IMPACTS OF CHANGES IN SEA ICE AND OTHER 

ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS IN THE ARCTIC

FINAL REPORT OF THE 

MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION WORKSHOP

GIRDWOOD, ALASKA, 15-17 FEBRUARY 2000 

Co-Convenors: 

Robert H. Mattlin, Ph.D. 

John E. Reynolds, III, Ph.D. 

Henry P. Huntington, Ph.D. 

Caleb Pungowiyi 

Edited by 

Henry P. Huntington, Ph.D. 

August 2000 

Marine Mammal Commission 

4340 East-West Highway, Room 905 

Bethesda, MD 20814 

USA
 1 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Executive Summary............................................................................................................ 2 

Introduction......................................................................................................................... 6 

Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................. 11 

Discussion Group Summaries........................................................................................... 18 

Perspectives on Environmental Change in the Arctic....................................................... 25 

Native Observations of Change in the Marine Environment of the Bering...................... 26 

Strait Region 

Caleb Pungowiyi

Native Observations of Local Climate Changes around St. Lawrence Island.................. 30 

George Noongwook

Native Perspectives on Climate and Sea-Ice Changes...................................................... 35 

Igor I. Krupnik

Climate Change and Its Impacts on the Arctic Environment ........................................... 53 

Gunter E. Weller

Humans in the Bering Strait Region: Responses to Environmental Change and ............. 65 

Implications for the Future 

Igor I. Krupnik

Benthic Processes in the Northern Bering/Chukchi Seas: Status and Global Change ..... 81 

Jacqueline M. Grebmeier and Kenneth H. Dunton

The Arctic Sea Ice Ecosystem and Global Warming........................................................ 95 

Igor A. Melnikov

Climate Change and Marine Ecosystems of the Western Arctic.................................... 111 

Alan M. Springer

Marine Mammal-Sea Ice Relationships.......................................................................... 123 

Lloyd F. Lowry 

Participants List .............................................................................................................. 132 
 2 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The Workshop 

To bring together scientists and indigenous experts to discuss the many signs of change in 

the Arctic environment, the Marine Mammal Commission held a workshop on Impacts of 

Changes in Sea Ice and Other Environmental Parameters in the Arctic. The combination 

of multi-disciplinary science and traditional knowledge made a strong and urgent case for 

addressing the challenges posed by environmental change in the Arctic. Although the 

workshop focused largely on the Alaskan Arctic, its implications are international in 

scope, as all Arctic regions face similar challenges related to environmental change. 

The workshop was held 15-17 February 2000 in Girdwood, Alaska. The number of 

participants in the workshop was limited, and chosen to provide a balance between 

scientists and indigenous experts, and among areas of expertise. The purposes of the 

workshop were: 

• to review, from both traditional knowledge and scientific perspectives, how changes 

in sea ice and other environmental parameters may be affecting Arctic living 

resources and the indigenous cultures and practices that depend on those resources, 

• to identify possible measures that can be taken to mitigate the impacts of realized and 

anticipated changes, and 

• to develop a document that provides a compelling blueprint for action for legislators, 

conservationists, Arctic residents, and others. 

This final report contains the conclusions and recommendations of the workshop, a 

summary of the discussions held by break-out groups during the workshop, and papers 

describing various aspects of environmental change in the Arctic. 

Conclusions 

In Arctic Alaska, there are many indications of significant environmental change over 

time. Such changes are not merely curiosities from a remote area. They have severe 

impacts on the lives of residents of northern Alaska, most of whom are Alaska Natives 

pursuing traditional ways of life deeply rooted in the local environment. The changes 

seen in the Arctic are the early signs of changes in climate that are likely to affect much 

of the world in the next several decades. The impacts to Arctic residents and the lessons 

those impacts have for the rest of the country and the world are ignored at our peril. It is 

clear that more attention is needed to assess the risks that we face and to identify actions 

that can be taken to minimize those risks. 

In considering what is known today and what needs to be done, workshop participants 

made a number of observations on the state of our knowledge and its applicability to the 

responses that might be made to the impacts of climate change: 

• There are significant disconnects among scientific disciplines. More attention is 

needed to the species that affect people directly. 

• Policy makers give too little attention to environmental change. 
 3 

• Better information is needed about specific regional scenarios for changes in sea ice, 

especially for helping to identify potential impacts to communities. 

• More systematic use should be made of the expertise that Alaska Natives have in 

observing the environment, extending back many decades in personal memory and 

farther in what has been handed down from past generations. 

• Subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering are vital and irreplaceable activities for 

Alaska Native communities, but it is difficult or impossible to express their full 

significance. 

A common thread to these and other discussions during the workshop was that climate 

change is a far-reaching threat to coastal communities. It is essential that such 

communities be involved in research and policy concerning environmental change. In this 

regard, workshop participants had a number of observations on the process of research: 

• Collaborative research between communities’ members and outside scientists requires 

continuity and time to build trust, train personnel, and learn to understand the 

perspectives and expectations of the various partners. 

• Community-based programs should be coordinated or integrated so that the 

communities can make best advantage of the programs in which they participate. 

• Research needs to involve young people, especially through schools. 

• Progress requires dedicated individuals, not just good ideas. 

• Research involving the participation of local researchers must adequately compensate 

those participants. 

• The use of scenarios must be done sensitively, especially with “worst-case” 

predictions about the future of specific communities. 

Recommendations 

Workshop participants listed a number of recommendations in several categories, listed 

below, plus two overarching recommendations emerged: 

• Promote long-term commitments, especially for collaborative research that requires 

recruiting and training local researchers. 

• Take better advantage of existing programs, including those that are already active in 

Arctic communities and those that upon which community-based research can be 

built. 

Research

• Develop a formal plan for recording systematic observations by residents of coastal 

communities. A team of scientists and local observers should determine which 

measurements are appropriate for gathering by local observers and which factors are 

significant from the local perspective. 

• Develop a system for reporting other noteworthy events. In addition to observations 

of regular phenomena, unusual events such as strandings and die-offs are worth 

recording and analyzing. 

• Promote the creation of better baselines of data. Existing baseline data are often from 

too few monitoring sites or over timelines that are too short. Effective monitoring 
 4 

requires archiving of data as well as ready access to those data for analyses and 

comparisons. 

• Document Native observations of environmental change. The systematic 

documentation of Native knowledge can help identify patterns in the environment 

over time, helping sort out short- and long-term changes. 

• Develop more detailed local scenarios for assessing the potential impacts of climate 

change. While firm predictions are beyond our reach, more details about the range of 

likely effects would help generate more plausible scenarios from which responses 

could be planned. 

• Make more use of integrative tools for analyzing data. In part this is a question of 

data access, but it is also a matter of having tools that allow researchers to integrate 

various data sets to prepare complex analyses. 

• Allow time for the creation of real partnerships between communities and 

researchers. Where possible, time and perhaps funding for the development of real 

partnerships should be given. 

• Explore ways to make use of climate change. Some effects of climate change may 

provide opportunities for alternative energy or for new patterns of resource use. 

Policy

• Address the causes of climate change. From a policy perspective, we need a greater 

willingness to examine the range of human actions that affect climate change and to 

develop means of changing our actions to minimize their impacts. 

• Recognize actual and potential problems. Ignoring the warning signs of climate 

change will only lead to far greater costs in the future, when problems become crises. 

• Provide intrinsic valuations for natural resources. Alternative means of valuing 

natural resources should be developed so that activities such as subsistence that are 

largely outside the cash economy are properly reflected in damage calculations. 

• Assess institutional cultures that prevent meaningful change. Understanding the 

nature of those institutional cultures is essential to identifying ways to bring about 

effective and timely responses to threats such as those posed by climate change. 

Communication

• Develop better ways to communicate results to Native communities. Good 

communication should take into account Native ways of thinking and 

communicating, for example through visual and oral media rather than only in 

writing. 

• Provide training in communication. Communication should stimulate curiosity and 

convey the excitement of science, which will help attract greater interest among 

community members, especially young people. 

• Consider a variety of means for communicating. Local radio programs, regional 

newspapers, public lectures, mailings to community residents, and posters are among 

the many ways that can be used to communicate with affected groups. 

• Teach scientists, agency personnel, and others about Native cultures. Written 

materials and in-person orientation sessions are among the ways that newcomers can 

be introduced to the ways of a community. 
 5 

• Teach community members about science and scientists. In addition to introducing 

community members to scientists, such training should include an introduction to 

scientific methods and theories. 

• Review web-based programs to develop new ideas. The web can be used for data 

management and access, and for frequent communication between researchers within 

and outside the community. 

• Promote professional recognition for the importance of communicating. Giving 

professional recognition to efforts to give results back to communities would help 

encourage greater effort in communicating effectively and often. 

Education

• Develop general curricula on climate change and our connection to the environment. 

Curriculum materials that can help explain and demonstrate both will create a betterinformed citizenry. 

• Develop specific curriculum materials to show the local context of climate change. 

Generalizations about climate change should be supplemented with specific local 

information to help students see how climate change may affect them and their home 

regions. 

• Promote interactions among schoolchildren from different places. Sharing local 

experiences and observations with students from other parts of the country or world 

can help students learn more about others and more about the different ways that 

climate change affects various parts of the globe. 

• Make use of existing programs that involve students and teachers in research. Such 

programs can help with education as well as communication, helping researchers 

become more involved in the communities in which they work. 
 6 

INTRODUCTION 

There are many signs of change in the Arctic environment. Some, such as thinning of sea 

ice, earlier growing seasons on land, and rising temperatures in permafrost, have been 

identified through scientific research. Others, such as changes to sea ice characteristics, 

poor body condition of some marine mammals, and a greater frequency of extreme 

weather, have been noted by indigenous residents of the Arctic. With these observations 

in mind, and with a desire to bring together scientists and indigenous experts to discuss 

them, the Marine Mammal Commission held a workshop on Impacts of Changes in Sea 

Ice and Other Environmental Parameters in the Arctic, funded by the University of 

Alaska’s North Pacific Marine Research Initiative, the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and the 

National Marine Fisheries Service. The combination of multi-disciplinary science and 

traditional knowledge, unusual in itself, made a strong and urgent case for addressing the 

challenges posed by environmental change in the Arctic. Although the workshop focused 

largely on the Alaskan Arctic, its implications are international in scope, as all Arctic 

regions face similar challenges related to environmental change. 

The workshop was held 15-17 February 2000 in Girdwood, Alaska. The number of 

participants in the workshop was limited, and chosen to provide a balance between 

scientists and indigenous experts, and among areas of expertise. The participants are 

listed at the end of this report. The purposes of the workshop were: 

• to review, from both traditional knowledge and scientific perspectives, how changes 

in sea ice and other environmental parameters may be affecting Arctic living 

resources and the indigenous cultures and practices that depend on those resources, 

• to identify possible measures that can be taken to mitigate the impacts of realized and 

anticipated changes, and 

• to develop a document that provides a compelling blueprint for action for legislators, 

conservationists, Arctic residents, and others. 

This final report contains the conclusions and recommendations of the workshop, a 

summary of the discussions held by break-out groups during the workshop, and papers 

describing various aspects of environmental change in the Arctic. In addition to the final 

report, the participants hope that the spirit of curiosity and cooperation that developed at 

the workshop carries over in the work that will be done to address the impacts of 

environmental change the Arctic. 

The Context 

There are many challenges to the future of Arctic communities. Climate change is one of 

these, but other aspects of environmental change are also of great concern to residents of 

northern Alaska. While the actual and potential impacts of climate change to the 

environment and to people are important and worthy of a great deal of attention and 

effort, they must be considered in the context of other outside influences on the people, 
 7 

Map of the region on which the workshop focused. 

communities, and cultures of the region. Environmental contaminants, industrial activity, 

overfishing, and other factors interfere or threaten to interfere with traditional patterns of 

resource use and the position of Alaska Natives within their ecosystems. Residents of 

these communities need to consider all aspects of their future as they determine what to 

do and how to set their priorities. As we identify ways to respond to the threats and 

challenges posed by climate change, we must remember the cultural and environmental 

settings in which those responses will be made, and make sure that Alaska Natives have 

the necessary information and ability to make the crucial decisions that will determine 

their futures. 

In scientific circles, too, our workshop does not stand alone. There is a great deal of 

activity concerning environmental change and global warming. The workshop described 
 8 

here was designed specifically to look at ways that residents of coastal villages and 

researchers can work together to document the changes that are occurring, assess the 

likely magnitude of their impacts, and identify specific actions that can be taken in 

response. Our workshop should be seen in the context of the many workshops that have 

been held or are planned, the great range of research that has been and is being done, and 

the many large programs that have been created to look at various aspects of climate 

change and its impacts. We cannot attempt a complete list of all these activities, but note 

here a few that are particularly relevant to or active in the Alaskan Arctic. Some recent 

publications are listed in the Bibliography. 

The Bering Sea Impact Study 

The Bering Sea Impact Study (BESIS) is an activity of the International Arctic 

Science Committee (IASC). Its goal is to assess the effects of global change on the 

physical and biological environment of the Bering Sea region, and its cultural and 

economic impacts. The approach used is to construct impact scenarios based on 

computer models, including regional climate models, and on information and data on 

past impacts and their causes. The focus is primarily on the impacts of global change 

on: 

1. Commercial, recreational and subsistence fisheries. 

2. Marine ecosystems, particularly marine mammal and bird populations. 

3. Resource-dependent communities, particularly with respect to subsistence hunting 

and fishing. 

4. Terrestrial and fresh water ecosystems. 

5. Non-renewable resource development and their transportation. 

6. Public and private infrastructure: buildings, roads, airports and sea-ports. 

Several workshop reports have been published and the study is now part of the 

nationwide assessment of climate impacts in different regions of the United States. 

The Alaska assessment is coordinated by the Center for Global Change and Arctic 

System Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

The Alaska Native Science Commission 

The Alaska Native Science Commission was created to bring together research and 

science in partnership with the Alaska Native community. Among its goals are the 

greater involvement of Native communities in research, and more research directed to 

the concerns of Alaska Natives. To address concerns about environmental 

contaminants and global change, the Commission is conducting a study to record 

traditional knowledge about these topics throughout the state, to consider the 

implications of this knowledge, and to promote a synthesis between traditional and 

scientific knowledge. 

Arctic System Science 

The National Science Foundation’s Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program 

supports research that increases understanding of the impact of the climate on every 

aspect of the environment, including social systems. ARCSS emphasizes research that 
 9 

looks at the complex environmental feedback mechanisms driven by climate change 

and attempts to incorporate a predictive capability for examining the possible impacts 

of future changes. 

Researchers have found that complex interactions of tundra ecology, soil, hydrology 

and climate have the potential to increase emission of greenhouse gases, particularly 

carbon dioxide, from a warming Alaskan North Slope. The positive feedback of 

increased gases in a warmer Arctic has the potential to accelerate the current 

warming. Researchers have also used submarines, satellites, airplanes, ships, and ice 

camps to determine that both the thickness and extent of sea ice has diminished in the 

past decade. They are currently making improvements in computer models to 

incorporate new discoveries about the physical processes capable of driving 

variations in sea ice so that the impact of global warming on sea ice permanence may 

be predicted. ARCSS has initiated a new long-term project to examine the role of 

physical and natural processes that have/could affect social systems in the Arctic. The 

full suite of projects is not known at this time but will include projects that address 

potential impacts of global change on subsistence resources and social change for 

Arctic residents. ARCSS has also initiated a project that will provide information on 

the fate of carbon that provides the building block for marine productivity on the 

Arctic continental shelves. Again, the new project will examine future impacts of 

global climate change on sources of food for fisheries and marine mammals in Arctic 

waters. 

The Arctic Research Initiative 

NOAA's Arctic Research Initiative (ARI) began in 1997 with an initial emphasis on 

contaminant influences on western Arctic ecosystems and on Arctic haze, ozone 

depletion and UV flux. In 1998-1999, additional emphasis was placed on the Bering 

Sea Green Belt and on atmosphere-ice-ocean processes. In FY2000 emphasis shifted 

to research on climate variability and change in the Arctic. In addition, the NOAA 

ARI has become a source of support for U.S. involvement in work of the Arctic 

Council, especially the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program and the Arctic 

Climate Impact Assessment. Future work is likely to continue to deal with climate, 

contaminants, and marine ecosystem productivity. 

Arctic Climate Impact Assessment 

The consequences and impacts of climate change in the Arctic are likely to be 

substantial. An international effort called the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment 

(ACIA) has been initiated to address them. The expected impacts include changes in 

the physical environment, effects on biota, ecosystems, wildlife, and biodiversity, and 

impacts on important economic and social sectors in the Arctic, including fisheries, 

agriculture and forestry, infrastructure, human health, and indigenous people. 

Operating under the auspices of the Arctic Council, ACIA's work is guided by an 

Assessment Steering Committee that includes representatives of the Arctic 

Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), the Program for the Conservation of 

Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), 

and others. The lead country for this effort is the United States and an ACIA 
 10 

Secretariat to coordinate the impact assessments has been established at the 

International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 

The Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity Program 

The past three decades have seen tremendous environmental change in the 

southeastern Bering Sea, including the regime shift of the late 1970s and changes in 

populations of fish, birds, and mammals. To try to understand the relationship 

between changing environmental factors and pelagic ecosystem functioning, the 

Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity Program (SEBSCC) was initiated in 1996. 

Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Oceans 

Program and jointly managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska 

Fisheries Science Center and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory of the 

National Marine Fisheries Service, the program began with extensive retrospective, 

monitoring, process, and modeling studies that have provided an intensive look at the 

southeastern Bering Sea shelf during a period of major environmental and ecosystem 

change, including shifts in sea ice cover and ocean temperature. In its third and final 

phase, the program will develop and test annual indices of pre-recruit (age-0 and age1) pollock abundance that will support management of pollock stocks and help 

determine food availability to other species. 

As the Conclusions and Recommendations below make clear, communication and trust 

are essential for true partnerships between the Native and scientific communities. While 

those communities are sometimes overlapping, there are nonetheless distinct differences 

in the ways they view the natural world and the role of people and in the ways they 

approach research. Our workshop was unique in its effort to place equal emphasis on 

both perspectives. Other initiatives have recognized the importance of doing so, and we 

hope that ours will be only the first of a series of efforts to build real partnerships to 

address the impacts of environmental change in the Arctic. 
 11 

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Conclusions and Observations 

Climate change is often seen by the general public as a rather vague possibility rather 

than as something concrete that is already changing peoples’ lives. In Arctic Alaska, 

however, there are many indications of significant change over time. While variability is 

a characteristic of the Arctic environment, the observed changes tend to move in the same 

direction, indicating trends rather than normal fluctuation. Sea ice typically covers less of 

the Bering Sea in winter now than in the recent past. Permafrost is warming and in some 

areas is actually melting. Coastal erosion has become severe in many places. Such 

changes are not merely curiosities from a remote area. They have severe impacts on the 

lives of residents of northern Alaska, most of whom are Alaska Natives pursuing 

traditional ways of life deeply rooted in the local environment. The changes seen in the 

Arctic are also the early signs of changes in climate that are likely to affect much of the 

world in the next several decades. While some popular reporting may make global 

warming seem overhyped, changes are occurring. The impacts to Arctic residents and the 

lessons those impacts have for the rest of the country and the world are ignored at our 

peril. 

