compilation includes 66 lake-based GIC records (plus one non-lake-based record from the Russian Arctic) from seven Arctic regions: Alaska, Baffin Island in northeastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Scandinavian peninsula, Svalbard, and the Russian high Arctic. For each region and for the full Arctic, we summarize evidence for when GICs were smaller than today or absent altogether, indicating warmer-than-present summers, and evidence for when GICs regrew in lake catchments, indicating summer cooling. Consistent with orbitally driven high boreal summer insolation in the early Holocene, the full Arctic compilation suggests that the majority (50 % or more) of studied GICs were smaller than present or absent by ∼10 ka. We find the highest percentage (>90 %) of Arctic GICs smaller than present or absent in the middle Holocene at ∼ 7–6 ka, probably reflecting more spatially ubiquitous and consistent summer warmth during this period than in the early Holocene. Following this interval of widespread warmth, our compilation shows that GICs across the Arctic began to regrow and summers began to cool by ∼6 ka. Together, the Arctic records also suggest two periods of enhanced GIC growth in the middle to late Holocene from ∼ 4.5–3 and after ∼2 ka. The regional records show variability in the timing of GIC regrowth within and between regions, suggesting that the Arctic did not cool synchronously despite the smooth and hemispherically symmetric decline in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. In agreement with other studies, this implies a combined response to glacier-specific characteristics such as topography and to other climatic forcings and feedback mechanisms, perhaps driving periods of increased regional cooling. Today, the direction of orbital forcing continues to favor GIC expansion; however, the rapid retreat of nearly all Arctic GICs underscores the current dominance of anthropogenic forcing on GIC mass balance. Our review finds that in the first half of the Holocene, most of the Arctic's small GICs became significantly reduced or melted away completely in response to summer temperatures that, on average, were only moderately warmer than today. In comparison, future projections of temperature change in the Arctic far exceed estimated early Holocene values in most locations, portending the eventual loss of most of the Arctic's small GICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea ice continues to decline across many regions of the Arctic, with remaining ice becoming increasingly younger and more dynamic. These changes alter the habitats of microbial life that live within the sea ice, which support healthy functioning of the marine ecosystem and provision of resources for human-consumption, in addition to influencing biogeochemical cycles (e.g. air–sea CO2 exchange). With the susceptibility of sea ice ecosystems to climate change, there is a pressing need to fill knowledge gaps surrounding sea ice habitats and their microbial communities. Of fundamental importance to this goal is the development of new methodologies that permit effective study of them. Based on outcomes from the DiatomARCTIC project, this paper integrates existing knowledge with case studies to provide insight on how to best document sea ice microbial communities, which contributes to the sustainable use and protection of Arctic marine and coastal ecosystems in a time of environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an assessment of long-term trends in total cloud cover in the Arctic for the period 1985-2020 based on surface observations. Analysis shows that total cloud cover exhibits a substantial variation both between seasons and from year to year. Two areas of positive trends were found in the total cloud cover from October to April over the Arctic: one in the North Atlantic from 20° W up to 90° E and another from 150° E up to 150° W, which may be a result of atmospheric heat and moisture transport through the Atlantic and Pacific gates. Throughout the year, positive trends dominate over the Arctic Ocean and its seas (except for the Laptev Sea). Negative trends prevail over the continental parts of the Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are increasing challenges among the elderly in the Arctic region. Global warming due to climate change is one of the major reasons for these challenges. Because of climate change temperature in the region increases, which results in rapid melting of sea ice causing various environmental, social, cultural and economic problems. Population in the region suffers from these problems where elderly people are the most vulnerable. Climate change has already affected the elderly lives in different ways, such as, by physical, social, political, cultural and psychological ways. These have serious consequences in terms of human rights of this vulnerable group of people. However, the elderly people's human rights issues have not been adequately researched in the context of this region. The goal of this paper is to present elderly related human rights issues, particularly the rights that are affected due to climate change in this specific region [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic climate is changing, carrying wide-ranging implications for indigenous and non-indigenous inhabitants, businesses, industry and government across the circumpolar region. The latest scientific assessments indicate that change is happening faster than previously thought, and that the Arctic will continue to experience dramatic climate change in the future. This special edition of Polar Research brings together nine papers on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability in the Arctic, providing important insights on the nature of the risks and opportunities posed by climate change in the circumpolar region, highlighting opportunities for policy response and providing insights