U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Alaska has recently experienced profound environmental change related to extreme weather events and deviations from the historical climate. Sustained warmth, sea ice loss, coastal flooding, river flooding, and major ecosystem changes have impacted the daily lives of Alaskans around the state. The International Arctic Research Center and the University of Alaska Fairbanks have documented these changes, and are providing individuals, Alaska businesses, communities, government, and others with the resources they need to better assess impacts and develop adaptation strategies.

The continuing acidification of the Arctic Ocean is projected to have significant ecological and socioeconomic impacts over coming decades, with consequences both for local communities and globally. This is the overarching finding of the 2018 Arctic Ocean Acidification Assessment, presented at the 2018 Arctic Biodiversity Congress. The assessment, conducted by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) of the Arctic Council, updates a 2013 assessment and presents the chemical, biological, and socioeconomic impacts of ocean acidification, which is driven primarily by global greenhouse gas emissions.

The SWIPA 2017 assessment is the fourth assessment from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme addressing Arctic climate issues and is a direct follow-up to the first Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA): Climate Change and the Cryosphere assessment report published in 2011. The SWIPA 2017 assessment was conducted between 2010 and 2016 by an international group of over 90 scientists, experts, and knowledgeable members of the Arctic indigenous communities. Access to reliable and up-to-date information is essential for the development of science-based decision making regarding ongoing changes in the Arctic and their global implications.

Drawing and building on the findings of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme's (AMAP) 2017 Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) assessment, this document provides updated observations, information from other recent assessments, and conclusions from the latest reviews of Arctic trends and indicators. The pace of change in the Arctic is so rapid that new records are being set annually, and each additional year of data strengthens the already compelling evidence of a rapidly changing Arctic. 

This Summary for Policymakers summarizes the findings of the AMAP Assessment 2018: Arctic Ocean Acidification report released in October 2018. It offers a review of the latest science relating to regional ocean acidification, the biological responses to it, an overview of case studies and their associated findings, and recommendations for the Arctic Council.

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) is a federally recognized Indian Tribe that serves 20 villages and communities stretching over 43,000 square miles within the Alaska Panhandle. The Tlingit and Haida membership is among the largest, most isolated, and most geographically dispersed of Native or Tribal populations nationwide. The region encompasses a 525-mile strip of coastline and interior waterways, bordered by Canada on the north, south, and east, with the Gulf of Alaska on the west.

The Central Council recognizes that wild salmon, berries, clams, herring, halibut, yellow cedar and other species important for subsistence, cash and culture are at risk. In response, they have released a 53-page climate change adaptation plan. The document is a roadmap for prioritizing, monitoring, and responding to threats stemming from warming air and ocean temperatures, caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases trapped in the atmosphere.