With this in mind, the workshop participants noted that it is difficult or impossible to 

make accurate predictions about the way in which climate will change and the impacts 

those changes will have. A range of scenarios can be simulated through computer 

models, but specific changes in local conditions, much less the interaction between those 

changes, cannot be foretold. Instead, continued monitoring can assess the degree to which 

overall predictions match observed changes. Examining potential impacts of various 

changes can indicate to coastal communities and others the range of possible impacts 

they may face. While uncertainties will persist, it is clear that more attention is needed to 

assess the risks that we face and to identify actions that can be taken to minimize those 

risks. 

In considering what is known today and what needs to be done, workshop participants 

made a number of observations on the state of our knowledge and its applicability to the 

responses that might be made to the impacts of climate change: 

• There are significant disconnects among scientific disciplines. For example, there is 

little integration of the studies of lower trophic levels (e.g., plankton, invertebrates, 

etc.) in the marine environment with the higher trophic levels (fish, mammals, birds) 

that are used by people along the coast. More attention is needed to the species that 

affect people directly. 

• Policy makers give too little attention to environmental change. Those who want to 

ignore climate change are able to block serious consideration by pointing to the 

economic costs of changing our habits. But, the costs of ignoring climate change are 

also real, and those who will pay for the disruptions it causes—such as the insurance 

industry, consumers, and government relief agencies—should be mobilized to support 

preventive action. 
 12 

• Sea ice is particularly important in many respects, from maintaining healthy marine 

mammal populations to limiting the scope of industrial activity in the Arctic. We do 

not know enough, however, about specific regional scenarios for changes in sea ice 

extent and seasonality. To make plans, we need to have more detailed scenarios that 

can show specific changes in small areas to identify the potential impacts to 

communities. 

• Alaska Natives have a great deal of expertise in observing the environment, extending 

back many decades in personal memory and farther in what has been handed down 

from past generations. Making systematic use of those observations and that expertise 

requires dedicated research and can provide a wealth of useful information. This 

knowledge can also be the basis for local observation networks. 

• Subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering are vital activities for Alaska Native 

communities, but it is difficult or impossible to express their significance. Attempting 

to place dollar values on subsistence activities and products implies that they can be 

replaced by cash payments, whereas subsistence as the basis for Native cultures 

cannot be replaced. 

A common thread to these and other discussions during the workshop was that climate 

change is a far-reaching threat to coastal communities. Our conclusions are necessarily 

selective rather than comprehensive. Nonetheless, it is clear that we must give a great 

deal more attention to the impacts of climate change to communities in northern Alaska. 

As noted in the previous section on Context, there are a number of initiatives addressing 

various aspects of climate change in the Arctic. As we act on the recommendations 

below, we should keep those potential partners in mind. Much research can be done 

within existing programs, without having to create new programs to address the specific 

ideas presented here. Many organizations active in rural Alaska, such as co-management 

bodies, have the capacity for participating in such research, reducing the need for 

recruitment and training of local researchers and observers. In other words, we can build 

on what exists rather than starting from scratch. 

In considering how to carry out the recommendations below, workshop participants had a 

number of observations on the process of research: 

• Collaborative research between communities’ members and outside scientists requires 

continuity and time to build trust, train personnel, and learn to understand the 

perspectives and expectations of the various partners. This in turn requires funding 

commitments that allow for the development of long-term projects. Conversely, we 

must be careful in forming partnerships with programs that may end soon. 

• Community-based programs should be coordinated or integrated so that the 

communities can make best advantage of the programs in which they participate. A 

local natural resource program is one way to keep track of the various initiatives and 

projects in which the community is involved. 

• We need to involve young people, especially through schools. Collaborative projects 

that apply the science lessons to local experiences can help spark the curiosity of 

students, perhaps inspiring them to pursue careers in natural resource research and 
 13 

management. A strong grounding in the basics of research and science will also help 

tomorrow’s leaders make better informed decisions for their communities. 

• Progress requires dedicated individuals, not just good ideas. For the recommendations 

to work, someone must respond to them and work to carry them out. For collaborative 

research, this includes both scientists and community members. 

• Research involving the participation of local researchers often fails to recognize 

competing demands for the time of local participants, and thus fails to compensate 

them adequately or at all. While communities need to pay attention to issues of 

climate change, they also need reasons for taking part in collaborative programs. 

• Using scenarios for future planning often involves “best-case” and “worst-case” 

predictions, which make statements about the future of real communities. No one 

likes to imagine bad things happening to one’s home and loved ones, and so we must 

be sensitive to the stress caused by predictions of disaster to a village or a region. 

Recommendations 

Stemming from the conclusions and from the full range of discussions at the workshop, 

participants listed a number of recommendations in several categories. In addition, two 

overarching recommendations emerged: 

• Promote long-term commitments. It may take several years for programs to develop 

and produce results, especially when those programs need to establish working 

partnerships between researchers and Native communities. Without long-term 

commitments, it may be difficult to justify the costs of training and to recruit local 

researchers. 

• Take better advantage of existing programs. Research on climate change and research 

involving residents of coastal communities do not take place in a vacuum. There are a 

number of programs on which community-based research can build. These include 

the variety of studies noted in the previous section, and a number of community 

monitoring programs, such as those established through co-management groups. 

Research

Much of the discussion revolved around the need for more data and the ways in which 

Arctic residents can become more involved in research. 

• Develop a formal plan for recording systematic observations by residents of coastal 

communities. Coastal communities can add a great deal to current monitoring efforts 

regarding environmental change. A team of scientists and local observers should 

determine which measurements are appropriate for gathering by local observers and 

which factors are significant from the local perspective. Measurements might include 

such parameters as snow depth at specific locations and times, the dates of snow 

cover and snow melt, ice thickness at specific locations and times, data on body 

condition of harvested animals, the dates of arrival and departure of migratory bird 

species, and others. A system for recording these observations requires adequate 

funding for local participants, including proper training. The plan should provide 
 14 

opportunities for cooperative analysis so that local researchers can add their expertise. 

Community participation could be achieved in cooperation with organizations active 

in various aspects of environmental monitoring, such as the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 

Commission, the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee, and the Eskimo Walrus 

Commission. 

• Develop a system for reporting other noteworthy events. In addition to observations 

of regular phenomena, unusual events are worth recording and analyzing. These 

include strandings or die-offs of marine mammals, birds, and fish; physical 

abnormalities in harvested animals; and unusual sightings of birds, mammals, fish, 

and insects. The reporting system for such events could be linked to the observation 

network, but the analysis of unusual events is likely to require additional expertise. A 

group of experts should be identified who can be called on when needed to help 

analyze specimens or observations to help determine what happened and what 

implications it may have for human and environmental health. 

• Promote the creation of better baselines of data. Related to the previous two 

recommendations, existing baseline data are often from too few monitoring sites or 

over timelines that are too short. For the future, better monitoring systems should be 

set up to complement those involving Native communities. Effective monitoring 

requires archiving of data as well as ready access to those data for analyses and 

comparisons. 

• Document Native observations of environmental change. As part of extending 

baselines, we need to draw on the knowledge of elders and other community 

members with extensive experience of their local environment. This work is 

particularly urgent, because when elders pass on they take a tremendous amount of 

information with them. The systematic documentation of Native knowledge can help 

identify patterns in the environment over time, helping sort out short- and long-term 

changes. In addition to documenting Native knowledge, people who are particularly 

knowledgeable about certain topics can be identified as resources to assist in further 

research. 

• Develop more detailed local scenarios for assessing the potential impacts of climate 

change. Current models that predict the effects on the Arctic of warmer climates give 

general trends for sea ice and other parameters, but do not provide details for specific 

areas. Without such details, it is difficult to determine the range of changes and their 

likely impacts for Arctic communities. While firm predictions are beyond our reach, 

more details about the range of likely effects would help generate more plausible 

scenarios from which responses could be planned. 

• Make more use of integrative tools for analyzing data. The data that are gathered are 

often not used as much as they could be. In part this is a question of data access, but it 

is also a matter of having tools, such as geographic information systems (GIS), that 

allow researchers to integrate various data sets to prepare complex analyses. 

• Allow time for the creation of real partnerships between communities and 

researchers. Many funding opportunities and requests for proposals allow only a 

short time to respond. When those opportunities also request partnerships with 

communities, they often lead to hurried attempts to find Native partners and develop 

collaborative projects. Where possible, time and perhaps funding for the development 
 15 

of real partnerships should be given. Partnerships can be made formal through the use 

of memorada of agreement (MOAs) and other such mechanisms. 

• Explore ways to make use of climate change. Predictions of climate change indicate a 

number of effects, including more frequent severe weather and changes in ocean 

currents and other phenomena. Some of these may provide opportunities for 

alternative energy or for new patterns of resource use. 

Policy

The policy implications of the workshop’s conclusions were not discussed in great detail. 

Nonetheless, certain matters remained near the center of attention. These 

recommendations are thus general, but offer some insight into the thinking that lies 

behind the other recommendations. For thinking about the impacts of climate change, 

workshop participants outlined a useful series of questions: 

- What do we know? 

- What do we need to find out? 

- What can we do or change? 

- How can we prepare? 

- How do we communicate with others how they will be affected and what they can 

do? 

- How do we pay for it all? 

• Address the causes of climate change. Human actions and the production of 

greenhouse gases have been identified as major contributors to climate change. 

Nonetheless, most research tends to examine the effects of climate change rather than 

tackling the more difficult question of how to control its causes. From a policy 

perspective, we need a greater willingness to examine the range of human actions that 

affect climate change and to develop means of changing our actions to minimize their 

impacts. 

• Recognize actual and potential problems. Uncertainty about the reality of climate 

change can no longer be used as an excuse to postpone our response to its effects. 

Real effects are being seen in the Arctic, and a range of potential problems has been 

identified. Ignoring these warning signs will only lead to far greater costs in the 

future, when problems become crises. 

• Provide intrinsic valuations for natural resources. The subsistence cultures of Arctic 

peoples and the resources on which they depend cannot be replaced. When 

considering the damage that climate change might cause, however, dollar figures are 

the usual way of estimating the effectiveness and necessity of various responses. 

Other means of valuing natural resources should be developed so that activities such 

as subsistence that are largely outside the cash economy are properly reflected in 

damage calculations. 

• Assess institutional cultures that prevent meaningful change. One of the chief 

obstacles to effective response is the inertia of established institutions, from industries 

to government agencies. Understanding the nature of those institutional cultures is 

essential to identifying ways to bring about effective and timely responses to threats 

such as those posed by climate change. 
 16 

Communication

Although Alaska Native communities are among the first to be affected by the impacts of 

climate change, they are not as involved in these matters as they can and should be. 

Often, this is a matter of communication, especially during and after projects. In addition 

to reporting results, researchers should remember to thank communities for their support. 

• Develop better ways to communicate results to Native communities. Research that has 

involved Native communities or that has a bearing on community interests is of great 

interest to people in those communities. Nonetheless, research results are often not 

provided to the community in appropriate ways. Good communication should take 

into account Native ways of thinking and communicating, for example through visual 

and oral media rather than only in writing. 

• Provide training in communication. Effective communication, especially in crosscultural settings, is not a simple matter. Researchers can learn from one another and 

from community members which methods work best and how to convey results and 

the scientific principles that support them. Communication should stimulate curiosity 

and convey the excitement of science, which will help attract greater interest among 

community members, especially young people. 

• Consider a variety of means for communicating. Local radio programs, regional 

newspapers, public lectures, mailings to community residents, and posters are among 

the many ways that can be used to announce projects, provide progress reports, and 

give final reports to communities and regions. Using generalists who have special 

skills in explaining science is another avenue, especially for large programs. 

• Teach scientists, agency personnel, and others about Native cultures. For outsiders, 

Native cultures and ways can at times be confusing. Being sensitive to differences 

and to particular ways of talking and thinking is essential to working well in 

community settings. Written materials and in-person orientation sessions are among 

the ways that newcomers can be introduced to the ways of a community. 

• Teach community members about science and scientists. Scientists, too, have 

particular ways of looking at the world. Research partnerships depend on community 

members’ understanding of the principles and practices of science, which may vary 

among disciplines. In addition to introducing community members to scientists, such 

training should include an introduction to scientific methods and theories. 

• Review web-based programs to develop new ideas. Many school districts in northern 

Alaska use the internet and world wide web to participate in research such as satellite 

tracking of wildlife. The web can be used for data management and access, and for 

frequent communication between researchers within and outside the community. We 

can learn a great deal from the experiences of schools and other organizations to 

develop effective ways of stimulating interest and participation in research and 

monitoring. 

• Promote professional recognition for the importance of communicating. Many 

researchers would like to spend time reporting results to communities, but there are 

often too many competing professional obligations and pressures. Giving professional 

recognition to efforts to give results back to communities, for example by including 
 17 

such efforts in tenure review for university professors, would help encourage greater 

effort in communicating effectively and often. 

Education

Over the long term, education is the most effective means of improving our ability to 

understand and address our relationship with the environment and the consequences of 

environmental change. General curricula can be used nationally or worldwide to teach the 

basic principles, and local components can help show students how those principles apply 

to them and their regions. 

• Develop general curricula on climate change and our connection to the environment. 

Public understanding of the potential impacts of climate change requires an 

understanding of what is involved in climate change as well as how humans depend 

on the environment for food, water, materials, transportation, and other aspects of our 

daily lives. Curriculum materials that can help explain and demonstrate both will 

create a better-informed citizenry. 

• Develop specific curriculum materials to show the local context of climate change. 

Generalizations about climate change should be supplemented with specific local 

information to help students see how climate change may affect them and their home 

regions. These materials should draw on local customs, for example through 

involving elders in school programs. They should also include hands-on opportunities 

wherever possible, for example through taking weather measurements and recording 

observations. Science camps can make use of these ideas as well. 

• Promote interactions among schoolchildren from different places. Sharing local 

experiences and observations with students from other parts of the country or world 

can help students learn more about others and more about the different ways that 

climate change affects various parts of the globe. 

• Make use of existing programs that involve students and teachers in research. The 

National Science Foundation and other agencies have programs designed to give 

schoolteachers and students exposure to science through watching and participating in 

research. Such programs can help with education as well as communication, helping 

researchers become more involved in the communities in which they work. 
 18 

DISCUSSION GROUP SUMMARIES 

During the workshop, parallel discussion groups considered the physical effects and 

impacts and the biological effects and impacts of changes to sea ice and other 

environmental parameters in the Arctic. Not surprisingly, given the close connections 

between the topics, the content of the two discussions overlapped considerably. The 

discussions took place over a day and a half, and a complete record of what was said is 

beyond the scope of this report. A brief summary of each session, however, may illustrate 

the approaches taken in the discussions and the main themes that emerged. In addition to 

general discussions, each group examined a particular aspect of sea ice change in some 

detail. 

Physical Effects and Impacts Group 

Climate change is predicted to have many effects on the physical environment in the 

Arctic. The group began by reviewing some of the changes that are already being seen 

and that may be indicators of significant directional trends. Among the examples given 

were the following: 

• Sea ice patterns in the Bering and Chukchi Seas have changed over the last 50 years. 

Multi-year floes used to be blown south in fall, reaching the shore near Barrow and 

passing through the Bering Strait to St. Lawrence Island. Today, these floes appear in 

November or December, after sea ice has already formed locally. 

• Overall, freeze-up is later, so that fall hunting cannot begin until December or even 

January, instead of in November. 

• In spring, the ice goes out sooner, and whaling crews have had to adjust their usual 

patterns to prepare earlier, go farther out, and be ready to return to shore sooner. In 

Barrow, the sea ice now goes out before July 4, and sometimes has left in June. 

• In the western Canadian Arctic, sea ice today is only three or four feet (.9-1.2m) 

thick, whereas it used to be seven or eight feet (2.1-2.4m) thick. There is more snow 

in fall, which interferes with ice formation. The ice on rivers, too, is only about three 

feet (.9m) instead of the six to seven feet (1.8-2.1m) it used to be. 

• The shore ice at Nome has broken up early the past few years, in part due to less 

snow. 

• Sandy beaches have eroded and are now rocky. This corresponds with studies of the 

sea floor that have found sand where there used to be only gravel. 

• Beaver are moving northward, and are now found in the Kotzebue area where they 

never were seen before. 

• Sea ice cover in the Bering Sea corresponds well with the North Pacific Index, 

showing a general downward trend over the past three decades. 

• The tundra has warmed and is now a producer of carbon dioxide, whereas it used to 

be a carbon sink. 

• Sea level is rising, and will continue to do so for another 200 years due to melting 

glaciers and thermal expansion of the ocean water that is already there. 
 19 

• Puffins are able to nest on Cooper Island near Barrow. Previously, only guillemots 

were able to nest during the brief snow-free period, but that period has gotten longer. 

• The flow of ocean water north through the Bering Strait has been declining since the 

1940s, and corresponds reasonably well with observed changes in the North Pacific 

Index. 

• Permafrost is warming, and the active layer is getting deeper. This can affect the 

landscape as well as human structures such as buildings on pilings, roads, ice cellars, 

pipelines, runways, and so on. 

This list was used as a starting point for identifying the kinds of changes that have been 

observed and that are expected in the near future. As a more systematic analysis of the 

impacts of climate change, the group listed the first-order effects of a warming climate in 

the Alaskan Arctic, noting some of things that will be affected. Many of the effects are 

the result of several of the first order effects, and the list is intended to be illustrative 

rather than exhaustive: 

Reduced sea ice will affect the topography, quality, and composition of the sea floor 

in the areas that are no longer covered at least seasonally by ice. Storm surges, wind, 

and temperature will be affected by the increased amount of open water, especially in 

fall and winter. Primary production will be affected, as will the migration, 

distribution, and demography of marine mammals and other hunted species. Hunting 

safety will be affected by poorer quality ice and the ability of storms to stir up the 

greater expanses of open water. Industrial activity, such as shipping and oil and gas 

development, will likely increase as the obstacle of ice decreases. 

Rising sea levels will increase flooding, especially in low-lying areas, harming human 

habitation as well as the habitat of many animals. Salt will intrude farther into 

wetlands and river deltas, affecting vegetation, fish, birds, and other species. Greater 

erosion and turbidity will affect settlements, hunting, and marine, estuarine, and fresh 

water productivity. 

