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Feds outline Arctic research 'goldmine'
Rates of Arctic atmospheric warming may be "as much as three to four times faster than the global average," noted a new report from the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.
CLIMATEWIRE | The United States should improve its monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions in the Arctic from oil and gas infrastructure and investigate ways to sequester carbon dioxide in depleted Arctic oil reservoirs.
Those are just two of the recommendations put forward this week in a new report from the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC). The federal agency also suggested that officials take a closer look at how climate change is affecting critical infrastructure across Alaska, as the rates of Arctic atmospheric warming may be "as much as three to four times faster than the global average," according to the report.
The recommendations were included in the commission's “Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research,” which is designed to help guide the scientific community and related federal agencies with funding-granting power over the next two years. In this report, the commission stressed the need for better data and more knowledge on climate threats and emerging economic opportunities from global warming.
The report is a "goldmine for our researchers,” said Larry Hinzman, an assistant director of polar sciences at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “It provides direction into what our researchers need to do, but they also provide justification for those proposals going to the funding agencies.”
One area of concern is how climate change is altering the Arctic landscape — especially in the way it's contributing to the rapid thawing of permafrost. That process, noted the commission, has the potential to degrade important infrastructure.
The report noted that "changing Arctic environmental conditions" are threatening "144 Alaska Native communities." The authors recommended that officials take steps to "stabilize structures and replace pilings threatened by permafrost thaw, and develop data sets, risk assessments, and adaptation strategies that inform longer-term solutions."
It's also worth studying how climate change could impact major pieces of infrastructure to help guard against future disaster. "For example, collapse of the Yukon River bridge would interrupt transportation on the Dalton Highway and sever the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, spilling oil into the river," the authors wrote.
Permafrost thawing also could also lead to public health challenges, the report says.
Thawing ground could harbor “microorganisms” such as bacteria or viruses largely unknown to the modern human immune system. In addition, the report calls for studies that would “swiftly assess health risks” associated with pollutants and pathogens in Arctic permafrost.
During a public event this week timed to the report’s release, USARC commissioners expressed the need for action in the scientific community. Put another way, the commission wants more science in search of climate solutions and adaptations, as opposed to passive studies that simply gather data.
“A change that you'll see from in the motivation of this report is really a shift from just observing to applying that knowledge to reduce risks and hazards,” said Jackie Richter-Menge, a USARC commissioner.