on how to conduct effective climate change research with Arctic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of the interannual variability in temperature and precipitation datasets used as forcing fields for hydrologic models will lead to a more complete description of hydrologic model uncertainty, in turn helping scientists study the larger goal of how the Arctic terrestrial systemis responding to global change. Accordingly, this paper investigates temporal and spatial variability in monthly mean (1992--2000) temperature and precipitation datasets over the Western Arctic Linkage Experiment (WALE) study region. The six temperature datasets include 1) the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University--National Center for Atmospheric Research MesoscaleModel (MM5); 2) the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40); 3) the Advanced Polar Pathfinderall-sky temperatures (APP); 4) National Centers for Environmental Prediction--National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP--NCAR) reanalyses (NCEP1); 5) the Climatic Research Unit/University of East Anglia CRUTEM2v (CRU); and 6) the Matsuura and Wilmott 0.5° × 0.5° Global Surface Air Temperature and Precipitation (MW). Comparisons of monthly precipitation are examined for MM5, ERA-40, NCEP1, CRU, and MW. Results of the temporal analyses indicate significant differences between at least two datasets (for either temperature or precipitation) in almost every month. The largest number of significant differences for temperature occurs in October, when there are five separate groupings; for precipitation, there are four significantly different groupings from March through June, and again in December. Spatial analyses of June temperatures indicate that the greatest dissimilarity is concentrated in the central portion of the study region, with the NCEP1 and APP datasets showing the greatest differences. In comparison, the spatial analysis of June precipitation datasets suggests that the largest dissimilarity is concentrated in the eastern portion of the study region. These results indicate that the choice of forcing datasets likely will have a significant effecton the output from hydrologic models, and several different datasets should beused for a robust hydrologic assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impacts on Indigenous peoples in remote regions pose unique institutional challenges and opportunities for governments. Reducing vulnerability and enabling collaborative knowledge creation through the inclusive consideration of Indigenous peoples' perspectives in government and institutional efforts can help to advance adaptation to environmental change. In Northern Canada, Indigenous communities and multiple levels of the Canadian government and its institutions, including the Canadian Armed Forces, share the commensurate task and responsibility of responding to, tracking, monitoring and adapting to rapid climatic changes and impacts associated with climate change in the Arctic. In this review paper, we explore how Canadian governments may effectively work as partners and catalysts for advancing mutually beneficial climate change adaptation efforts with Indigenous peoples and communities affected by climate change in remote Arctic regions of Northern Canada. We review knowledge and concepts related to Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge in the context of institutional adaptation planning and policy approaches in remote regions. First, we provide a geographical and contextual background that informs the efforts of institutional partners and Indigenous communities seeking to mutually address long-term challenges associated with adapting to climate change, specifically in the remote Canadian Arctic. Second, we unpack knowledge for advancing collaborative adaptation efforts between Indigenous peoples and institutions in the Arctic. We identify relevant gaps and opportunities for enhancing institutional approaches to climate change adaptation involving Indigenous peoples in remote regions like the Arctic. We conclude with a summary of policy relevant insights for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in climate, land-use and pollution are having disproportionate impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity of arctic and mountain ecosystems. While these impacts are well-documented for many areas of the Arctic and alpine regions, some isolated and inaccessible mountain areas are poorly studied. Furthermore, even in well-studied regions, assessments of biodiversity and species responses to environmental change are biased towards vascular plants and cryptogams, particularly bryophytes are far less represented. This paper aims to document the environments of the remote and inaccessible Altai-Sayan mountain mires and particularly their bryofloras where threatened species exist and species new to the regional flora are still being found. As these mountain mires are relatively inaccessible, changes in drivers of change and their ecosystem and biodiversity impacts have not been monitored. However, the remoteness of the mires has so far protected them and their species. In this study, we describe the mires, their bryophyte species and the expected impacts of environmental stressors to bring attention to the urgency of documenting change and conserving these pristine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines teleconnections between the Arctic and the Baltic Sea region and is based on two cases of CESM-LE climate model simulations': the stationary case with pre-industrial radiative forcing and the climate change case with measured and RCP8.5 radiative forcing. Stationary control simulation 1800-year long time-series were used for stationary teleconnection and 40-member ensemble from the period 1920-2100 for teleconnections during ongoing climate change. We analyzed seasonal temperature