Melting permafrost will lead to structural damage in buildings, roads, pipelines, 

runways, and other human-built items, as well as to changes in the landscape through 

subsidence, draining of tundra ponds, and so on. Water flow, vegetation, and 

accessibility for animals and hunters will change. Methane production will increase as 

the active layer, which thaws in summer, gets thicker. 

Increased water flow from less permafrost and more precipitation will cause greater 

erosion and thus more turbidity in rivers and streams. The growing season will get 

longer. Moisture levels and the amount and timing of precipitation will change, 

though perhaps differently in different regions. The life cycles of fish, insects, birds, 

plants, and mammals will change as their habitats are affected. 

More extreme weather events will bring storms and their consequences, and increase 

the unpredictability of weather in the region. Such events will cause more frequent 

severe damage, as extremes of precipitation cause flooding and great fluctuations in 
 20 

temperature threaten, for example, nesting birds. Greater variation from “normal” 

patterns also means that people and animals must be prepared to cope with a wider 

range of conditions, which can be costly in financial and biological terms.

Changes in prevailing weather regimes, such as the jet stream, El Niño/La Niña, the 

Aleutian Low, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Arctic Oscillation, and air and 

water currents, will bring a variety of changes that are difficult to predict. The 

interactions among these and with other first-order effects are complex and may lead 

to major shifts in general patterns of weather and climate across the Arctic and even 

the Northern Hemisphere. 

Changes in seasonal patterns will force people, animals, and plants to adjust the 

timing of their activities, such as migration and breeding. Certain sequences of events 

on which many species depend may be altered, and those species may suffer. 

Irregularities in seasonal patterns may cause widespread mortality, if for example 

birds migrate earlier but then encounter a severe cold snap. 

Warmer surface air temperatures will increase plant growth as well as prolonging the 

growing season, but may increase physiological stress for species that are adapted to 

cold. Insects may increase, and may expand their ranges, as may other species. 

Following this exercise, the group focused its efforts on examining in greater detail the 

potential consequences of the reduction in sea ice. The other first-order effects could be 

examined in the same way, but there was not time to do so at the workshop. The 

participants did not have the necessary expertise to determine all the likely effects of 

reduced sea ice cover or their severity, so the following summary, like the previous one, 

is intended only to illustrate the ways that one may think about the impacts of climate 

change. 

If the extent of sea ice cover in the Alaskan Arctic is reduced, the repercussions are likely 

to be felt far and wide: 

Marine mammals will be affected directly and indirectly. Their distribution will 

change based on where sea ice is to be found. Reproductive behavior and success 

may change if suitable ice conditions are not as common, especially for species such 

as ringed seals that require shorefast ice. Body condition of the animals will be 

affected by the availability of food. Walrus that haul out on ice in the summer, for 

example, have already suffered when the summer ice retreats far from the shallow 

waters where walrus feed. The walrus have to swim great distances to get to food, 

expending far more energy than is required when the ice remains close to the 

shallower waters. Indirectly, marine mammals are likely to be affected by changes in 

the extent of industrial activity, such as increased shipping, oil and gas development, 

port facilities, pollution, and so on, as described below. 

Fish and benthic organisms will be changed as the productivity of the water column 

changes. With less sea ice, some species will suffer and others will prosper. For 
 21 

benthic communities in particular, less sea ice may mean less ice gouging of the sea 

floor and more wind-driven turbulence. Increased industrial activity may bring 

another form of disturbance to many areas and may affect the distribution and 

migration of fishes, especially along the coast. 

Shipping will increase as sea ice retreats, because ice is the primary obstacle to 

shipping in the Arctic. As access becomes easier, more development will occur, 

requiring more ship traffic to bring in supplies and take out ore, coal, or other 

products. Shipping through the Arctic, for example via the Northern Sea Route, is 

also likely to increase if ice is no longer a factor. This would bring in many more 

vessels traveling from the Pacific Rim to Europe. 

Mineral development, including ores and fossil fuels, will increase as access to the 

Arctic becomes easier. This is especially true of offshore areas, which are primarily 

limited by the difficulty of operating in ice-covered waters. While sea ice is likely to 

continue to form in the winter in northern Alaska, thinner ice and a shorter ice season 

will make development more attractive, meaning more ship and aircraft traffic, more 

seismic testing, more construction, and more off-shore drilling platforms, all of which 

contribute to a noisier environment. On-shore deposits will also become more 

attractive, as the costs of extracting and exporting the products go down. More 

development will mean more pollution, more human activity, and the greater 

likelihood of an accident such as an oil spill. All of these factors will affect marine 

mammals, fish, birds, and the people who use them. 

Port facilities will become more common as access improves and more resources are 

developed. Existing port facilities, such as the one for Red Dog Mine in northwestern 

Alaska or the docks at Prudhoe Bay, are already having an impact on the local marine 

environment. More facilities, or expansions of existing ones, are likely to have greater 

impacts to the local environment. They may also affect migratory patterns, and thus 

have regional impacts to wildlife and to humans. 

Human communities will be affected in a number of ways. Greater industrial activity 

may mean more opportunities for work. As living marine resources and their 

accessibility are affected, locally produced foods may be replaced by store-bought 

foods, which are typically associated with a variety of health problems. On the other 

hand, increased contaminant burdens in wildlife may make local foods less attractive. 

Mitigation efforts will be required to address many aspects of the disturbances caused 

by the loss of sea ice. Local response teams will be needed in case of accidents or 

spills, facilities will need to be designed to minimize their individual and cumulative 

impacts on the environment, and communities will have to respond to changes in 

subsistence production. It will not be possible to avoid or mitigate all the impacts of a 

reduction in sea ice cover, but it is essential to try to understand what will be affected 

and plan accordingly so that disruptions can be addressed before they cause 

widespread problems. 
 22 

Biological Effects and Impacts Group 

Coastal communities are concerned with climate change because, among other reasons, it 

will affect the animals on which they depend. Over millennia, indigenous peoples of the 

Arctic have seen and adjusted to many changes in environmental conditions. Recent 

experience and the predictions of climate models, however, suggest that the changes we 

see today are not part of the normal variability of an extreme climate, but are a directional 

movement towards a warmer climate with less sea ice in western and northern Alaska. 

With this in mind, the group discussed the potential effects that such changes would have 

for coastal communities and the species they use. 

As examples of the types of changes being seen today, the group listed observations by 

various participants. As the list was developed, it became apparent that the observations 

actually fit in several categories: 

Changes in Timing 

• Gulls have been seen in November in Norton Sound 

• Oldsquaws have been seen in February in Norton Sound 

Changes in Condition 

• Caribou taken at Deering were skinny 

Changes in abundance 

• Bowhead and walrus harvests were high or at the quota level at St. Lawrence Island 

in 1999 

• Fewer oldsquaws and sandpipers are seen at Gambell 

• More sculpins and humpback whales are seen at Gambell 

• More spectacled eider are seen at St. Lawrence Island 

• Fish stocks are low on the Seward Peninsula 

• More species of marine mammals are seen off Deering, including bowhead whales, 

narwhal, and dolphins, while there are fewer bearded seals 

• More jellyfish are found now in the Bering Sea 

Unusual sightings 

• A minke whale was seen in Norton Sound 

• Caribou are migrating through Deering 

• Stranded dolphins have been seen at Kivalina, Gambell, and on the Seward Peninsula 

• Dark-skinned sharks have been seen off Gambell and Deering 

• Hairless seals and deformed seals have been taken by hunters 

Other 

• Sea level and lake levels have been rising at Gambell 

• Shorefast ice melts rapidly now 

• Old trees, over 400 years old, are being eroded away on the southern Seward 

Peninsula 
 23 

• Walruses used to be harvested by Thanksgiving at Savoonga, but recently the ice has 

not solidified until late November or December, and now not until mid-December 

• The spring harvest of walruses at Gambell used to occur from late May through June, 

but is now mostly in May. 

Building on these discussions, the group used St. Lawrence Island as the focus of a more 

detailed assessment of what might happen as a result of climate change. The group noted, 

however, that we must be careful when we speculate about the potential impacts to 

coastal communities. Predictions are very difficult to make, and the residents of coastal 

communities may not wish to see their futures placed in hypothetical scenarios of climate 

change. Nonetheless, it is important to try to assess the real consequences of observed 

and predicted changes so that we can better prepare ourselves to respond. 

For residents of St. Lawrence Island, walruses are a critical resource. If sea ice retreats so 

that the winter ice edge is near St. Lawrence Island rather than farther south in the Bering 

Sea, a number of things may happen to walruses and other marine mammals and to the 

communities that use them. Rather than trying to predict what will happen, the group 

made a number of observations about the relationships among people, marine mammals, 

and sea ice: 

Native peoples of the Arctic coast have depended for millennia on ice-associated 

marine mammals. On St. Lawrence Island, bowhead whales, walruses, bearded seals, 

ringed seals, spotted seals, ribbon seals, beluga whales, and polar bears are all 

important as economic, cultural, and spiritual resources. It is particularly difficult to 

convey the significance of these species and their use because they are so central to 

the culture and identity of those who use them. 

Reduction of sea ice and increasingly unpredictable weather conditions have changed 

the availability of marine mammals to hunters on St. Lawrence Island. The extent, 

seasonal timing, and characteristics of sea ice strongly influence the availability of 

walruses for harvests. Similarly, harvests depend on weather conditions suitable for 

boating and hunting. 

Sea ice cover and weather conditions also influence the population dynamics of iceassociated marine mammals. For example, traditional knowledge includes the 

observation that fresh snow cover insulates newborn walrus calves from sea ice. 

Scientific studies predict that declining ice cover will increase the amount of energy 

that walruses must expend while foraging, thereby decreasing productivity and calf 

survival. 

Changes in sea ice cover are predicted to be more pronounced in some parts of the 

range of Pacific walruses than other parts of their range. Thus, walrus hunting 

communities will be affected differently. Other marine mammals may move 

northward into the area, while ice-associated species may decrease in local 

abundance. Whether the new species will be attractive to hunters is not known. 
 24 

Reduced ice cover is likely to change human activities in Arctic waters. Oil 

development, commercial fishing (including shellfishing and bottom trawling), and 

tourism are likely to increase in areas where the ice is reduced, with negative impacts 

on marine mammals. Increased shipping traffic is predicted to bring more chemical 

and noise pollution. If icebreaker traffic increases, it will directly affect the sea ice 

habitat of marine mammals and give some species such as walrus temporary access to 

areas from which they would otherwise be blocked by solid ice. 

Reductions in ice cover have been associated with decreased primary productivity, 

which in turn is likely to lead to decreased biomass of the benthic filter feeders that 

walruses eat. 

Directional changes in the patterns of walrus and other marine mammal use by 

residents of St. Lawrence Island and elsewhere will lead to changes in cultural 

patterns. 
 25 

PERSPECTIVES ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN THE ARCTIC 

Six papers were commissioned to form a background report for the workshop, intended to 

help participants prepare by reviewing some of the available information concerning 

environmental changes in the Arctic in general and in the northern Bering and Chukchi 

Seas in particular. Three additional papers were prepared following the workshop to 

supplement those already written. Together, the papers present a variety of perspectives 

on environmental change, from the Native community and from several scientific 

disciplines. 

Caleb Pungowiyi sets the stage with an outline of the Native observations and concerns 

that were the impetus for holding the workshop. George Noongwook addresses Yupik 

Eskimo knowledge and beliefs in regard to climate change. Igor Krupnik summarizes 

Native observations presented at the workshop and comments on the process of gathering 

traditional knowledge about environmental change. Gunter Weller describes the general 

trends of climate change across the Arctic, with specific observations from many areas 

including northern and western Alaska. Krupnik discusses the human presence in the 

region over time, and discusses today’s patterns of habitation and resource use and the 

need for better understanding of human-environment relationships. Jackie Grebmeier and 

Ken Dunton review research and findings on the benthic environment in the northern 

Bering and Chukchi seas. Igor Melnikov reports his findings from many years of research 

on floating ice stations in the Arctic Basin. Alan Springer covers the processes of and 

dynamic relationships in the water column, from plankton to marine mammals. Lloyd 

Lowry writes about current knowledge of marine mammals and the implications of 

changes to sea ice. 
 26 

NATIVE OBSERVATIONS OF CHANGE IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT 

OF THE BERING STRAIT REGION 

Caleb Pungowiyi 

Special Advisor on Native Affairs, Marine Mammal Commission, P.O. Box 217, 

Kotzebue, AK 99752, USA 

Since the late 1970s, Alaska Natives in communities along the coast of the northern 

Bering and Chukchi Seas have noticed substantial changes in the ocean and the animals 

that live there. While we are used to changes from year-to-year in weather, hunting 

conditions, ice patterns, and animal populations, the past two decades have seen clear 

trends in many environmental factors. If these trends continue, we can expect major, 

perhaps irreversible, impacts to our communities. With these concerns in mind, we 

believe this workshop will be a vital opportunity to discuss our concerns and observations 

with scientists who are working on similar issues in the same area, and to work together 

to figure out what can be done. 

Beginning in the late 1970s, the patterns of wind, temperature, ice, and currents in the 

northern Bering and Chukchi Seas have changed. The winds are stronger, commonly 15-

25 mph, and there are fewer calm days. The wind may shift in direction, but remains 

strong for long periods. In spring, the winds change the distribution of the sea ice and 

combine with warm temperatures to speed up the melting of ice and snow. When the ice 

melts or moves away early, many marine mammals go with it, taking them too far away 

to hunt. Near some villages (such as Savoonga, Diomede, and Shishmaref), depending on 

the geography of the coast, the wind may force the pack ice into shore, making it 

impossible to get boats to open water to go hunting or to move boats through if they are 

already out. The high winds also make it difficult to travel in boats for hunting (even 

winds of 10-12 mph from the wrong direction can create waves 2-3 feet high, stopping 

small boats), reducing the number of days that hunters can go out. For all these reasons, 

access to animals during the spring hunting period is lower now than it was before. 

From mid-July to September, there has been more wind from the south, making for a 

wetter season. With less sea ice and more open water, fall storms have become more 

destructive to the coastline. Erosion has increased in many areas, including the locations 

of some villages, such as Shishmaref and Kivalina, threatening houses and perhaps the 

entire community. Wave action has changed some sandy beaches into rocky ones, as the 

sand washes away. There have been no new sandy beaches, but there are many new 

rocky ones. 

The south shore of St. Lawrence Island has also been affected a great deal by erosion in 

recent years. Some shallow spits that used to be above water are now underwater, due 

perhaps to a combination of higher water and erosion. The storms and high waves—up to 

30 feet—also change the sea bed near shore. After storms, kelp and other bottom-
 27 

dwelling plants and animals such as clams can be found washed up on the beach. These 

disturbances to the bottom affect shallow feeders such as eiders. 

The formation of sea ice in fall has been late in many recent years, due largely to warmer 

winters, though winds play a role as well. In such years, the ice, when it does form, is 

thinner than usual, which contributes to early break-up in spring. Another aspect of late 

freeze-up is the way in which sea ice forms. Under normal conditions, the water is cold in 

fall, and permafrost under the water and near the shoreline helps create ice crystals on the 

sea floor. When they are large enough, these crystals float to the top, bringing with them 

sediments. The sediments have nutrients used by algae growing in the ice, thus 

stimulating the food chain in and near the ice. When the ice melts in spring, the sediments 

are released, providing nutrients in the melt water. In years with warm summers and late 

freeze-up, on the other hand, the water is warm and freezes first from the top as it is 

cooled by cold winds in late fall or early winter. Less ice is brought up from the bottom, 

and fewer nutrients are available in the ice and in the melt water the following spring, and 

overall productivity is lower. 

Precipitation patterns have also changed. In the last two years, there has been little snow 

in fall and most of the winter, but substantial snowfall in late winter and early spring. In 

the winter of 1998-99, the weather was cold so that the ice was thick, but there was no 

snow. The lack of snow makes it difficult for polar bears and ringed seals to make dens 

for giving birth or, in the case of male polar bears, to seek protection from the weather. 

The lack of ringed seal dens may affect the numbers and condition of polar bears, which 

prey on ringed seals and often seek out the dens. Hungry polar bears may be more likely 

to approach villages and encounter people. 

Other marine mammals have been affected to greater or lesser degrees by the changes in 

sea ice, wind, and temperature. The physical condition of walrus was generally poor in 

1996-98, as the animals were skinny and their productivity was low. One cause was the 

reduced sea ice, which forced the walrus to swim farther between feeding areas in 

relatively shallow water and resting areas on the distant ice. This is the pattern for 

females and young in summer, and when the ice retreated far to the north in the Chukchi 

Sea, the animals suffered. Males typically haul out on land, and may have eaten most of 

the food near the haulouts, forcing them to go farther in search of clams. Due to wave 

action and sedimentation, the productivity of the sea bed may have declined, too, making 

it harder for walrus to find food. In the spring of 1999, however, the walrus were in good 

condition following a cold winter with good ice formation in the Bering Sea. When the 

winter ice forms late and is too thin, walrus cannot haul out and rest the way they need to, 

and they will be in poor condition the following spring. 

Most seals seem to be doing fairly well. Hunters have been having more success hunting 

bearded seals lately. The seals are in good condition, and it may be that there are more of 

them or that they are concentrated in hunting areas for some reason. Spotted seals, on the 

other hand, seem to have declined from the late 1960s/early 1970s to the present. In 1996 

and 1997, in which spring break-up came early, there were more strandings of baby 

ringed seals on the beach. These weanlings were probably left on their own too early. The 
 28 

mothers train their young on the shorefast ice where they den, but if the ice melts, the 

seals must abandon their dens early. Ringed seals seem to need more time to train their 

young, and are greatly affected if spring is early. There are fewer seals in the Nome area 

these days, perhaps as a result of less shore ice for ringed seal dens. 

There are many other biological changes and effects in the region, such as: 

• In spring, bird migrations are early. Geese and songbirds have been arriving in late 

April, earlier than ever before. Sudden cold snaps at this time of year can harm the 

birds. Snipe seem to be affected most, perhaps because they need unfrozen ground to 

feed, and many die in such cold spells. 

• In August of 1996 and 1997, there were large die-offs of kittiwakes and murres, 

though other birds seem to be doing reasonably well. 

• In the warm summers, especially if they are also dry, many different kinds of insects 

appear on the tundra. These include lots of caterpillars on bushes, and then butterflies. 

Other bugs that haven’t been seen before have appeared, though mosquitoes are still 

the same. 

• Chum salmon in Norton Sound crashed in the early 1990s, and have been down ever 

since. 

• The treeline has moved westward across the Seward and Baldwin Peninsulas (i.e., 

into formerly treeless areas). Bushes are getting bigger and taller. Willows are now 

like trees, taller than houses, whereas in the 1970s they were small and scrubby. 

• Mild winters with little snow have been good for ptarmigan, which are healthy and 

abundant. This may also be a result of low hare populations, leaving little competition 

for the ptarmigan. 

