Threats to the Arctic
- 1st Edition - June 18, 2021
- Imprint: Elsevier
- Author: Scott Elias
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 1 5 5 5 - 5
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 2 3 2 2 9 - 3
Threats to the Arctic discusses all the current threats to this fragile region, emphasizing the interconnections between many environmental impacts, as well as the teleconne… Read more
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Request a sales quoteThreats to the Arctic discusses all the current threats to this fragile region, emphasizing the interconnections between many environmental impacts, as well as the teleconnections between events already emerging in the Arctic (ocean circulation changes, melting of sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets) and other parts of the world. The book's aim is to inform readers about the impending, sometimes irreversible changes coming to the Arctic. University students, environmental engineers, policymakers and sociologists with an interest in the role of the Arctic in global change will benefit from the book's unique perspective.
As this remote, inhospitable part of the world that few people will ever visit provides amazing insights, we can no longer have an 'out of sight – out of mind’ approach to the environmental upheavals taking place in the Arctic.
- Provides the most up-to-date information on this rapidly changing, critical part of the world
- Offers a holistic understanding of the interconnections between global environmental changes and impacts in the Arctic
- Examines fact-based pressure on politics and industry to preserve Arctic biota and environments
University students, environmental engineers, policy makers, and sociologists with an interest in the role of the Arctic in global change
- Cover image
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- Introduction
- Section I. Arctic Seas
- Section I Arctic Seas
- Chapter 1. Loss of Sea Ice
- Importance of Sea Ice Cover
- The Effects of the Arctic Oscillation
- Predicted Loss of Sea Ice with Global Warming
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 2. Rising Sea Surface Temperatures
- Rising Sea Surface Temperatures in Arctic Waters
- Amplification of Temperature Rises in High Latitudes
- Predicted Arctic Sea Surface Temperatures for the Next Century
- Changes in the Water Column
- Changes in Ocean Heat Energy
- The Beaufort Gyre
- Concluding Thoughts
- Chapter 3. Changes in Ocean Circulation Patterns
- Introduction
- Ekman Transport
- Eddies and Sea Ice
- Conclusions
- Chapter 4. Sea Level Change
- Introduction
- Recent Changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet
- Fjord Dynamics
- Chapter 5. Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Arctic Marine Ecosystems
- Introduction
- Source of the Acidification Problem
- Carbon Budgets of Arctic Waters
- The pH of Ocean Waters
- Mineral Saturation in Arctic Waters
- Stresses of Changing pH on Plankton and Mollusks
- Stresses of Changing pH on Fish
- Conclusions
- Chapter 6. Impacts of Chemical Pollution on Marine Ecosystems
- Introduction
- Plastic Production and Dispersal
- Macrodebris
- Mesodebris
- Microdebris
- Toxic Effects of Marine Plastics
- Chemical Pollution in Arctic Seas
- Conclusions
- Chapter 7. Impacts of Overfishing in Arctic and Sub-Arctic Waters
- Introduction
- Nature of the Arctic Marine Ecosystem
- History of the Arctic Fishery
- Collapse of North Atlantic Commercial Fishing Stocks
- Anthropogenic Stressors on Northern Marine Ecosystems
- Conclusions
- Chapter 8. Impacts of Global Shipping to Arctic Ocean Ecosystems
- Introduction
- Sea-ice Growth and Melting Seasons
- Modern Shipping in the Arctic
- Safety and Affordability of Trans-Arctic Shipping
- Standards of Ship Safety in icy Waters
- The Trans-Polar Sea Route
- Ocean Pollution
- Protecting Whales from Ships
- Noise Pollution Effects on Marine Mammals
- Whale Response to Ocean Noise
- Sources of Damaging Ocean Sounds
- Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Pinnipeds
- Remediation of Anthropogenic Sound Pollution
- Vessel Risk Management Strategies
- Limiting Wastewater Pollution from Ships
- Ocean noise Remediation
- Conclusions
- Section II. Arctic Ice
- Section II Arctic Ice
- Chapter 9. Decline in Mountain Glaciers
- Introduction
- What Makes the Alpine Different from the Arctic?