at a 2-meter level, sea-level pressure, sea ice concentration, precipitations, geopotential height and 10-meter level wind speed. The Arctic was divided into seven areas. the Baltic Sea region climate has strong teleconnections with the Arctic climate; the strongest connections are with Svalbard and Greenland region. There is high seasonality in the teleconnections, with the strongest correlations in winter and the lowest correlations in summer, when the local factors are stronger. The majority of teleconnections in winter and spring can be explained by climate indexes NAO and AO. During ongoing climate change, the teleconnection patterns did not show remarkable developments by the end of the 21st century. Minor pattern changes are between the Baltic Sea region temperature and the sea ice concentration. To estimate different Arctic regions' collective statistical connections with the Baltic Sea region, we calculated the correlation between the parameter and its Ridge regression estimation. Seasonal coefficient of determination, R2, were highest for winter: for temperature R2 = 0.64, for surface pressure R2 = 0.44 and for precipitation R2 = 0.35. When doing the same for the seasons' previous month values in the Arctic, the relations are considerably weaker with the highest R2 = 0.09 for temperature in the spring. Hence, the forecasting capacity of Arctic climate data for the Baltic Sea region is weak. Although there are statistically significant teleconnections between the Arctic and Baltic Sea region, the Arctic impacts are regional and mostly connected with climate indexes. There are no simple cause-and-effect pathways. By the end of the 21st century, the Arctic ice concentration has significantly decreased. Still, the general teleconnections pattern between the Arctic and the Baltic Sea region will not change considerably by the end of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout history, humans have experienced epidemics. The balance of living in nature encircled by microorganisms is delicate. More than 70% of today's emerging infections are zoonotic, i.e., those in which microorganisms transmitted from animals infect humans. Species are on the move at speeds never previously recorded, among ongoing climate change which is especially rapid at high latitudes. This calls for intensified international surveillance of Northern infectious diseases. Russia holds the largest area of thawing permafrost among Northern nations, a process which threatens to rapidly disrupt the balance of nature. In this paper, we provide details regarding Russian health infrastructure in order to take the first steps toward a collaborative international survey of Northern infections and international harmonization of the procured data.

Climate change and global warming strongly impact the cryosphere. The rise of air temperature and change of precipitation patterns lead to dramatic responses of snow and ice heat and mass balance. Sustainable field observations on lake air–snow–ice–water temperature regime have been carried out in Lake Orajärvi in the vicinity of the Finnish Space Centre, a Flagship Supersite in Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland since 2009. A thermistor-string-based snow and ice mass balance buoy called "Snow and ice mass balance apparatus (SIMBA)" was deployed in the lake at the beginning of each ice season. In this paper, we describe snow and ice temperature regimes, snow depth, ice thickness, and ice compositions retrieved from SIMBA observations as well as meteorological variables based on high-quality observations at the Finnish Space Centre. Ice thickness in Lake Orajärvi showed an increasing trend. During the decade of data collection (1) the November–May mean air temperature had an increasing trend of 0.16 ∘ C per year, and the interannual variations were highly correlated (r = 0.93) with the total seasonal accumulated precipitation; (2) the maximum granular ice thickness ranged from 15 % to 80 % of the maximum total ice thickness; and (3) the snow depth on lake ice was not correlated (r = 0.21) with the total precipitation. The data set can be applied to investigate the lake ice surface heat balance and the role of snow in lake ice mass balance and to improve the parameterization of snow to ice transformation in snow and ice models. The data are archived at 10.5281/zenodo.4559368 (Cheng et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal fishery systems in the Arctic are undergoing rapid change. This paper examines the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to such change, using a case study from Pangnirtung, Canada. The work is based on over two years of fieldwork, during which semi-structured interviews (n = 62), focus group discussions (n = 6, 31 participants) and key informant interviews (n = 25) were conducted. The changes that most Inuit fishers experience are: changes in sea-ice conditions, Inuit people themselves, the landscape and the seascape, fish-related changes, and changes in weather conditions, markets and fish selling prices. Inuit fishers respond to change individually as well as collectively. Fishers' responses were examined using the characteristics of a resilience-based conceptual framework focusing on place, human agency, collective action and collaboration, institutions, indigenous and local knowledge systems, and learning. Based on results, this paper identified three community-level adaptive strategies, which are diversification, technology use and fisheries governance that employs a co-management approach. Further, this work recognised four place-specific attributes that can shape community adaptations, which are Inuit worldviews, Inuit-owned institutions, a culture of sharing and collaborating, and indigenous and local knowledge systems. An examination of the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to change is essential to better understand adaptations