There is no record of this type of extended change. In the 1880s, during the time of the 

Great Famine in western Alaska, there were very cold winters for a long period. The 

main factor in the famine was the decimation of walrus and whale populations due to the 

commercial harvest by Yankee whalers, but lots of ice and the long, cold winters did not 

make things easier. 

As we think about the future and where these trends may lead us, we wonder what 

alternatives are available to Native villages in Alaska and elsewhere in the Arctic. If 

marine mammal populations are no longer available or accessible to our communities, 

what can replace them? In the Great Famine, there were no alternatives to the food 

provided by hunting and fishing. Today, there are stores with food and other resources 

that can be harvested. A gradual change might give us time to adjust, but a sudden shift 

might catch us unprepared and cause great hardship. As managers, we need to think about 

the overall effects on marine mammals and other resources. Some may adjust, but others 

will not. The polar bear and walrus are likely to be the most affected. With these thoughts 

in mind, we need to consider the potential emergencies facing villages that depend so 

heavily on marine mammals. How can we prepare ourselves, and how much can be done 

to prevent hardship? 
 29 

Our ancestors taught us that the Arctic environment is not constant, and that some years 

are harder than others. But they also taught us that hard years are followed by times of 

greater abundance and celebration. As we have found with other aspects of our culture’s 

ancestral wisdom, modern changes, not of our doing, make us wonder when the good 

years will return.
 30 

NATIVE OBSERVATIONS OF LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGES 

AROUND ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND 

George Noongwook 

P.O. Box 81, Savoonga, AK 99769 USA 

The most neglected portion of change which, I think, is indirectly caused by changes in 

our environment, is the belief system of the Yupiks (the people of St. Lawrence Island 

and some Chukotkan villages in the Russian Federation). These people truly believe that 

a “life in balance” encompasses spiritual (not of this world), physical (of this world) and 

environmental relationships in order to live a “long life.” Lincoln Blassi, who was born in 

1894, said: 

Living life with a “purpose,” that there is a “plan” made by the “Ulimaghista” (Olee-ma-ghis’-ta, “The Maker”) that our purpose here on earth is to use the “gifts” 

from “The Maker” or “Apa” (Grandfather, which was not used loosely or in vain 

because He was considered “big and holy”). The Plan was already done, from 

what I have heard from our ancestors, the rules were already set and for those 

(people) who have obeyed the teachings and rules...will live a long and fruitful 

life. They would pray to ask for help and sympathy (from “The Maker”) after 

observing the weather. If the weather is good for hunting, they’ll pray at night, 

this was especially true for whaling. I am comparing this to what I have heard and 

learned when I was going up. 

And then he went on to provide examples of not living life in balance with nature, all 

having to do with “non-obedience, disrespect to natural and spiritual belief systems or 

wrong-doings.” Some examples were: changes in modes of transportation that contribute 

to noise and air pollution, sleep cycles changing, language usage, clothing, cash economy 

that he said are contributing to “imbalances” in nature. Therefore, these imbalances cause 

more frustration levels, depressive states because they are not able to go and hunt like 

they use to because of climate changes. 

More observable climate change in wind patterns is becoming more frequent and intense 

around St. Lawrence Island. Herbert Kiyuklook, born 1901, said that back then “the 

weather was calmer, allowing us to go paddling, and ferrying our boats across ice to a 

greater distance.” During the spring, the ice would become ideal: generally flat, fast (free 

of snow and bumps) and pressure ridges and that ice is named Sikughlluwhaq (se-kuwh’-

lou-whak). During the winter, ice conditions allowed hunters to haul their catches over 

ice with ease and with great efficiency. The games and wildlife were readily available 

because of their close proximity to the village. There was an abundance of “qighuneq 

(kee-wuu’-nek) or northern young murres who become flightless because they become so 

fat and cannot go anywhere. These were the periods they concentrated in gathering as 

much as possible because they knew that there were going to be periods of scarcity . He 

went on to say that now it has become very different, more intense storms that last longer 
 31 

than they used to, which does not allow the concentrations of northern young murres to 

come. 

Sea ice changes were also observed by the local people. Frank Oktokiyuk said that now: 

There does not seem to be any really heavy pack ice to speak of between the 

Chukotkan and St. Lawrence Island coasts. Ice would generally form and 

combined with persistent northeastern winds bring in ice-bergs from the polar ice 

caps all combining to form a solid mass of ice by November, enough so that it 

was safe to go out and do your ice hunting. [He also reiterated Kiyuklook’s 

observation of concentrations of young northern murres.] The polar ice-bergs 

would even come as early as October. 

But the winds now constantly changing from one direction to another and with more 

intensity contributes to the delays in the packing of ice and a late freeze-up occurs as it 

does now generally in December. 

Oktokiyuk went on to say that the ideal is the north wind, the easterly currents (maaqneq) 

then begin to move, which becomes great for ice hunting, because the ice would move 

inshore depending on the time of day. The westerly currents (ikevreghaak), the ice would 

begin its off-shore motions, that was the time to head home. When a storm is brewing, 

the ice becomes very agitated because it is wind-driven then and no matter how thick or 

how big a pan the ice is, it begins to deteriorate very rapidly by the time the storm hits the 

coast. The ice begins to build huge pressure ridges along shore-fast ice or along the coast, 

going under or piling, ice pans moving in circular motion and eroding ice pans just like 

you are “winding a rope” when they hit shorefast ice or coastal lands. Then it becomes a 

very dangerous situation for hunters. 

We call this phenomenon “Taglaghneq” (daw-law-nek) which is caused by the great 

force of wind driving the ice pack inshore at an alarming rate. Initial indicators are very 

thick, dark steam from freshly opened leads near shore in a very cold environment. These 

clouds or steams were called “puyughpak” (pu-youwh’-bak, “soot-like”) from the 

appearance of thick dark steams arising. Another wind-driven phenomenon on the sea ice 

relative to “Taglaghneq” is “Pequneq” (ba-ko’-nak), a coning of thin or freshly formed 

ice pushed by the storms before it crashes down and producing a small open lead for a 

very brief moment that closes almost instantly. If you get caught in one of these, you will 

not have time to escape! We have lost some of our people in these conditions all in the 

name of seeking food for survival. Those who have experienced these phenomena, 

including Oktokiyuk, say that it is “the most frightening experience you can imagine.” 

This is when all your survival/physical training is put to use, rules learned and time 

honored avenues to take to escape from danger. 

Therefore, at this time and moment, there are more frequent windy/atmospheric 

conditions occurring that makes it nearly impossible to hunt because of these phenomena 

happening that contribute to undesirable conditions. “Sikughllugllak” (see-ko’-luuwhluk), very bad rough, jagged ice conditions, make difficult, dangerous conditions to man 
 32 

impeding their hunting abilities leading to frustrated and depressive states. These 

conditions are the forces of too-fierce northerly winds that cause ice pressures near shore 

and even off-shore. 

These constant northerly winds also indicate that the ice break up is going to be early and 

swiftly move away ice offshore because of the thinness of ice far offshore that becomes 

very unstable, therefore an early break-up occurs, coupled with the climate warming 

trend. It makes hunting less frequent and dangerous because you always have to “chase 

the ice” where much needed marine mammals are. It can become expensive in terms of 

more fuel/gasoline usage and less likely to be successful because even 10-15 knot winds 

can produce wave action in vast open water conditions and then you have to head home 

without being really successful, as is the case more often because of unstable weather 

conditions. 

In contrast, Oktokiyuk and others reiterated, shifting winds will impede the progress of 

the ice systems to move and will allow very ideal weather/ice conditions for ice edge 

marine mammals to be in close proximity near shore and that allows the hunters to be 

very successful in stalking, killing, and retrieving of marine mammals. But then again, 

those conditions are becoming infrequent because of more extreme weather. It may be 

another cyclic actions of arctic systems, but the last 10-20 years we are seeing more of 

the extreme than we are seeing of the ideal. 

This frequency of more windy and warm conditions also produces other “kinds” of ice to 

form: “Ugmetaghiq” (uw-met’-ta-ghek) thin ice, “qanigvik”(ka-nik-vik) snow covered 

small open leads, “qagitek”(ka-gi-tick), “qenghuk”(ken-woke) very rough ice caused by 

either wave action or granulating of ice due to ice pressure actions. Some of these can be 

dangerous like the camouflaged snow covered leads generally due to warming of climate 

and some just plain impede efficiency because of the abrasive conditions of the ice 

formed by wave-action or granular ice. It also forces the marine mammals to move 

offshore where there is a chance of more open leads where it is in constant motion due to 

water currents, and that allows them to surface more frequently to breathe the much 

needed oxygen. 

Jimmy Toolie, born 1903, states that “the observation of the sun, moon, and stars are 

being impeded by more persistent cloud cover.” The celestial stars, sun, and moon were 

observed and studied since time immemorial because they were excellent indicators of 

weather forecasting, and when coupled with observations of ocean currents and ice 

behavior would allow these “expert observers” (those who learned to read the stars, 

moon, and sun) to predict the weather accurately and consistently. There was a man 

named “Suluk”(Sue-look) from Southwest Cape of St. Lawrence Island who was sought 

for advice because of his expertise in reading the weather patterns and was accurate in 

weather forecasting based on his experience of vigilant observations of stars, atmosphere 

and the environment of Gambell. Toolie recalled that every morning the “Tungtut” 

cluster of stars shaped like a caribou or “the Big Dipper” were observed (when clocks 

were not available) and at a certain position it would be the time to get ready for hunting 

because it would be daylight soon. Therefore, we do need local weather forecasting 
 33 

capabilities to warn us of weather and with the help of modern technology and 

information from the National Weather Service, we can achieve that. An example is the 

Automated Weather Observations Systems that are currently used by the aviation 

companies. 

The problem of coastal erosion around the coast of St. Lawrence Island has become more 

pronounced within the last 15-20 years. My brothers-in-law had to move their camp cabin 

towards inland because the coastline there had severely eroded to a point where their 

cabin was becoming closer and closer to the beach. And finally, in 1985, they decided to 

move their cabin. In the Village of Gambell, the beach in front of the local airstrip had to 

be “sea-walled” because of severe wind-driven waves displacing gravel on to the airstrip 

especially during the October storms. The ancient village site in Siquvek is under water 

because of coastal erosion. I remember seeing the old meat caches still intact in the early 

1960s but most of them are under water now. 

Water level has risen within the last 20-30 years. A shallow point in front of the local 

school here in Savoonga no longer appears during low tides like it used to back in the 

1960s and 1970s. I can remember as a kid that we used to go out to the point during low 

tides and collect baby sculpins or “kayengenghaaq” from under the rocks. During 

extreme low tides we could even walk out farther. I have seen other areas where this has 

happened, it does not really have any thing to do with erosion but maybe water levels 

have risen, nevertheless this contributes to coastal erosion during storms. Our beach 

below the village had quite a bit of sand, enough so that we would leave out boats 

without having to worry about waves taking them out, but now we cannot because the 

sand has been displaced by storm-driven wave action. A seal rookery at Sikneq Point on 

the southern coast of the island has gone under water. The rocks do not appear as they use 

to during low tides. The ringed seals and spotted seals would go on top of the rocks to 

rest. But that has not been the case currently and the only cause I can think of is the rising 

of the sea level. There are probably other areas with similar occurrences around our coast, 

all having to do with the water level rising. 

In conclusion, climatic changes have occurred affecting sea ice, increased atmospheric 

activity (windier conditions), and coastal erosion. It is becoming increasingly difficult to 

conduct successful subsistence activities within our own hunting societies because of 

climate changes perhaps due to the warming trend as expressed by the scientific 

community. Then it is probably safe to say that changes are going to become a daily part 

of our lives, and the window of opportunity for conducting successful subsistence 

activities is going to become shorter because of the warming climate. It is then up to us to 

determine how, as hunters, we can be more efficient and safety minded in terms of 

retrieving and stalking marine mammals. In light of more unstable weather conditions, I 

think that it would help if we can anticipate these changes based on observations and data 

collected by the scientific community and also observations of local hunters, and make a 

collective prudent decision of where and when to concentrate our efforts in order to feed 

our souls’, physical, and biological needs. 
 34 

We cannot change nature, our past, and other people for that matter, but we can control 

our own thoughts and actions and participate in global efforts to cope with these global 

climate changes. That I think is the most empowering thing we can do as individuals. 
 35 

NATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON CLIMATE AND SEA-ICE CHANGES 

Igor I. Krupnik 

Arctic Studies Center, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and 

Constitution NW, Washington, DC 20560-0112, USA 

Introduction 

This paper is a short overview of some ideas and statements expressed by several of the 

workshop participants who represented Alaska Native communities from the northern 

Bering Sea-Chukchi Sea region (see Participants List, this volume). By no means does it 

pretend to be a summary of the environmental knowledge shared by some 15 experienced 

hunters, resource managers, and community leaders from several villages. Even less does 

it represent a common “Native perspective” on Arctic climate and sea-ice change. 

Instead, this paper is intended, first and foremost, to let the voices of Native observers be 

fully heard through extended, direct quotations. 

In reviewing Native statements on climate and ice change, academic scientists and the 

public at large have to consider the conditions under which these data have been 

documented and the format in which they are presented. First, beyond some general 

views (such as, “the ice and weather indeed are changing these days”), we are less likely 

to capture a uniform Native perspective from the residents of the area that extends from 

Barrow to Nunivak Island than we are to grasp a shared perception of Arctic climate 

change from the scientific community. As will be shown below, changes do occur and 

they are fairly substantial. Nevertheless, people experience changes differently along the 

northern and western Alaskan coastline. 

Second, the section below is based upon several individual observations and comments 

offered by Native participants that were recorded and written down during the three-day 

workshop. In a condensed form, those statements are summarized in Appendix 1. In 

addition, a few extended interviews were specially recorded during the days of the 

workshop. However, unlike the edited (and highly polished) academic papers prepared in 

advance as a background report for the workshop, the Native contributions were merely 

spontaneous voices spoken and heard at the meeting. The statements below are 

transcripts of oral statements and comments given by people who more often than not are 

more comfortable on the moving Arctic ice than at a conference podium. We also have to 

keep in mind that many of the speakers use English as their second language and that 

they are far more accustomed to share their observations of the environment and its 

changes in their Native language and in a different social setting. 

Third, thanks to George Noongwook’s post-workshop contribution to this volume 

(Noongwook 2000), we already have an opportunity to grasp some valuable outcomes of 

the partnership forged at the symposium in Girdwood. Noongwook’s paper is a highly 

eloquent representation of the ways local hunters perceive and discuss the changing ice 
 36 

and weather conditions that affect their lives and the well-being of their communities. At 

the same time, it is already a written product of reflections stimulated by discussions and 

mutual exchange of data and perspectives initiated by the Girdwood meeting. Therefore, 

it greatly expands the spectrum of potential formats of documentation of native 

knowledge, from personal observations to public statements, extended storytelling and 

interviews, and now written texts. 

Whereas environmental observation is a life-long phenomenon in northern communities, 

speaking and writing about the environment and its changes is not. As this paper 

illustrates, we have a long way to go and much work to do before individual oral 

statements and personal observations can be transformed into systematic monitoring 

efforts and orderly documentation conducted in Native communities, by their members, 

and for their own sake. As such, we are at the very beginning of new tradition of listening

to each other’s ways of documenting the environment and of reading each other’s 

patterns of analysis of change. The final section of this paper offers some general 

reflections on the status of knowledge shared by local hunters. It discusses both potential 

gains and obstacles concerning the ways in which this knowledge could complement and 

be complemented by data and approaches generated by the community of Arctic 

scientists. 

Native Perspectives 

1. Residents in many Northern communities clearly see changes in weather, ice, and 

marine biota that are taking place during their lifetime 

“Climate change is becoming obvious to us. When we completed our land claims 

agreement [around 1984], we thought that protected areas and parks were going to be the 

best way to protect our land and its resources. Today, however, we see these conditions 

changing and our needs may change too. 

“Past Aklavik, there is a place called Fish Hole. It has changed in many ways in 

recent time. That water just runs differently. Rocks fall into the Big Fish River. Dead fish 

are found on top of the ice.” 

Billy Day, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada 

“In 1996, when I was doing research on sea-birds on St. Lawrence Island for the Park 

Service, I talked to the elders of Gambell and Savoonga about their observations of 

change and how it was reflected in their lifetime. The main comment I got from the 

interviews is that people were seeing changes but these were not being documented 

properly. 

“My aunt, Mabel Toolie, said [to me]: ‘The Earth is faster now.’ She was not 

meaning that the time is moving fast [these days] or that the events are going faster. But 

she was talking about how all this weather is changing. Back in the old days they could 

predict the weather by observing the stars, the sky, and other events. The old people think 

that back then they could predict the weather pattern for a few days in advance. Not 

anymore! And my aunt was saying that because the weather patterns are [changing] so 
 37 

fast now, those predictions can not be made anymore. The weather patterns are changing 

so quickly she could think the Earth is moving faster now.” 

Caleb Pungowiyi, Kotzebue, Alaska 

“The changes are affecting our diet in Deering too. There used to be walrus, there should 

be walrus, we could see walrus all the time. And then they were gone. Now they are 

returning, slowly. We normally hunt ugrook [bearded seal] in the springtime, every 

family, every house in Deering. We do it every year when the ice break starts. We have 

15 boats in our town and for every house we used to get maybe 5 or 6 ugrooks. Last year 

the ice come and go, and we brought maybe 5 ugrooks into our town. So, we are very 

short of seal-oil. We go for miles and miles in boats and we spend hundreds and hundreds 

gallons of gas. But there was nothing, just clean white ice: no ugrooks, no seals. 

Those changes in our ocean, they are affecting us. The people in Deering, maybe 

not only in Deering but also in other communities along the coast too. Changes are 

coming and we have to learn how to live with them. They are coming anyway. We have 

to change, adapt, and this will be hard, it will be difficult.” 

Gibson Moto, Deering, Alaska 

“The first sea ice that I noticed [i.e., that left a deep impression] was when going on a 

single-engine airplane. [It was] on my first trip to Nome, on April 25th, 1943. We flew 

from Gambell toward King Island. From the end of the Island to the north and northeast, 

right up to Nome, there was just solid ice all over. There were but a few breaks – not 

open leads but just lines across the ice in between the mainland and the island. 

“This I believe, maybe at that time it was always like that, because back then we 

had more fair weather and cold weather. Today – as Caleb told us about his trip to Nome 

from the island when he looked down – it was all broken ice everywhere, all the way to 

Nome. And nowadays it is most often like that.” 

Conrad Oozeva, Gambell, Alaska 

“We can see changes in our environment – I am from the northeastern Bering Seasouthern Seward Peninsula area. It’s happening through my lifetime. In my area we 

[now] have timber coming down almost to the shoreline, all the way on the coast. These 

are full-grown timber, maybe 500 years old. They come up on the beach because of the 

heavy storms, beach erosion. We never saw them before but now these can be seen all 

along the coast. 