- Alpine Thermal Zones
- How and When Mountain Glaciers Formed
- Mountain Glacier Dynamics
- The Current Decline of Mountain Glaciers
- Drivers of Current Changes
- Impacts of Mountain Glacial Melting on Society
- Conclusions
- Section III. Arctic Lands
- Section III Arctic Lands
- Chapter 10. Greenland Ice Sheet
- Introduction
- History of the Greenland Ice Sheet
- Age of the Greenland Ice Sheet
- History of Arctic/Subarctic Climate from Greenland Ice Sheet Evidence
- Greenland Ice Sheet Links With Global Climate History
- Comparisons With Marine Records
- Paleobiology of Late Pleistocene Greenland
- How Is the Modern Greenland Ice Sheet Studied?
- Predicted Future Changes
- Conclusions
- Chapter 11. Changes in Terrestrial Environments
- Introduction
- Terrain Features
- Black Carbon Deposition
- Arctic Amplification
- Changes in Length of the Growing Season
- Phenology
- Predation on Migratory Birds
- Case Study: The Barnacle Goose in NW Russia
- Changes in Plant Communities
- Release of Nutrients From Frozen Soils (Ponds, Lakes, Rivers)
- Conclusions
- Chapter 12. Impacts of Global Change
- Introduction
- Arctic Terrestrial Impacts
- Terrestrial Mammal Impacts
- Plant Community Impacts
- Insect Impacts
- Arctic Marine Impacts
- Global Change Effects on Arctic Birds
- Invasive Species
- The Proposed Introduction of Earthworms to Arctic Soils
- Light Pollution in the Polar Night
- Conclusions
- Chapter 13. Impacts of Oil and Mineral Extraction
- Introduction
- Petroleum Extraction in the Arctic
- Wildlife Hazards from Petroleum Operations
- Conclusions
- Section IV. Arctic People
- Section IV Arctic People
- Chapter 14. Impacts of Permafrost Degradation
- Introduction
- The Nature of Permanently Frozen Ground
- Permafrost and the Global Carbon Cycle
- Predictions of Future Permafrost Retreat
- Wildfire on Permafrost Landscapes
- Thaw Lake Drainage on Alaskan Tundra
- Ground-Ice Characteristics in Warm Permafrost, Tibetan Plateau
- Long-Term Permafrost Monitoring Siberia
- Degrading Permafrost and Arctic Infrastructure
- Conclusions
- Chapter 15. Threats to Native Ways of Life
- Introduction
- Arctic Native Worldviews
- Effects of Climate Change
- Strategies for Climate-Induced Community Relocations in Alaska
- Native Russian Rights and Autonomy
- Country Food Procurement and Consumption
- Conclusions—How to Cope with a Friend Acting Strangely
- Chapter 16. Changing Political Landscape of the Arctic
- Introduction
- Four Dominant Arctic Concepts
- Who Owns the Arctic?
- The Purpose of the Arctic Council
- Military Geopolitics
- Post–Cold War Geopolitics
- Icebreaker Fleets
- Geopolitics of Climate Change
- Geopolitics of Resource Extraction
- Geopolitics of the Arctic Ocean
- Conclusions
- Final Thoughts on Threats to the Arctic
- The Rush for Resource Exploitation
- Index
- Edition: 1
- Published: June 18, 2021
- No. of pages (Paperback): 604
- No. of pages (eBook): 604
- Imprint: Elsevier
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN: 9780128215555
- eBook ISBN: 9780128232293
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Scott Elias
Scott A. Elias grew up in Colorado, USA, and received both an undergraduate degree and Ph.D. in Environmental Biology from the University of Colorado. He went on to do postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Waterloo, Canada, and the University of Berne, Switzerland. Scott returned to the University of Colorado in 1982 and became a research associate of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. In 2000 he took a lectureship in Physical Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, and became a Professor of Quaternary Science in 2007. He has served as editor-in-chief of three editions of the Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, and co-editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Geology and the Cryosphere Comprehensive.
Affiliations and expertise
University of Colorado, Westminster, Colorado, USARead Threats to the Arctic on ScienceDirect