to climate change. This study delivers new insights to communities, scientists, and policymakers to work together to foster community adaptation., (Crown Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: General knowledge on climate change effects and adaptation strategies has increased significantly in recent years. However, there is still a substantial information gap regarding the influence of climate change on infectious diseases and how these diseases should be identified. From a One Health perspective, zoonotic infections are of particular concern. The climate in Northern regions is changing faster than the global average. This study sought to identify climate-sensitive infectious diseases (CSIs) of relevance for humans and/or animals living in Northern regions. Inclusion criteria for CSIs were constructed using expert assessments. Based on these principles, 37 potential CSIs relevant for Northern regions were identified. A systematic literature search was performed in three databases using an explicit stepwise approach to determine whether the literature supports selection of these 37 potential CSIs., Results: In total, 1275 nominated abstracts were read and categorised using predefined criteria. Results showed that arthropod vector-borne diseases in particular are recognised as having potential to expand their distribution towards Northern latitudes and that tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis, midge-borne bluetongue and the parasitic infection fasciolosis can be classified as climate-sensitive. Many of the other potential CSIs considered are affected by extreme weather events, but could not be clearly classified as climate-sensitive. An additional literature search comparing awareness of climate influences on potential CSIs between 1997-2006 and 2007-2016 showed an increase in the number of papers mentioning effects of climate change., Conclusions: The four CSIs identified in this study could be targeted in a systematic surveillance programme in Northern regions. It is evident that climate change can affect the epidemiology and geographical range of many infectious diseases, but there were difficulties in identifying additional CSIs, most likely because other factors may be of equal or greater importance. However, climate-ecological dynamics are constantly under change, and therefore diseases may fall in or out of the climate-sensitive definition over time. There is increasing awareness in the literature of the effects of climate change on infectious diseases over time.

Reanalysis data show an increasing trend in Arctic precipitation over the 20th century, but changes are not homogenous across seasons or space. The observed hydroclimate changes are expected to continue and possibly accelerate in the coming century, not only affecting pan-Arctic natural ecosystems and human activities, but also lower latitudes through the atmospheric and ocean circulations. However, a lack of spatiotemporal observational data makes reliable quantification of Arctic hydroclimate change difficult, especially in a long-term context. To understand Arctic hydroclimate and its variability prior to the instrumental record, climate proxy records are needed. The purpose of this review is to summarise the current understanding of Arctic hydroclimate during the past 2000 years. First, the paper reviews the main natural archives and proxies used to infer past hydroclimate variations in this remote region and outlines the difficulty of disentangling the moisture from the temperature signal in these records. Second, a comparison of two sets of hydroclimate records covering the Common Era from two data-rich regions, North America and Fennoscan-dia, reveals inter- and intra-regional differences. Third, building on earlier work, this paper shows the potential for providing a high-resolution hydroclimate reconstruction for the Arctic and a comparison with last-millennium simulations from fully coupled climate models. In general, hydroclimate proxies and simulations indicate that the Medieval Climate Anomaly tends to have been wetter than the Little Ice Age (LIA), but there are large regional differences. However, the regional coverage of the proxy data is inadequate, with distinct data gaps in most of Eurasia and parts of North America, making robust assessments for the whole Arctic impossible at present. To fully assess pan-Arctic hydroclimate variability for the last 2 millennia, additional proxy records are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on the presence of atmospheric fungi in both Arctic and Antarctic polar areas are rare, and many of them were carried out briefly. Currently, when climate change is a fact, polar areas may be subject to various changes and fluctuations, negatively affecting sensitive polar ecosystems. The paper presents the results of tests on presence of fungi in the air over 30 years after the last investigations at the Svalbard Archipelago. A total of fifteen taxa of fungi were isolated in area of Longyearbyen, the majority of which were saprotrophic fungi of the genus Cladosporium that are associated with dead organic matter. Therefore, the presence of this taxon may be a good bioindicator of changes occurring in the Arctic environment, indirectly indicating the melting of glaciers and exposing increasingly larger areas inhabited by microorganisms, including fungi, which increase in number in the air. Additionally, the number of tourists visiting Longyearbyen is increasing, which may significantly affect the number and type of fungi in the air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite perceptions of high water availability, adequate access to sufficient water resources remains a major challenge in Alaska. This paper uses a participatory modeling approach to investigate household water vulnerability in remote Alaska and to examine factors that affect water availability and water