“And another thing in my in area – the ice is not stable anymore, it is not too good 

in springtime. I don’t know, maybe the water temperature is coming up. So, in the spring 

time when we go out hunting for seals in the day like this, sometimes it’s a real warm day 

or they may even come in groups of two or three days. We can go out hunting to the 

shore ice and then we come back right to the beach in the boat. The shore ice is melting 

so fast – it’s like opening your hot water socket, and the ice is melted away at once. 

Maybe the temperature is going up real fast. Before we could go out hunting, come and 

go – but never like that. 

“I noticed that and we also talked about it at one of our elders’ meetings. We just 

talked about all these changes. I do not know what’s going on with our weather and what 
 38 

is going to happen. Because these changes may affect our ways of subsistence hunting, 

and also the fish stocks. It may impact the whole system.” 

Charles Saccheus, Elim, Alaska 

2. Hunters’ experience – whether called “Native knowledge,” “local knowledge,” or 

“traditional knowledge” – is a very powerful source of information; it is uniformly held 

in very high esteem by Native people

“We are talking here a lot using all this terminology and most of us are probably not 

aware of the scientific terminology. Although take people like Conrad [Oozeva] – he is a 

life-long observer, a living database. He is very articulate in his first language [Siberian 

Yupik]. He knows at least 30 different types of snow and ice conditions [see Appendix 

2]. He is very well versed in knowledge about how the [ocean] currents are flowing and 

he knows how to get out when the ice is moving. He knows about the winds in the 

wintertime and about ice formations, and different weather patterns – he has his own 

equivalents for all these terms plus some 60 years of his personal knowledge. 

“We have our Native versions of knowledge about all these wind and ice patterns, 

and it has been passed down through the generations. And people, like Conrad, they have 

lived with this knowledge all their life. I mean, they have knowledge on everything that 

pertains to the ecosystem, to the iceberg change, to the resources, and marine biology. I 

guess we have our own versions, in terms of understanding the comprehensiveness of our 

environment and all the necessary terminology. For every conceivable condition of snow 

and ice pattern, which is either annual or through generations. And we have stories of all 

these changes based upon comparative experiences and observations. 

“We believe we have been put by the Creator in this ecosystem, to live on its 

resources, to be in sync with the ecosystem.” 

John Waghiyi, Savoonga, Alaska 

3. Local observations are particularly detailed in identifying unusual indicators of 

change, such as extraordinary weather/ice conditions or rare game animals 

“The other fall, last fall – we never used to see bowhead whales come by in Deering. And 

now they are there: two bowheads right in front of the village. We even wanted to go out 

and get a black whale. We never had a bowhead whale in Deering in my time. We also 

have reports of those long-nose dolphins washed out on the beach. When they were 

washed out one day, they were completely dead. But they are coming, they came again, 

like [during] past two or three years. You can see nine of them swimming by in front of 

the village. Those are dolphins, black-colored; we never had them before and now they 

are coming back.” 

Gibson Moto, Deering, Alaska 

“It seems to be there are lots of minke whales in our area these days. This is the first time 

in my life – I’ve never seen a minke whale before. When I saw the first one in my life, a 
 39 

few years ago, I thought it was a killer whale. But they are different. We are seeing now a 

lot of minke whale in our area – it’s pretty unusual. 

“Another change I’ve noticed – I am a monitor for the Alaska Beluga Whale 

Committee – it was almost five years ago after a big storm. I went along the beach with 

my four-wheeler, and I came across something that I thought was a young beluga whale, 

maybe 12 feet long. It looked like a full-grown. When I looked at it, it was a dolphin. We 

never see dolphins in this part of the country. So, there must be some animals feeling 

different temperatures and they are coming in to our area.” 

Charles Saccheus, Elim, Alaska 

4. Elders’ and, generally, ancestors’ experience is usually considered the ultimate 

reference in documenting changes 

“My uncle did trapping from top of the Gambell Mountain and he used to go to check his 

traps every day. And I remember him saying sometimes that he is seeing now a different 

type of ice. He mentioned that the thick ice is now coming in.” 

Conrad Oozeva, Gambell, Alaska 

“They [the animals] are coming back. The elders always say: the animals will return. But 

we were too young then, we did not believe them. The elders said: one day the caribou 

will come and it will take all your reindeer. I did not believe them [because] there were 

plenty of reindeer. Now the caribou have come and there is no reindeer and there is no 

reindeer anymore. The elders always said: they would come back. And they did.” 

Gibson Moto, Deering, Alaska 

A similar statement that praised elders’ memories was made a few years ago by an Inuit 

hunter from Rankin Inlet, in the Canadian Arctic, with regard to climate variations in his 

local area (Ernerk 1994): 

The elders do tell us that once every so many years cool summers repeat 

themselves, that also some years have freak snow storms that occur in 

mid-summer. My father told me about one such year in his memory where 

there was such a cold and extended snow storm in the middle of an 

otherwise warm summer, that this storm caused many baby birds to die, 

that all the mosquitoes appeared to die off and there was quite an 

accumulation of snow on the ground. He remembered that after the storm 

was over the snow melted and things did return to normal. In discussing 

this particular storm with my boss, Ollie Ittinuar, who is presently 70 years 

old he indicated to me that he remembered that particular storm. My father 

was at least 25 years his senior and we place this storm in the early 1930s. 

It was the storm and summer to remember. 
 40 

5. Unlike specialized scientific research, Native knowledge is always multi-faceted and it 

covers a much broader spectrum of indicators of change

“We are seeing many differences in the quality of sea ice. It is less salty, easier to chop, 

and [it] breaks up sooner. The fast ice retreats early. It breaks up and retreats 20-30 miles 

and doesn’t come back. We used to have ice come in in fall time, but now the water 

freezes up in place and we don’t see the ice floes drifting to shore. Multi-year ice doesn’t 

arrive till later.” 

Charles D.N. Brower, Barrow, Alaska 

“The ice conditions and walrus migrations are different from my early years, as they are 

now. We used to go out hunting for migrating walruses in June and last part of May. We 

used to go after bull walruses that remained on the northern side of the island. We used to 

hunt them at the same time when the females with calves are migrating north. The bull 

walruses could go out and come back in the month of June. We cannot see them no more 

now in the month of June. We don’t know why they are gone. Maybe this is because of 

too many aircrafts coming in into our area.” 

Conrad Oozeva, Gambell, Alaska 

“There have been many unusual occurrences in recent years [in our area]. Weather 

patterns, fish distributions, and other things are very odd. Some species of fish have been 

caught in areas where they’ve never been seen before. There used to be a lot of tomcod in 

our area, but no longer, and we don’t know why. 

 “In 1998, there was a big die-out of seabirds. Many dead birds washed up on 

shore. Did they die of starvation, or because the weather was too warm? Animals, too, are 

going to places they’ve never been before. Is it lack of food – or because of other 

reasons? Salmon are decreasing in some places. They are fewer in the Yukon River now. 

There are fewer clams in our area. The bay used to have lots of clams, but now there are 

hardly any – only very small ones. And the shellfish have moved into our area, where 

they used not to be.” 

Dale T. Smith, Sr., Mekoryuk, Alaska 

6. It is often stated that “Native knowledge is intuitive and holistic” – in fact, it is very 

well organized around key environmental agents (such as wind or ice) or indicators of 

change or around critical game species

“There is much difference in sea ice that I see during my lifetime. Every year the first ice 

we see is mostly of this iceberg type – the floating icebergs coming from the North, 

mainly from the month of September. The wind always starts blowing from the North, 

almost regularly. I think that same high wind makes the ocean flow, too. 

“And now we have more westerly winds. What I learned from my elderly people, 

as the days grow longer, the northwest throw [stream] gets stronger in between the island 

and the mainland of Siberia. But now with those more westerly winds we have more ice 

on the other side, the Anadyr side of the island, the ice is packed over there.” 

Conrad Ozeeva, Gambell, Alaska 
 41 

“Our ice and weather conditions in Savoonga are probably comparable to what Gambell 

conditions are. The young ice was formulated when Conrad was growing up [in the 

1930s and 1940s], maybe in late September. By October, the young ice was already there, 

because of the prevailing northern winds. The cold current is always flowing, snow is 

flowing; and so there was a crystallization process, because of the drop in conditions with 

the water temperature. What was formulated was young slush-ice. As Conrad is saying, 

when he was growing up, because of the north wind, these glacier icebergs, drift icebergs, 

were washed up on the shore of St. Lawrence Island. That was probably how the 

solidifying process of the young ice took place in those days. 

“And as he says, we were aware about the sea icebergs flowing from the north. In 

late October, during Conrad’s time, that is, during the time when ice formulated in mass, 

it had a lulling position [impact] within the Bering Sea, where there is lots of big waves. 

And when the ice solidifies enough, you can actually go out hunting in 25-30-knot 

conditions, because the formulation of the young flat ice makes the waves gentle enough 

to go out for harvest activities. When it solidifies enough, when we can go on it and we 

have to be careful, because winter is going to happen at this time. When they were 

growing up, they were usually gone on the ice [in winter] harvesting walruses and 

bearded seals, and other species of seals. And they were actually pulling back their 

walrus meat with the raw-hide ropes, just sliding it through the ice. And they will bring 

that food home and that meat home for their families and their children, and also for their 

family dogs. 

“When they were young, they used to go out by dog-teams [on ice] for many, 

many miles. And this is their perception of the winter ice conditions. 

“Now, these days if we are lucky, the ice will set up at a time of late November, 

usually in December in Savoonga where I am from. It is like that now most of the time. 

This year is a perfect example. On Thanksgiving Day, that was November 25th [1999], 

we harvested a bowhead whale right off the village of Savoonga where the migration 

happened. And the next day the young ice solidified enough, it was dense enough we 

could not go out. Just the day before, men could go out with their skiffs and zigzag 

around, because there was enough open water in front of the village that they could go 

after the bowhead whale. The next day, when they were butchering the whale, it was too 

dense and solid – and that meant that winter was here. When the ice solidifies and it 

becomes solid, that means winter in our culture has taken place. 

“In the past ten years or so, our winter trends based on the ice conditions have 

been probably early December to mid-December, because as I mentioned, we had all 

these walruses and bowhead whale in front of Savoonga. Now, Conrad knows – and he is 

a living database – maybe 30 different conditions of ice and snow around our island. And 

I just talked about two different conditions: one is slush ice and the other is flowing sea 

icebergs. Conrad can give you many, many different variations, with their specific 

terminology from our Native culture.” 

John Waghiyi, Savoonga, Alaska 
 42 

7. Native observers are very well trained in documenting unusual ice and weather 

patterns – but they have their own ways and means of memorizing and documenting the 

events

As an illustration, we may cite at length three narratives of St. Lawrence Island hunters of 

different ages about years with extraordinarily warm winter conditions in their respective 

communities. 

George Noongwook (Savoonga, born in 1949): 

 “My most clear memory of ‘extreme weather’ was that of winter of 1962 

[1962/1963]. This has been a really exceptional winter. I remember: it was the month of 

January, and then a lot of snow melted. Not all of it but most of it just melted down to the 

bare ground. And during that fall, that same year, there were very high winds blowing 

from the southeast. It was strange, because it’s normally blowing from north-northeast all 

the time. 

 “Consequently, not very many people were able to bring back home any walruses 

or seals or other marine mammals. It was so bad [in the village] that they had to fly in 

dried fish and drop it down from the airplanes, because back then we did not have an 

airstrip in our village. So, they dropped dried fish and other protein-rich food off the 

airplanes [to feed the people]. 

 “This is the year I clearly remember as one with exceptional weather that affected 

all the people. We used to commemorate such events: in the old days, people would make 

a song or try to mark the moment somehow. Like this extreme weather conditions. One 

elder in our village named his son Ughugutkaq for that particular year. That little boy was 

born during this year, and the man’s name was Keengeekuk [Kingikaq]. Because 

ughuguq means ‘melting snow’ [in Siberian Yupik language]. This name was because of 

that extreme weather when the boy was born. 

 “It was pretty scary these days, I remember. No returning birds, nothing. When 

the snow melted down, there were ponds of water on the ground, but nothing else. There 

was almost no hunting because of these extremely dangerous conditions. We could 

probably go anywhere [hunting] and get almost nothing. I do not think it was safe to go 

out because there was still some ice at sea. My memory is probably sketchy but that I can 

remember. People were being blown away almost down to the water because of the high 

winds during the previous fall. It was scary!” 

Edmond Apassingok (Gambell, born in 1963): 

 “As far as I can remember, it was this winter [1999/2000] that was very 

exceptional because of its warm weather. About a week ago or so it started to get real 

warm, I mean – exceptionally warm. And it continues to this day [February 16th]. But 

before that we had nice weather and these easterly winds; then, right after the New Year 

the southerly winds started to pick up. Before that it seemed like it [was going to be] a 

normal winter, but then it warmed up, it’s all changed. 

 “As far as I can remember, that did not happen in a long time. We have already 

spotted a bowhead whale [off Gambell] before I came to this meeting. People say, that 

this is very unusual, it’s too early. Also from the land observation, several bowheads have 

been seen – this does not happen usually in February, sightings like that, at least from my 
 43 

recollections. They have not seen too many walruses, but seals are quite normal – at least, 

since the ice came in in December. The sea ice was also late [last year] and it was 

strange, not like the usual year. I remember we had to go to another conference in late 

November, and we flew over from Gambell to Nome. When we left from Gambell, it was 

fairly cold but there was no young ice at this time, of this iceberg type. Usually, before 

the young ice comes in, these icebergs are drifting [from the north] – this indicates that 

the young ice is coming. But not this year! When I called home from Anchorage, people 

said that it’s pretty windy from the north, and the young ice already came in. But there 

were no icebergs this year, although they always come before the young ice comes in.” 

George Noongwook, on 1999/2000 ice conditions: 

 “In Savoonga, the ice conditions were also very unusual this past fall. We even 

were able to get a bowhead whale right in front of our village. That happened on 

Thanksgiving Day, November 24th [1999]. The wind was of 25 knots, but because there 

was lots of ice on water, young ice, it kept the water from the winds. It got really cold 

then and that lasted through the whole of December. Then in January it started snowing, 

we did not have any snow in November, in December, and half of January. On January 

11th it started snowing, and it snowed almost every day until these days. There were tons 

of snow. Now we have probably much more snow than usual, like the older people say – 

‘it’s like the old times.’ They have not experienced that much snow in years. It was really 

difficult to walk practically anywhere. 

 “It was this way up to February, probably up to a couple of weeks ago. And then 

in got real warm, real warm. At one time, one could see the ground and the snow melting. 

Just like springtime when the snow is melting. But there were not that many walruses like 

we usually see in spring. It’s so strange! We had walruses in Savoonga until the month of 

December, and we also got that bowhead whale. The walruses were very close: maybe a 

mile or half-a-mile off the village. Lots of other sea mammals as well. This was because 

of these easterly winds. 

 “Now, this month [Febuary] we also managed to get a lot of open water [in front 

of our village] for a week or so. Right until the day we came here [February 14th], and 

then the ice came in again. We were even able to get out [in our boats] – there was 

enough of open water to get out hunting, particularly to the west, that the waves were 

coming from that direction. We saw six walruses at this time coming from the west; so, 

several boats went hunting westward, as far as Taapghhaq. We did not see the walruses 

there and there were no makllaks [bearded seals] either but lots of seals. And lots of birds 

– old-squaws, murres, like in springtime. 

 “In 1990 there was another exceptionally warm spring that people remembered. 

We were able to get our quota of four whales in one week. The temperature warmed up to 

60o F on one day. There was abundance of belugas, and whales, and all kinds of birds. 

That was at the Southwest Cape, we call it Pugughileq.” 

Conrad Oozeva (Gambell, born in 1926): 

 “We always have warm weather during the winter time. Our winter, as I 

mentioned [is] when thin ice gets it – that’s when we call it ‘winter.’ It was only two 

times, I remember, when the ice showed in before fall: one [time] in the last part of 

August and the other one [in] first part of September. That’s all I know about these two 
 44 

but the ice did not get clear to the land. We even got some walruses and seals when that 

ice showed in in August, in last part of August. [The year] was some time in the late 

[19]40s or early ‘50s. And when the ice was in September – it might be later – ‘40s or 

‘50s. 

 “It is common that it gets warm in wintertime. Maybe, twice or even three times 

until spring; sometimes, maybe, two times. Only one time I know it got real warm in 

January. It rained, rained, and rained, until the ice on the lake was soaked with rain and 

started breaking in near the shore land. It was like this all January, maybe from last part 

of December – it gets warm, very warm. We also had all those high swells all the time. 

The ice almost formed firmly but it did not [solidify], maybe, because it got too warm. 

And the walruses were coming in [but] there was no ice for these walruses, [and] they 

stayed on the east side of Gambell. So, people went hunting down by boats on ice on the 

other side, got the walrus, and came home. The backwash was washing in, this seafood 

that grows under the ocean, and other sea plants. [Krupnik: Was it like in 1962?] It did 

happen after that too but this time was farther back. 

 “It got snow fully on the ground but then it rained, and rained, and rained. Snow 

melted but shore ice was still good enough on the other side. When we wake up [in the 

morning] – it’s still warm. Ralph [Apatiki] even asked me the question: will it ever get 

cold again? And I told him: “It still will be time when it gets cold!” [Laughs.] And it did 

in later time get cold... 

 “It is very common warmth like we have this winter – two or three times every 

year or almost every year. But those past few years we hardly had any warm weather [in 

winter]. The temperature got high enough, not much cold. This year was maybe the 

coldest I know... 

“I remember being a boy, when we still had these mengteghapik [houses with an 

inner chamber of reindeer skin]. In the morning I could hear people walking making 

cracking noise out there, because it’s so cold. We always dressed up warmly that time. I 

don’t mind staying out there long enough. Of course, in those days, even in cold days, the 

days were nice and calm, almost calm. No snowing: just cold and calm. When we were 

still using those [oil] lamps, naneq, every time when I got out on a very cold day, I 

noticed my eye-lids are getting picky, when I am getting out first of my house. They 

always got picky because of the moisture inside the house. This winter reminds me of 

those old days. 

“I know [remember], it did get real cold with some wind in my [old] days. I was 

going out hunting from my old house, I could not even stand it anymore because I had 

beginning to get frostbites. I had to stop. You have to walk long enough to get used to 

cold. I could not stay long enough when I was hunting on the ice – it was just too cold. 

So, I came home. I did not get seals or walruses [because] it was too cold. It’s the same 

type of winter we have this year. If it happened like [in] the early days, we have this cold 

and windy, and snowy winter, we ran out of food. And all naneq [oil lamps] were down. 

In the days like these, there was little fuel. This year is the coldest year and [although] it 

got warm recently, it’s still not as warm as in the old days, when it gets warm. The snow 

often thawed when it got warm in the early days. 

“[Krupnik: A winter without snow?] I don’t remember anything like that. One 

year we had a long easterly wind. The storm on one side but this side [western side of 

Cape Sivuqaq] was clear. It keeps so for many days, those easterly winds blowing. I 
 45 

could see that heavy cloud on the other side [of the cape] but no clouds on this side. And 

the easterly wind [was] blowing all day, maybe for a week or longer. We got snow [that 

year] but the snow was blown off all over. I remember because I was going to check my 

trap lines and foxes were very visible at that time because there was no snow, it was all 

blown away. 

“[Krupnik: A warm winter is called “woman-winter” by the Yupik people in 

Chukotka]. Yes, I heard people saying that in Gambell too: “woman-winter,” 

aghnangyaq. When the temperature is above 10o F [in winter] – I like it. Because you can 

tell it even without seeing the thermometer. The sea between the ice looks black, no 

smoke, nothing. We have a good winter this year, hunting was good even on one of those 

cold days. My boat has been going hunting, we have been bringing walruses, makllaks 

[bearded seals], and birds. They don’t go far out too. 

“This change [is visible], anleghaq [going out at sea, particularly to the east] has 

changed. When I was younger, there were these migrating walruses coming on the 

eastern side of Gambell first; and then they were going around the point, and headed 

south. That used to happen in November, first part of November. This is where we first 

got our walruses on the other side of the hill, when walruses are migrating south. That did 

not happen like that anymore. Now they do like that for very short time in December, 

which is late. Just enough walrus on the other side, mostly the walrus females. Something 

is changing, we noticed this.” 

Some Final Remarks 

These stories and observations of Native hunters from a handful of Alaska communities 

illustrate that local knowledge has enormous power as a resource to document changes in 

weather, sea ice, and marine life due to modern climate change. What is listed here is just 

the tip of the iceberg of information that was shared at the meeting and has been written 

down, in order to give both full acknowledgement to and a better appreciation of the 

Native contribution to workshop. Unlike scientists, hunters are not bound in their 

observations by a “project time” or to any salaried research period. They are going on the 

ice almost every day, year after year; and they preserve their memories, listen to elders’ 

stories as well as share their observations with other hunters. This is the body of 

knowledge that has been praised highly by the most experienced anthropologists and 

natural scientists for years (e.g., Freeman 1984, Nakashima 1993, Nelson 1969). 

It is almost trivial these days to talk about “barriers” and “hurdles” on the ways Native or 

local knowledge can be matched with the data collected by the scientific community. 

Those obstacles most commonly listed arise from the presumption (which more often 

than not remains untested and never fully examined) that traditional knowledge is 

assumed to be intuitive, holistic, qualitative, and orally transmitted while academic or 

scientific knowledge is primarily analytical, compartmentalized, quantitative, and literate 

(Berkes 1993, Eythorsson 1993, Lalonde 1993, Nadasdy 1999). While there is some truth 

to these differences, both scientists and Native observers can effectively operate with 

both types of knowledge – as has been clearly demonstrated by the many presentations 

given at the Girdwood Workshop, prepared and informal alike. 
 46 

It is not a different nature but rather a different focus of scientific and local knowledge 

that clearly keeps these two types of expertise looking in different directions. Modern 

scientific studies of environmental change are unmistakably time-focused, in that 

scientists are primarily looking for well-documented series or samples of otherwise 

uniformly organized data (like annual or seasonal temperature and ice series, ice charts, 

satellite photos, ice core samples, etc.). This focus allows scientists to operate with both 

the average and the extreme characteristics of the environment that are easily and 

thoroughly positioned in time (i.e., by fixed dates) and which are regarded as 

“statistically reliable.” Thus, the scientific knowledge of climate change is openly fixated 

upon expanding the timing and reliability of the data it operates with; the very nature of 

data may be of secondary importance. 

Local knowledge, on the other hand, is first and foremost detail-focused, in that it prizes 

specific and very detailed information about the characteristics of the environment 

observed, including climate change. There is no issue of statistical reliability, and every 

personal observation is considered sound and equal, as long as it relates to the 

environment, which is familiar to the given observer. The age of the observer is probably 

the closest equivalent of the scientific concept “reliability,” as changes reported by elders 

are always considered more valid than those observed by younger people. And there is 

hardly an issue of precise timing. Local knowledge documents the many possible facets 

of environmental changes as well as of exceptional phenomena; but in most reported 

cases it is not focused on absolute dating or on any mechanism of precise timing similar 

to the beach-ridge chronology developed by geologists and archaeologists. This is a 

scientific method when events or objects are dated along the series of beach ridges that 

have been subsequently built on shore by the sea surf through time. That is why for many 

scientists local knowledge contains too many data that are very hard to organize properly 

in a standardized time series. 

Therefore, in order to be compatible, both types of knowledge must be substantially 

modified to accommodate each other’s specifics – in the same way that the data from 

social and natural (physical) sciences have to undergo certain accommodations to be used 

in any interdisciplinary or joint study. One can see this conclusion as one of the major 

outcomes of the Girdwood workshop and one of the most critical by-products of a threeday intellectual (inter-knowledge) interaction. 

One can also see from the statements of many Native participants that local hunters are 

far more advanced in mastering the terms, data, and approaches developed by scientists 

than vice versa. Unlike Native observers, scientists learn through “projects” and they 

respond to new challenges by “research programs.” Therefore, the only way academic 

science can modify itself to be more open for accommodation of Native knowledge is by 

developing a special research program on just how to do this. 

This approach differs from the many previous studies focused on the incorporation of 

traditional knowledge into scientific research, including the very original assumptions we 

shared while organizing the Girdwood workshop. Scientific knowledge about recent 
 47 

climate change in the Arctic has to become detailed and specific. From the abstract global 

models, it has to be projected down to the regional and even to the individual village 

level in order to interact productively with the knowledge and observations of change 

shared across local communities. For local knowledge, a timing mechanism has to be 

created in order to make Native observations of past and present events compatible with 

the records kept by academic science. This is a complicated enterprise, as each local 

community has to build a “beach-ridge chronology” of its own, one based upon its 

particular history, available documentary records, and memories shared by the most 

elderly experts. 

To accomplish these and other goals, much joint research as well as intense mutual 

interaction and knowledge/data sharing is required. This future long-term effort should be 

focused first and foremost on charting the ways for mutual adjustment of the two types of 

knowledge of Arctic climate change. When and if such a program gets the necessary 

funding, it may well become the most significant legacy of the Girdwood workshop of 

2000. 

Acknowledgements 

This paper came about as a spontaneous product of the Girdwood workshop, as we all 

realized that a lot of extremely valuable data could be lost unless they were recorded and 

put on paper. Rob Mattlin of the Marine Mammal Commission and Henry Huntington 

were particularly helpful in supporting this effort as were many Native participants who 

let us document their personal observations and perspectives. I am also grateful to Henry 

Huntington and George Noongwook for their extremely valuable comments and advice 

offered upon reading the first draft of this text. The shortcomings in presenting a 

summary of what was said and what we all learned during the Girdwood sessions are all 

mine. 
 48 

References 

Berkes, Fikret. 1993. Traditional ecological knowledge in perspective. In: J.T. Inglis, ed. 

Traditional ecological knowledge: concepts and cases. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of 

Nature. p. 1-9. 

Ernerk, Peter. 1994. Insights of a hunter on recent climatic variations in Nunavut. In: R. 

Riewe and J. Oakes, eds. Biological implications of global change: northern 

perspectives. Occasional Paper 33. Edmonton: Canadian Circumpolar Institute. p. 5-

6. 

Eythorsson, Einar. 1993. Sami fjord fishermen and the state: traditional knowledge and 

resource management in northern Norway. In: J.T. Inglis, ed. Traditional ecological 

knowledge: concepts and cases. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature. p. 133-142. 

Freeman, Milton M.R. 1994. Contemporary Inuit Exploitation of the Sea-Ice 

Environment. In: Alan Cooke and Edie Alstine, eds. “Sikumiut”: people who use the 

sea-ice. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Resource Committee. p. 73-96. 

Lalonde, Andre. 1993. African indigenous knowledge and its relevance to sustainable 

development. In: J.T. Inglis, ed. Traditional ecological knowledge: concepts and 

cases. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature. p. 55-62. 

Nadasdy, Paul. 1999. The politics of TEK: power and the “integration” of knowledge. 

Arctic Anthropology 36(1-2): 1-18. 

Nakashima, Douglas J. 1993. Astute observers on the sea ice edge: Inuit knowledge as a 

basis for Arctic co-management. In: J.T. Inglis, ed. Traditional ecological knowledge: 

concepts and cases. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature. p. 99-110. 

Nelson, Richard K. 1969. Hunters of the Northern Ice. Chicago: University of Chicago 

Press. 

Noongwook, George. 2000. Native observations of local climate changes around St. 

Lawrence Island. (This volume.) 
49 

Appendix 1: Observations of Recent Environmental Change in Alaska Native Communities in the Bering AreaCategory St. Lawrence Island Norton Sound-Nunivak 

Island 

Kotzebue Sound Point 

Unusual Sightings -Stranded dolphins 

-Sharks in seal nets (Greenland?) 

-Stranded dolphin (Elim) -Minke whales off Nunivak Island -Narwhale seen between Cape Denbigh and Cape Darby, spring 1999 -“Small” ringed seal caught in Jan. 1999 -Minke whales seen off Unalakleet, Elim -Coyote in Golovin 

-Bowheads seen off Deering -Same shark in Deering -Minke whales and dolphins off Deering -Stranded dolphin in Kivalina ~ 1998 -Humpback whale off Kivalina ~ 1990 

-Spotten seal in Kivalina 

~June 1999 

Changes in Physical Condition of Game Species 

-Walruses: thick blubber this year 

-Fewer or no clams around Nunivak Island, very small specimens only 

-Migrating caribou are thin 

Early Seasonal Timing 

-Bowheads seen in early February, 2000 

-Oldsquaw seen in February 

-Salmon coming earlier, when there is still ice -Gray whales seen off Kivalina, May 1995 (very early) -Killer whales seen in June 1999 (very early) 

-BowhePoint H(very e

Late Seasonal Timing 

-Walrus and bowhead seen off northern coast in late November 1999 

-Gulls seen in December 
50 

Category St. Lawrence Island Norton Sound-Nunivak 

Island 

Kotzebue Sound Point 

Changing Speed of Animal Migration 

-Walrus used to concentrate eastward from Gambell for the full month of November but now for one week in December 

Unusual Animal Behavior 

-Seal eating by walruses that are not typically “rogue” walruses 

-If no ice, walruses haul out at Cape Darby -Mass die-off of seabirds around Nunivak Island 

Physical Changes in Habitat 

-Shorefast ice melting very rapidly -Sea and lake levels rising -No floating icebergs coming in during the fall ice formation -Winter ice solidifies at least one month later -Active beach erosion on the southern side; old camps and sites under water 

-Old timber washed away by frequent storms and beach erosion (southern Seward Peninsula) - Very warm spring weather, quick ice melting in recent years; unstable sea ice -Berries ripen earlier 

 -Earlier 

salty se-Late aryear icefloating water fr(Barrow
51 

Category St. Lawrence Island Norton Sound-Nunivak 

Island 

Kotzebue Sound Point 

Increase in Abundance 

-More spectacled eiders -Increase in sculpin -Humpback whales feeding off Gambell 

-Caribou migrating to Seward Peninsula -Beluga increasing in Nome District -Herring -Halibut 

-Caribou coming into Deering; huge caribou herds around Deering, Buckland and Shishmaref -More species of marine mammals (minke whale) -Walrus increasing (Deering) -More minke whales off Kivalina 

Decrease in Abundance 

-Fewer oldsquaw and sandpipers 

-Fish stocks at low level -Geese stock declining (Nunivak Island) -Fewer salmon in the Yukon River -No tomcod off Nunivak Island 

-No/few bearded seals near Deering -No ringed seals on spring ice (off Deering, 1999) -Fewer salmon in 1999 (Deering) -Pretty stable (Kivalina): depends on ice conditions 

Changes in Seasonal Human Activities 

-No more hunting for walrus bulls in June -Later fall boat hunting in Savoonga; fall bowhead harvested for the first time in 1999 

Spring seal hunting in boats (April) in northern Norton Sound 
 52 

Appendix 2. Yupik Terminology for Major Sea Ice Conditions and Types of Sea Ice off St. 

Lawrence Island, Alaska (provided by Conrad Oozeva) 

DANGEROUS SPOTS 

Alqimiin 

Aygughnin 

Imangesleq 

Ngaayuun 

Nuyileq 

Pequ 

Qanigvik 

Qateghrapak 

Siinguraq 

Tepaan 

Tuviilleq 

Ugmetaghaq 

Uulsugnaq 

EDGE OF SHORE ICE 

Ighighneq/Ighighlleq 

Iitga 

Kangighin 

Kangin 

Laaq 

Luughek 

Sanineq 

Tekeghin 

CAKE ICE 

Iighwilkaaq 

Iighwilnguq 

Ilulighaq 

Sikuqwaaghpak 

Sikuqwaaq 

Ughvuneq 

BROKEN ICE 

Ayemqutek 

Aygughnin 

Kaawraneq 

Kagimleghwaaq/Kagimleq 

Qelughtaaq 

Qerngayaak 

Tunglu 

Tungzighaq 

LAYERED ICE 

Amaghileq 

Qaspighun 

BEST TO WALK ON 

Umughagek 

Umughak 

Sigiin 

COVERING ICE 

Nasaghuk 

Qayemgu 

Sikughnak 

NEW ICE FORMS 

Pugsaqa 

Qenu 

Qenughhaghaq 

Saagsiqu 

Sallegpak 

Sallek 

Sallgaaq 

SAFE TO WALK ON BUT DANGEROUS 

Allungelquq 

Amaghlleq 

Kaspigpak 

Kaspik 

Kaspikengeltaq 

Nevesqaghneq 

Pequ 

Qagin/Qagitek 

Qaspighun 

Qenghuk 

Ughuun 
 53 

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACTS ON THE ARCTIC ENVIRONMENT 

Gunter E. Weller 

Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research, University of Alaska, P.O. Box 

757740, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA 

Abstract 

Regional assessments of climate change and its impacts are a high priority in the 

international programs on global change research. In the Arctic, climate models indicate 

an amplification of the global greenhouse warming, but the observed high-latitude 

climate trends over the last few decades are much more regional and patchy than 

predicted by the models. While considerable uncertainties remain in the long-term 

prediction of change there is some agreement between model results and observed trends 

by season on shorter time scales. The warming observed over the landmasses of the 

Arctic over the last few decades is matched by corresponding observed decreases in snow 

cover and glacier mass balances, by thawing of the permafrost, and by reductions in sea 

ice extent and thickness. Vinnikov et al. (1999) state that the probability of the observed 

trends resulting from natural climate variability is less than 0.1 percent for the observed 

1953-98 sea ice trends. This evidence strongly suggests that the observed decrease in 

northern hemisphere sea ice extent is related to anthropogenic global warming. While 

uncertainties exist about the future, climate change in the Arctic during the past few 

decades has clearly had major impacts already on the Arctic environment which will 

become much more pronounced if present trends continue. 

Introduction 

The Arctic plays a crucial role in global climate change. It is a sensitive indicator of 

change and its snow and ice features are good integrators of change. It also stores longterm climatic records in its glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet. The Arctic also affects 

the global climate directly through interactions between its atmosphere, ice cover, and 

oceans, and through a number of important feedback processes. Practically all climate 

models predict an amplification of the global greenhouse effect in the Arctic 

(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1990, 1996, Everett et al. 1997). 

Global greenhouse warming affects the Arctic environment by melting ice and thawing 

permafrost. Practically all the snow and ice features of the Arctic will be affected in one 

way or another. The extent and thickness of the seasonal snow cover, sea ice, permafrost, 

glaciers, and river and lake ice are all expected to decrease as the climate warms (see 

Figures 1-4). These changes, in turn, will affect the polar ecosystems with their 

distinctive fauna and flora. Socio-economic consequences to populations, industry, and 

lifestyles will be inevitable. Not all of these changes are necessarily negative; for 
 54 

example less sea ice may allow the opening of trans-Arctic shipping routes and offshore 

petroleum exploration (Weller 1998). 

The Arctic, in turn, can affect the global climate through polar feedback processes. The 

albedo-snow cover-temperature feedback (Kellogg 1975) is one of the main causes of the 

amplification of the greenhouse effect in the Arctic. Permafrost-trace gas-temperature 

feedbacks could also be important. If more CO2 and CH4 are released when permafrost 

thaws, this will increase the atmospheric temperature and will result in thawing more 

permafrost. Melting of glaciers and ice sheets raise the global sea level, and the collapse 

of large ice sheets has been postulated as a possibly trigger of the major, rapid climate 

changes during the last ice age, as seen in the Greenland ice core results (Alley et al. 

1993). 

Projected Future Climate Impacts 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report Climate Change 1995 

(1996) includes a chapter (Chapter 7 of Working Group II on the cryosphere – the 

regions of snow and ice) on climate change and its likely impacts on the polar regions. 

This assessment states the degree of confidence that the IPCC had in its predictions, 

which include the following: 

• Many components of the cryosphere are sensitive to changes in atmospheric 

temperature because of their thermal proximity to melting. The extent of glaciers has 

often been used as an indicator of past global temperatures (High Confidence). 

• Projected warming of the climate will reduce the area and volume of the cryosphere. 

This reduction will have significant impacts on related ecosystems, associated people 

and their livelihoods (High Confidence). 

• There will be striking changes in the landscapes of many high mountain ranges and of 

lands at northern high latitudes (High Confidence). These changes may be 

exacerbated where they are accompanied by growing numbers of people and 

increased economic activities (Medium Confidence). 

For a scenario that doubles the atmospheric concentrations of CO2, the following changes 

and associated impacts on the Arctic are likely, again listing the degree of confidence in 

these predictions: 

• Pronounced reductions in seasonal snow, permafrost, glaciers, and periglacial features 

with a corresponding shift in landscape processes (High Confidence). 

• Increases in the thickness of the active layer of permafrost and the disappearance of 

most of the ice-rich discontinuous permafrost over a century-long time span (High 

Confidence). 

• Disappearance of up to a quarter of the currently existing mountain glacier mass 

(Medium Confidence). 
 55 

Figure 1. Change in soil temperature at various depths in permafrost terrain at Fairbanks, 

Alaska (V.E. Romanovsky, University of Alaska Fairbanks, personal communication, 

1999). (Reprinted with author’s permission.) 
 56 

• Less ice on rivers and lakes. Freeze-up dates will be delayed, and break-up will begin 

earlier. The river-ice season could be shortened by up to a month (Medium 

Confidence). 