access. Specifically, the work asks: how do water policy stakeholders conceptualize the key processes that affect household water vulnerability in the context of rural Alaska? Fourteen water policy stakeholders participated in the modeling process, which included defining the problem of household water vulnerability and constructing individual causal loop diagrams (CLDs) that represent their conceptualization of household water vulnerability. Individual CLDs were subsequently combined and five sub-models emerged: environmental, economic, infrastructure, social, and health. The environmental and economic sub-models of the CLD are explored in depth. In the environmental sub-model, climate change and environmental barriers due to geography influence household water vulnerability. In the economic sub-model, four processes and one feedback loop affect household water vulnerability, including operations and maintenance funding, the strength of the rural Alaskan economy, and the impact of regulations. To overcome household water vulnerability and make households more resilient, stakeholders highlighted policy solutions under five themes: economics, social, regulatory, technological, and environmental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout his tenure as Prime Minster of Canada (2006-2015), Stephen Harper had a particular fascination with the Canadian North, illustrated in part by his annual tours of the Canadian Arctic and Subarctic region. Using these tours as a case study, this paper argues that state discourses of sovereignty, resource development, and climate change are intertwined with the simultaneous production of a tourist landscape. This tourist landscape is established in part through the circulation of affect within state discourses, like those engaged by Harper on his northern tours. The affective economies of tourism in the Canadian Arctic are heavily intertwined with both market-focused policy objectives and the moral imperative established by climate change. The result is a discourse of northern Canada that puts it within the purview of southern Canada. In particular, the affective, economic, and ecological dynamics in northern Canada produce an image of the North as both a playground for southern desires and a place in danger that is in need of saving. This moral economy in the North proposes market-based solutions and ethics for both economic and environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid and accelerated Arctic sea-ice loss, it is beneficial to update and baseline historical change on the regional scales from a consistent, intercalibrated, long-term time series of sea-ice data for understanding regional vulnerability and monitoring ice state for climate adaptation and risk mitigation. In this paper, monthly sea-ice extents (SIEs) derived from a passive microwave sea-ice concentration climate data record for the period of 1979–2015, are used to examine Arctic-wide and regional temporal variability of sea-ice cover and their decadal trends for 15 regions of the Arctic. Three unique types of SIE annual cycles are described. Regions of vulnerability within each of three types to further warming are identified. For the Arctic as a whole, the analysis has found significant changes in both annual SIE maximum and minimum, with −2.41 ± 0.56% per decade and −13.5 ± 2.93% per decade change relative to the 1979–2015 climate average, respectively. On the regional scale, the calculated trends for the annual SIE maximum range from +2.48 to −10.8% decade−1, while the trends for the annual SIE minimum range from 0 to up to −42% decade−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the state of the Arctic cryosphere during the second half of the twentieth century and describes major findings of observational evidence since the 1950s. Although glaciers have been retreating steadily from their Little Ice Age maximum positions for decades, Arctic sea ice extent and thickness began to decline and loss of mass from the Greenland ice sheet accelerated only in the 1990s. Rapid changes in cryospheric components have occurred in this century, affecting snow cover, Arctic sea ice extent, the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet, and frozen ground temperatures. Projections for this century, based on model results from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, involve dramatic changes by 2100. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines search and rescue and backcountry medical response constraints in the Canadian Arctic and potential for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to aid in response and preparedness. Semi-structured interviews (n = 18) were conducted with search and rescue responders, Elders, and emergency management officials to collect data on current emergency response and potential for UAV use. UAV test flights (n = 17) were undertaken with community members. We analyzed five years of weather data to examine UAV flight suitability. Numerous challenges face Arctic search and rescue and backcountry emergency response. Changing social and environmental conditions were described as increasing vulnerability to backcountry emergencies. Responders desired additional first aid and emergency training. Legal and weather restrictions were found to limit where, when and who could fly UAVs. UAVs were demonstrated to have potential benefits for hazard monitoring but not for SAR or medical response due to legal restrictions, weather margins, and local capacity. We find that communities are ill-prepared for ongoing SAR demands, let alone a larger disaster. There are numerous limitations to the use of consumer UAVs by Arctic communities. Prevention of backcountry medical emergencies, building resilience to disasters, and first responder training should be prioritized over introducing UAVs to the response system., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.