• A large change in the extent and thickness of sea ice, not only from warming but also 

from changes in circulation patterns of both atmosphere and oceans. There is likely to 

be substantially less sea ice in the polar oceans (Medium Confidence). 

 

Many of these impacts are already being experienced in the Arctic, as shown in the next 

section. 

Evidence of Climate Change 

Twentieth Century Climate Trends

Discussion of the detection of the greenhouse signal in the polar regions usually revolves 

around two questions: (1) Are we now seeing the greenhouse signal in the high latitudes? 

(2) If not, how and when will the signal manifest itself? Chapman and Walsh (1993) 

examined the climate trends in the Arctic for the period 1961-1990, using the climate 

data set of the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia (Jones et al. 1986). 

Their analysis, as well as their updated results for 1966-1995 (unpublished), indicates 

considerable warming over the landmasses of Eurasia and North America, particularly in 

winter and spring. Over the last three decades, trends towards higher temperatures have 

been up to 1.5o

C per decade. On the other hand there are also smaller areas of cooling of 

similar magnitude within the Arctic regions, particularly in the South Greenland and 

Davis Strait areas. 

The available data also point to a more vigorous atmospheric circulation associated with 

a deepening of both the Icelandic and Aleutian Lows (Maxwell 1995). The primary 

reason for a warmer climate in the Western Arctic, for example, is that more southerly 

flow occurs in winter coupled with less northerly flow of cold air from Siberia. Similarly 

the cooler climate in Southern Greenland is most likely related to a shift in the 

circumpolar wave pattern with increased northerly flow in that region. Whether this is 

triggered by the greenhouse effect is not clear at present. 

Impacts on Snow and Ice

In many different parts of the world, pronounced reductions in seasonal snow, glaciers, 

permafrost, and sea ice have been observed as a consequence of a warmer climate. In the 

Arctic, where the following observations have been made, these changes are particularly 

pronounced. Vinnikov et al. (1999) state that the probability of the observed trends 

resulting from natural climatic variability is less than 0.1 percent for the observed 1953-

98 sea ice trends. This strongly suggests that the observed decrease in northern 

hemisphere sea ice extent is related to anthropogenic global warming. 
 57 

Figure 2. Observed decrease of Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent during the past 25 

years. (Reprinted with permission from Vinnikov et al. 1999, copyright 1999 American 

Association for the Advancement of Science.) 

Sea Ice: 

There have been substantial reductions in both ice extent and thickness in the Arctic in 

recent decades: 

• The most recent study using passive microwave data from satellites for the last two 

decades has shown Arctic sea ice extent decreasing by 2.9% (+/- 0.2%) per decade 

(Cavalieri et al. 1997). 

• New extreme minima of summer ice extent have been established repeatedly since 

1980. The September ice extent in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas since 1980 was 

25% below the prior minimum value over a 45-year record (Maslanik et al. 1999). 

• Sea ice extent in the Bering Sea has been reduced by about 5% over the last 40 years, 

with the steepest decrease occurring in the late 1970s (Bering Sea Impact Study 

1997). 

• Sea ice thickness, a sensitive indicator of climate change, has decreased by about 1.3 

m, from 3.1 m to 1.8 m, in most of the deep water portion of the Arctic Ocean 

between the 1960/1970s and the 1990s, based on submarine sonar records (Rothrock 

et al. 1999). 

• The sea ice thickness decrease is greatest in the central and eastern Arctic and less in 

the Beaufort and Chukchi seas (Rothrock et al. 1999). 

• Observations at Barrow, Alaska, on the Beaufort Sea coast, showed sea ice to be only 

1.4 m thick in 1998, compared with its normal thickness of 1.7-1.8 m; this is thinner 

than ever observed before (L.H. Shapiro, University of Alaska Fairbanks, personal 

communication, 1999). 
 58 

Fig. 3. Sea ice thickness reductions for various regions of the Arctic from submarine data 

collected between 1958-1976 and 1993-1997 (Rothrock et al. 1999). (Reprinted with 

author’s permission.) 
 59 

Glaciers and Ice Sheets: 

• Glaciers in the Arctic and subarctic regions have generally receded, with typical icethickness decreases of 10 m over the last 40 years, but some glaciers have thickened 

in their upper regions (Bering Sea Impact Study 1997). A warming of 1°C, if 

sustained, appears to reduce glacier lengths by about 15%. 

• The mass balance of Greenland is still uncertain, but there appears to have been a 

tendency towards increased melt area between 1979-1991 that ended abruptly in 

1992, possibly due to the effects of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption (Abdalati and Steffen 

1997). 

• Balances have been positive for European glaciers in Scandinavia and Iceland due to 

increased winter precipitation (Serreze et al. 1999). 

• Over the period 1961-1990, small melting glaciers worldwide have contributed about 

7.36 mm to sea level rise, with the Canadian High Arctic Islands contributing 1.36 

mm, Alaska 0.54 mm, and Asia 3.34 mm (Serreze et al. 1999). 

Seasonal Snow Cover: 

• Cyclone and anticyclone frequency has increased over the Arctic between 1952-1989 

(Everett et al. 1997; section 3.2). 

• Annual snowfall has increased in the same period over Northern Canada (North of 

55o

N) by about 20% and by about 11% over Alaska (Everett et al. 1997; section 3.2). 

• While there is more snow in winter, satellite records indicate that since 1972 northern 

hemisphere annual snow cover on both continents has decreased by about 10%, 

largely due to spring and summer deficits since the 1980s (Serreze et al. 1999). 

• There has also been a decrease in snow depth in Canada since 1964, especially during 

spring, whereas winter depths have declined in some areas over European Russia 

since the turn of the century, but have increased in others (Serreze et al. 1999). 

Permafrost: 

• Borehole measurements in continuous permafrost have shown warming of up to 2-

4°C in northern Alaska over the last 80-100 years (Lachenbruch and Marshall 1986). 

• Discontinuous permafrost throughout Alaska has warmed, and some of it is currently 

thawing from the top and bottom (Osterkamp 1994). 

• Near-surface permafrost has also become warmer by 0.6-0.7oC in Siberia during the 

period 1970-1990; this warming may in part be due to a deeper snow cover in winter 

(Pavlov 1994). 

River and Lake Ice: 

• River and lake ice formation in Alaska occurs later in fall and breakup occurs earlier 

in spring, leading to shorter ice-covered periods. The annual breakup of the Tanana 

River ice in interior Alaska has been recorded since the 1920s and shows most 

breakup dates to occur in April in the 1990s compared with most of them occurring in 

May in the 1920s (Nenana Ice Classic 1999). 
 60 

Fig. 4. Glacier mass balance changes in Western North America from 1957 to the mid1990s (Sapiano et al. 1998). (Reprinted with author’s permission.) 
 61 

Fingerprinting Climate Change

A view that has been proposed by climate researchers is that the “traditional” emphasis 

on sea ice extent and Arctic Ocean air temperatures as early indicators of change should 

be replaced with a broader “fingerprint” of many variables. This fingerprint should 

involve information from ice cores, sea ice concentration and thickness, sea surface 

temperatures, subsurface polar ocean temperatures, and high latitude precipitation. The 

set of variables in Table 1 summarizes the evidence of recent changes and provides such 

a fingerprint. The observed changes are consistent with those anticipated from 

greenhouse influences. However, there are still problems since long records exist only for 

surface temperatures, and even these are not long enough to distinguish unambiguously 

the natural and man-made influences (Walsh et al. 1996). 

Societal and Economic Impacts of Climate Change 

The societal and economic consequences of climate change in the Arctic are likely to be 

substantial but are not the subject of this paper. Reference to these impacts can be found 

in a number of publications (Bering Sea Impact Study 1997, 1998, 1999, Weller and 

Lange 1999). Changes in the cryosphere, as a consequence of a warmer climate, that will 

lead to social and economic impacts have been summarized by the IPCC as follows: 

• Widespread loss of discontinuous permafrost will trigger erosion or subsidence of 

ice-rich landscapes, change hydrologic processes, and release carbon dioxide (CO2) 

and methane (CH4) to the atmosphere (High Confidence). 

• Cryospheric change will reduce slope stability and increase the incidence of natural 

hazards for people, structures, and communication links. Buildings, other structures, 

pipelines, and communication links will be threatened (High Confidence). 

• Engineering and agricultural practices will need to adjust to changes in snow, ice, and 

permafrost distributions (High Confidence). 

• Thawing of permafrost could lead to disruption of petroleum production and 

distribution systems in the tundra, unless mitigation techniques are adopted. Reduced 

sea ice may aid new exploration and production of oil in the Arctic Basin (High 

Confidence). 

• Improved opportunities for water transport, tourism, and trade are expected from a 

reduction in sea, river, and lake ice. These will have important implications for the 

people and economies of the Arctic (Medium Confidence). 
 62 

Table 1. Summary of Changes Observed in the Arctic over the Last Few Decades of the 

20th Century (modified from Walsh et al. 1996). 

PARAMETER TREND COMMENTS 

Surface Temperature Generally warmer On land, in winter/spring, but also 

 some areas of cooling; unclear over 

 Arctic Ocean 

Tropospheric Temperature Warmer Lowest layers 

Stratospheric Temperature Colder Summer only 

Precipitation Increased Over land, unknown over sea ice 

Extreme Weather Not yet assessed 

Ocean Temperature Warmer Central Arctic 

Snow Cover Extent Reduced Eurasia, in spring; also in Canada 

 and Alaska 

Snow Cover Depth Reduced 

Sea Ice Extent Reduced Throughout the Arctic 

Sea Ice Thickness Thinner Throughout the Arctic 

Ice Sheet Elevation Higher S. Greenland, no change in Canada 

Ice Sheet Surface Melting Increased S. Greenland 

Ice Shelf Extent Reduced Canada 

Permafrost Extent Reduced Alaska, Canada, Siberia 
 63 

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passive microwave data. J. Climate 10: 165-175.

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Chapman, W.L., and J.E. Walsh. 1993. Recent variations of sea ice and air temperatures 

in high latitudes. Bull. Am. Meteorol. Society 74(1): 33-47. 

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Scientific Assessment. Edited by J.T. Houghton, G.J. Jenkins, and J.J. Ephraums. 

WMO-UNEP, Geneva. Cambridge University Press. 364p. 

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Maslanik, J.A., M.C. Serreze, and T. Agnew. 1999. On the record reduction in 1998 

Western Arctic sea ice cover. Geophysical Research Letters 26(13): 1905-1908. 
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 65 

HUMANS IN THE BERING STRAIT REGION: RESPONSES TO 

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE 

Igor I. Krupnik 

Arctic Studies Center, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and 

Constitution NW, Washington, DC 20560-0112, USA 

The Presence of Humans in the Bering Strait Region 

The presence of early man in the Northern Bering Sea/Chukchi Sea region and the key 

role this area played in the prehistory of both North America and Siberia has been 

recognized at least since the late 1800s. However, it was not until the 1930s and the 

1940s that our understanding of both the timeline of the first human occupations and the 

sequence of local archaeological cultures were formalized as they basically remain today. 

The idea of a land bridge across the shallow waters of the Bering Sea, which once 

connected Northeast Asia and North America, was originally proposed by George 

Dawson and some other geologists of the late 1800s (Easton 1992). Anthropologists were 

fast to use this “land-bridge” scenario in their quest for traces of the early peopling of the 

Americas from Asia. The Jesup North Pacific Expedition of 1897-1902, designed by 

Franz Boas, was the first attempt to survey cultures and maritime economies of native 

people living along the Bering Sea/Chukchi Sea coast. In 1937, an American botanist, 

Eric Hulten, introduced a hypothesis that argued for a continuous ice-free land mass 

exposed in place of the northern Bering Sea and southern-central Chukchi Sea during the 

glacial epochs, due to a lower sea level. He named this land bridge from Siberia to North 

America “Beringia” (Hopkins 1967, 1996). Further studies confirmed that such a 

Beringian land bridge had been exposed as an ice-free corridor on several occasions 

during the Pleistocene era and that prehistoric fauna and humans from Northern Eurasia 

had used it to enter North America. The last time Beringia was created was between 

22,000 and 17,000 years ago when sea level worldwide dropped to 120 m lower than at 

present, and the floors of the Bering and Chukchi Seas were exposed as a broad, grasscovered plain (Dumond and Bland 1995). 

This plain began to be flooded due to post-glacial warming about 15,000 years ago (BP), 

until Beringia was completely covered with water by 6,000 BP. By this time, the Bering 

Strait was firmly in place as the key channel for water circulation and for annual marine 

mammal migrations between the North Pacific and the Arctic Ocean (Ackerman 1988). 

Local ice and weather regimes that featured shore ice formation and pack ice advances 

into the central and southern Bering Sea in winter and the subsequent retreat of ice to the 

northern Chukchi Sea in summer were established. Those processes underwent only 

moderate changes during the following 6,000 years. 

Many archaeologists and physical anthropologists argue that prehistoric humans crossed 

the Beringian bridge from Siberia to North America on several occasions and that they 
 66 

might have used both inland and coastal routes. Almost everyone agrees that the postPleistocene flooding of Beringia has destroyed most of the prehistoric records, 

particularly in what are now the shelf zones of the Bering and the southern Chukchi Seas. 

Earlier theories advanced a three-wave scenario, with one coastal and two inland 

movements from northern Siberia to North America (Turner 1988). Later studies argued 

for several consecutive entries (e.g., Fortescue 1998), where the most recent analysis 

introduces at least four major population waves: two inland and two coastal ones (Brace 

and Nelson 1999). Of the latter, the earlier one presumably originated in northern Japan 

around 12,000 years ago. It might have brought canoe-using, seafood-exploiting people 

all the way across the ice-free coastland of the (then) North Pacific to present-day British 

Columbia and Washington State, and then down to the southernmost tip of South 

America. The second coastal wave did not come until several thousand years later and, 

most probably, under a much harsher, ice-bound environment. It might have brought to 

the northernmost North Pacific and, later, to the Western Arctic people who already 

possessed skin boats, sea-mammal hunting traditions, and ice fishing technologies that 

were critical to adaptation to the environment, which was quite similar to the present-day 

Bering Sea/southern Chukchi Sea ecosystem. These people most probably were the 

ancestors of the modern Inuit and Chukchi as well as of the more southerly Koryak and 

Aleut (Brace and Nelson 1999). 

Modern archaeology offers ample evidence to support these scenarios, particularly the 

idea of established human use of marine resources of the coastal/shelf zone of the North 

Pacific as early as 10,000 years ago (McCartney et al. 1998). The Chuck Lake site on 

Heceta Island (off Prince of Wales Island) in southern Alaska reveals early human 

occupation from about 8,100-8,300 years ago. This group supported itself by extensive 

exploitation of the marine environment, including mollusks, fish, sea birds, and marine 

mammals; evidently, it possessed boats and the necessary navigation skills (Ackerman et 

al. 1985, Easton 1992). The earliest evidence of prehistoric maritime adaptation within 

the Bering Sea region proper comes from the Anangula Blade site on Anangula Island in 

the eastern Aleutian Islands (Laughlin 1967). The site dates back to the same warming 

phase of roughly 8,750 to 8,250 BP. Its location on a bluff overlooking the water passage 

that even these days remains the key path for migrating marine mammals, such as whales 

and seals, from the Pacific Ocean into the Bering Sea suggests an economy based on 

marine resources (Ackerman 1992, Laughlin 1967). 

A more sophisticated coastal adaptation, with full-scale and reliable fishing and hunting 

for marine mammals, progressed in the ice-free waters of the open North Pacific and the 

Aleutian Islands. It was enhanced by a milder local climate and greater availability of the 

diverse and abundant marine resources. Along Kodiak Island and the adjacent Pacific 

coast of the Alaska Peninsula, several sites dated to about 6,000 BP yield ample faunal 

remains. Those include bones of harbor seals, porpoises, sea otters, Steller sea lions, 

various waterfowl species and albatrosses, and fishes such as salmon, cod, and halibut 

(Dumond and Bland 1995). A slightly later site on Anangula Island, dated to 5,500 BP, 

also produced bones of harbor seals and sea lions as well as Pacific cod and halibut. On 

the Asian side, evidence for year-round coastal maritime adaptation comes from the 

winter ice-free zone of northern Hokkaido. Here several sites dated between 6,000 and 
 67 

7,000 BP yield bones of sea lions, fur seals, dolphins, seals, and even whales, as well as 

several fish species (Dumond and Bland 1995). As in North America, hunting was done 

with barbed harpoons and spears; but there are still few clues to identify the type of boats 

and other hunting and fishing equipment that were used. 

As noted above, the development of maritime hunting economies along the high-latitude 

shores of the northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea, areas that are seasonally 

covered with fast ice, did not arrive until some 2,500-3,000 years later. In the Asian 

(Siberian) sector, the earliest evidence of occupation of the ice-bound coasts comes from 

Wrangel Island, located at 71oN, far above the Arctic Circle (about the same latitude as 

Barrow), in the western Chukchi Sea. Excavations at the Devil’s Gorge (Chertov Ovrag) 

site produced midden pits full of fractured walrus bones as well as those of bearded and 

smaller seals, and birds. Several artifacts made of walrus ivory were also found, including 

toggle head harpoons (Dikov 1988). It might well be the earliest known proof of human 

use of the Pacific walrus – either by active offshore hunting with toggle head harpoons or 

by killing animals on shore and ice with spears and lances. Wrangel Island, with its 

several large haul-outs, could also offer enormous food and ivory supplies in terms of 

beached and naturally perished walruses. 

In Alaska, the earliest known evidence of successful occupation of the ice-covered 

coastline (about 3,300-3,500 years ago) also comes from fairly northern areas. The first 

local prehistoric culture with established maritime hunting for small seals, bearded seals, 

and white whales (belukha), is named Choris, after its largest coastal site at Choris 

Peninsula, near the present-day town of Kotzebue. A slightly later cultural complex 

(some 3,300 years ago) known as Old Whaling was discovered from remains from Cape 

Krusenstern near the village of Kivalina in northwestern Alaska. Certain tools of the Old 

Whaling culture – such as the lance, large harpoon heads, and long-bladed butchering 

tools, as well as a litter of whalebones – provide the earliest evidence of Arctic whaling 

(Anderson 1984, Giddings and Anderson 1986). Pieces of prehistoric walrus ivory were 

abundant at the site but no walrus bones were found. This suggests that the Old Whaling 

people either traded for ivory or traveled to other parts of Alaska to hunt walrus. Later 

prehistoric coastal cultures of western and northwestern Alaska (between 2,500 and 1,500 

years ago) are known as Norton, Ipiutak, and Near Ipiutak. They all possessed 

sophisticated seal-hunting equipment, knives for butchering, scrapers for working hides 

of marine mammals, and clay and stone oil lamps used for light and heat. Early Alaskan 

coastal hunters also made extensive use of walrus ivory (either from hunted or beached 

walruses) for their hunting tools, house implements, art carvings, and highly decorated 

burial objects, such as masks (Anderson 1984; Larsen and Rainey 1948). Few walrus 

bones, however, were found at these early sites, which, again, suggests a fairly limited 

hunting pressure on the walrus population and the widespread use of beached animals or 

traded ivory. 

On both sides of the Bering Strait, in northern Alaska and northeastern Siberia alike, 

these early maritime cultures (Choris, Norton, Ipiutak, etc.) were succeeded around 

2,200-1,500 BP by people who were presumably direct ancestors of the historic Inuit 

(Iñupiat and Yupik Eskimo) and maritime Chukchi. These people lived in year-round 
 68 

coastal villages and they possessed the technology and knowledge for effective yearround sea mammal hunting along both the open and ice-bound coasts. They used 

sophisticated toggle-head harpoons, seal-skin floats, killing lances, and skin boats. Their 

economy was fully based on successful hunting for walrus, various seals, and, most 

probably, for whales (Arutiunov and Fitzhugh 1988). They had dogs, used marine 

mammal oil for heating and cooking, and were skilled in making underground ice-cellars 

to store large surpluses of sea mammal meat and blubber. This allowed them to last 

through several months of ice-covered sea during the harsh Arctic winter. 

They built their villages on cliffs and spits and they also settled on many offshore islands, 

such as St. Lawrence and Big and Little Diomede Islands. Their villages were established 

at sites later recognized as the best walrus and seal hunting locations, such as Sivuqaq 

(Gambell), Kukulik, Punuk Islands, and Kialegaq on St. Lawrence Island; Uelen, Ekven, 

Inchoun, Sighinik, and Kolyuchin Island on the Chukchi Peninsula; and Kingegan (Cape 

Prince of Wales), Cape Krusenstern, Cape Nome, and Little Diomede Island in Alaska. 

Their extensive use of walrus ivory, baleen, and sea mammal bones for hunting and 

domestic implements proved beyond any doubt that these people were indeed efficient 

open-water and sea ice hunters rather than opportunistic harvesters of beached marine 

mammals. 

With these developments, a year-round maritime economy became firmly established in 

the northern Bering Sea/Chukchi Sea area, relying heavily on year-round sea mammal 

hunting and supplemented by fishing, land game and bird-hunting, and plant gathering. 

The only further transition of major importance was the development of communal 

whaling for baleen whales from large skin boats, most likely around 1,000 years ago 

(Bockstoce 1976, Mason and Gerlach 1995). The expansion of whaling reportedly 

triggered population growth and the building of larger settlements at certain conveniently 

located sites. This, in turn, encouraged stronger social bonds and the emergence of larger 

social units (such as tribes or regional societies), with their sets of institutions promoting 

hunting cooperation, kin solidarity, warfare, and transmission of knowledge and 

communal rituals. Large whaling villages—such as Tikigaq (Point Hope), Utqiagviq 

(Point Barrow), and Kingikti (Wales) in Alaska; Ungaziq, Masiq, Nevuqaq (Naukan), 

Oleq (Uelen), and Sigheneq in Siberia; and Sivuqaq (Gambell), Pugughileq, and Kukuleq 

on St. Lawrence Island—grew at the sites facing spring ice-leads and polynyas along 

bowhead whale migration routes. These sedentary coastal villages housed several 

hundred year-round residents organized in large kin groups, with dozens of skin boat 

crews engaged in cooperative hunting. 

 

The second major technological breakthrough came with European contact (first with the 

Russians in the 1700s, later with the Americans after 1850). This contact introduced iron 

weapons and, later, firearms, wooden boats with sail, darting- and shoulder-guns for 

whaling, and, eventually, outboard motors. The new technology made a dramatic impact 

upon both the efficiency and techniques of native marine mammal hunting. Nevertheless, 

neither the foundation of native reliance upon the key sea mammal species, such as 

walrus, whales, and seals, nor the core of native tactics for hunting in ice leads, on ice 

floes, and in open water was altered profoundly. In many ways, today’s network of native 
 69 

techniques, knowledge, and skills used in subsistence (“traditional”) hunting in the icebound coastal and shelf zone of the northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea is a 

direct descendant from the pre-contact indigenous coastal cultures of the region. 

Past Human Responses to Environmental Change and Implications for Future 

Changes 

There is an abundant stock of academic literature and research with scientific 

documentation of past human responses to environmental change across the northern 

circumpolar region. Since the Girdwood workshop addresses changes in sea ice and other 

components of Arctic ecosystem, the present review covers mainly native people and 

communities along the Arctic coastline. Their economies were focused primarily upon 

the exploitation of marine resources associated with the ice-bound coastal zone or with 

the seasonally retreating front of Arctic pack ice. The survey below is limited to the 

northern Bering Sea/Western Arctic area, though similar sets of scientific documentation 

are available for the Eastern (Canadian) Arctic, Greenland, and the Arctic portion of 

Northern Eurasia. 

Archaeological Record

Since the 1960s and particularly during the 1970s, archaeologists were eager to look for 

past climatic fluctuations in search of clues to well-documented changes in prehistoric 

Arctic cultures and the ways native people exploited maritime resources associated with 

sea ice. This new environmental framework tended to be more integrative than several 

earlier interpretations; the latter traced basic human transitions in the Arctic to 

migrations, diffusion, displacement, or progressive shifts in technology and/or cultural 

values. 

The impetus for such environmentally focused models came initially from Greenland 

(Vibe 1967), the Aleutians (Black 1966, Laughlin 1967, 1976), and the Eastern Canadian 

Arctic (Barry et al. 1977, Dekin 1972, Fitzhugh 1972, McGhee 1972, Taylor 1965). It 

soon embraced the northern Bering Sea/Western Arctic region, Alaska and the adjacent 

Siberian coast across the Bering Strait, as well. Several hypotheses have been advanced 

that feature a leading role for climate change in general and for changes in sea ice in 

particular in major prehistoric transitions. The most popular models included: 

• Progressive shifts from inland-oriented caribou hunting economies to a more 

developed coastal maritime lifestyle around 3,600 years ago, and again, around 

2,000-2,500 years ago in the area adjacent to the Bering Strait in both Alaska and 

Siberia (Bockstoce 1973, Anderson 1980, 1984, Giddings and Anderson 1986, Lutz 

1982); 

• Transition from the Birnirk fast-ice winter seal-hunting culture in northern Alaska 

and the Chukchi Peninsula to the Thule/Punuk complex, with its heavy dependence 

on communal spring whaling from skin boats in ice-leads, polynyas, and open water, 

around 1,000 years ago (Arutiunov 1975, Bockstoce 1979, Stanford 1976); 
 70 

• Expansion of the Arctic whaling complex and an advance of prehistoric Thule 

Eskimo whalers from northern Alaska into the Central Canadian Arctic around 800-

1,000 years ago, due to more developed spring ice-lead system and the reduction of 

summer pack ice. That allowed Western Arctic bowhead whale population to move 

earlier in spring and in greater numbers from the Bering Strait to northern Alaska and 

then to the Canadian Arctic, with Thule Eskimo whalers following the lead (McGhee 

1969-70, 1972, 1984, Bockstoce 1976, McCartney 1977, Anderson 1981); 

• Decline or extinction of Thule Eskimo whaling during the Little Ice Age 300-500 

years ago in many areas of Arctic Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, due to a much colder 

climate, the advance of pack ice, more drift ice, and closing of major channels and 

ice-leads in the Central Canadian Arctic and in the Beaufort, Chuckhi, and East 

Siberian Seas (Anderson 1981, Arutiunov et al. 1982, Jordan 1989, McGhee 1984). 

Though quite compelling, those early climatic models of the 1970s and 1980s soon came 

under fire for being overly simplistic. They commonly treated past climate changes as 

binary oppositions of “warm” (“low-ice”) and “cool” (“high-ice”) periods or of the longterm “advances” and “retreats” of the annual position of Arctic pack ice. They also failed 

to take into consideration internal social factors, such as the impact of human population 

growth, accumulation of technological knowledge and skills, exchange of technology, 

and so on. Later models of prehistoric human responses usually present the history of 

Arctic maritime cultures as a set of adaptations, that is, as active and deliberate 

adjustments to specific local environment(s) or certain environmental episodes. The 

environmental component is also presented today under a much more sophisticated 

framework. New factors, such as the formation of ice-leads and polynyas (Ackerman 

1988, Anderson 1981, Mason and Gerlach 1995, Mason 1998, Schledermann 1980), the 

El Niño-La Niña system fluctuations (Mudar and Speaker 1999), long-term decrease (or 

increase) in storms and coastal erosion activity (Gerlach and Mason 1993, Mason and 

Ludwig 1990), and other variables are increasingly being incorporated by archaeologists 

into new environmental interpretations of culture changes. 

Late Historic/Modern Records

There is no doubt that changes in Arctic climate and sea ice continued to exert a 

significant impact upon local economies and subsistence practices in Alaska and Siberia 

well into the late historic and modern period, that is, in the post-1850 era. However, the 

data to research such impacts are surprisingly scarce and at best inconclusive, as students 

of native culture change looked persistently at several other factors. The role of 

environmental fluctuations was indeed greatly obscured by the emergence of such new 

powerful agents of changes as the introduction of firearms and of other sophisticated 

equipment, such as whaling gear, outboard motors, and, later, snowmobiles. The rise of 

commercial markets for certain northern marine products, such as baleen, walrus ivory, 

and seal skins became a critical factor in shaping native hunting and in spurring native 

consumer demands for manufactured goods by 1870-1880. Shortly after, the oncethriving stocks of Pacific walrus and bowhead whale in the northern Bering and Chukchi 

Seas were almost annihilated by the commercial whaling industry (Bockstoce and Botkin 

1982, 1983). This caused enormous hardship, population dispersion, social chaos, and 
 71 

mass starvation in coastal native communities in Alaska and Siberia alike (Bockstoce 

1986).

Later transitions included: establishment of large permanent villages, introduction of 

wage economies, governmental modernization programs, and military construction 

booms that swept through native communities across the Arctic during the 1950s and the 

1960s. This left few incentives for social scientists to consider climate and sea ice as 

major players in modern life in the North. Increased awareness of the potential 

implications of global climate changes in the early 1990s brought both new interest and 

advanced scientific techniques to the assessment of climate and sea ice variability and 

their effects in the Arctic regions. Needless to say, the key role of ice and weather 

regimes and of their variations and stability in the everyday life of northern communities 

was neither lost nor ever obscured to the Arctic residents themselves.

In fact, this process of reassessing research priorities within the scientific community is 

still unfolding; and this workshop may well become a milestone in shifting the balance as 

well as the focus of future efforts. Very limited scientific research has been done using 

modern (or late historic) data, and it is the most recent records that remain surprisingly 

incomplete. A few exceptions are worth mentioning. A long-term study of caribou stock 

health and management practices in Alaska and northern Canada is currently under way 

under a program hosted at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (Kruse et al. 1999). It is 

designed to produce an organized, multi-faceted record to match key shifts in 

environment, ice and weather regimes, and native management practices during the past 

century. Similar research projects have been already carried out for northern Scandinavia 

(Flanders et al., in press, Kurttila 1995). 

With regard to coastal communities in the northern Bering Sea/Chukchi Sea region, 

existing data on subsistence hunting and fluctuations in the annual catches of key marine 

species offer a similarly insightful avenue for research. One recent study specifically 

targeted the links between sea ice distribution and historical fluctuations in native sea 

mammal catch records in the area of the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas 

(Krupnik and Bogoslovskaya 1998, 1999). The study used extensive Russian data on 

village sea-mammal harvests on the Chukchi Peninsula between 1935 and 1960 from 

local economic and catch reports of the time as well as other historical Russian sources. 

The evaluation of historical hunting data by individual native communities and larger 

areas along the northern Bering Sea-Chukchi Sea coastline in Siberia revealed a fairly 

regular set of annual variations in the size and distribution of the native catch. As the 

study indicates, despite all the political and economic changes in Chukotka this century, 

these recurrent fluctuations in marine catches followed established patterns. Those 

patterns (“regimes”) could be linked to annual weather and ice variations in the North 

Pacific/Bering Sea area, particularly to the varying spring position and later summer 

retreat and fall advance of seasonal pack ice. As elders recall and modern hunters learn 

from their everyday experience, both the high-ice and low-ice conditions off certain 

portions of the coast are clearly projected into the varying levels of hunting success. The 

availability of key marine mammals close to villages and the position of their migration 
 72 

routes (farther from or nearer to the shore) is always affected by the annual ice and 

weather regime. Ice and weather also affect the number of animals at the most productive 

sites, such as ice-leads, polynyas, and walrus shore- and ice-floe haulouts. Heavy ice, 

protracted strong winds, and storms can often prevent hunters from pursuing or even 

seeing the animals for days and weeks. This may be critical during the relatively short 

peaks of spring and fall migrations, when local hunters normally secure the bulk of their 

annual marine catch. 

As modern-day hunters know and, as it was clearly presented during the workshop 

discussions, these environmental factors remain in place. They strongly influence the 

success or failure of every hunting season, often quite independently of the type of boats 

and other equipment used, of economic conditions, and/or current gasoline prices. Hence, 

the sea ice fluctuations caused by global climate change are of crucial importance to 

village economies. There is also an urgent need to organize and reassess existing data on 

Alaskan sea-mammal harvests from this perspective—by village as well as by key coastal 

regions. This may help to elucidate the role played by recent ice-weather fluctuations in 

several well-documented shifts in the productivity of local subsistence hunting for 

walruses, seals, and bowhead whales. For example, the annual walrus harvest in Gambell 

on St. Lawrence Island has increased from 200-300 during the 1950s to 300-500 in the 

1970s, to 600-800 in the 1980s, to almost 1,500 in the most recent year of 1999. 

Whether these changes in hunting productivity in Gambell as elsewhere in the region 

were caused by global warming and related changes in the sea ice regime, by advanced 

technology, by natural growth in the Pacific walrus population, or by increased hunting 

efforts and consumer demand remains unresolved. The main challenge here is to assess 

whether the Alaskan and Siberian sectors operate as a single unified Bering Strait 

ecosystem. If so, they would respond to similar environmental trends that could be 

illustrated by common analytical models for the entire northern Bering Sea-Chukchi Sea 

region. 

Responses to Change in the Past

The available archaeological record of at least 3,500 years of continuous human 

occupation of the ice-covered Arctic coastlands provides ample evidence of successful 

adjustments of the local indigenous economies to past climate and ice changes. These 

data have been summarized in several recent studies that cover the Alaskan sector, 

Siberian sector, or both (e.g., Jordan 1989, Krupnik 1993, Minc 1986, Minc and Smith 

1989).

Whereas students of past human responses to ice and climate changes in the Arctic may 

differ in specific interpretations, their main conclusions are surprisingly unanimous. They 

point out toward several successful adaptations that helped indigenous Arctic residents to 

cope with their highly unstable environment and to do it effectively, despite small 

population numbers and limited technological means. As Arctic technologies progressed, 

people tended to rely upon the ever-growing spectrum of marine and terrestrial game 

populations, to include eventually an amazing range of species and ecological settings 

(Krupnik 1993). Various marine and land resources have been exploited under complex 
 73 

and highly specialized local or seasonal patterns of rotation (the annual subsistence 

cycle). This successful pursuit of several and highly variable game species, both marine 

and terrestrial, was achieved thanks to outstanding knowledge about every aspect of the 

ecosystems that people exploited. In fact, this body of knowledge commonly went far 

beyond that which was essential for daily survival and basic subsistence activities; it 

always included data related to unusual circumstances and emergency conditions (Nelson 

1969). Subsistence universalism was the rule and the knowledge about the environment 

was almost encyclopedic; nevertheless game resources with higher output and less risk 

per human effort were certainly most favored. Whenever local conditions permitted, 

people congregated in larger communities and they preferred to hunt by cooperative and 

well-organized groups (boat crews) and for larger prey, such as whales and walruses 

(Krupnik 1993). 

Other studies indicate increased reliance upon stored food secured in the times of 

abundance as well as more active exchange, sharing, and cooperation among neighboring 

communities (Minc and Smith 1989). Population dispersion in small bands and/or 

hunting camps and opportunistic use of the variety of local environments off the most 

productive sites offered another valuable strategy in times of need (Jordan 1989). Last but 

not least was the impact of specific cultural practices, rituals, and taboos reflecting the 

numerous ethical and spiritual beliefs (Minc 1986, Minc and Smith 1989). This was an 

established cultural framework that regulated human interactions with game populations, 

including the amount of resources people extracted from their environment, how they did 

it, and how they acted in times of abundance as well as times of scarcity and need. 

The strongest and most successful strategy of human response to climate change, 

however, has been the dynamic and highly flexible use of the environment, regardless of 

what people mostly hunted at particular times or locations. As Arctic residents 

experienced endless swings in local ecosystems and in the spectrum of subsistence 

resources available to them, they developed complex economic strategies, in which two 

or more resource use models developed in tandem (Krupnik 1993). By encouraging 

variability and cultural flexibility, Arctic people have created an economic continuum 

between more sedentary and more mobile subsistence models, and were always eager to 

embrace either one in response to change. As ice and sea, rivers and tundra, fishes, 

seabirds, caribou, and marine mammals fluctuated continually, they neither shifted all at 

once nor ever moved in one direction. Any changes in the environment augured poorly 

for certain parts of the subsistence spectrum but, by the same token, bolstered the range 

of alternative species, their usable biomass, and their productivity. When the ranges of 

pagophilic (ice-affiliated) marine species, such as walruses, ringed seals, and bowhead 

whales, moved further north, other species normally arrived in abundance, like salmon, 

harbor seals, or sea lions. When hunting became difficult off the open coast because of 

heavy ice or storms, other resources could be used elsewhere, such as caribou and 

domestic reindeer in the inland tundra or small seals in ice-bound inlets and bays. The 

aim of humans was thus to choose a more reliable resource base on the grounds of a 

costs-and-benefits approach, to initiate necessary adjustments, and to make this transition 

swiftly.
 74 

Both the short-term and long-term local strategies of coping with past climate changes 

have not lost their value in modern wage-oriented and commercially driven northern 

economies. The great majority of Arctic native people are still considered “rural 

residents” – about 70 percent in Alaska and 75 percent in Siberia. These numbers, though 

gradually shrinking, will not be altered significantly any time soon. Hunting for walrus 

and seals, communal whaling, land-game hunting, fur trapping, fishing, and family 

reindeer herding are critical occupations in many an Arctic community. They still play an 

enormous role in supporting native cultural continuity and ethnic identity, and in 

maintaining traditional practices and the customary diet. 

Whereas many champions of modernization and economic globalization consider these 

subsistence activities obsolete and vulnerable, it is the industrial economy and big state 

programs that have been—as it has turned out—more vulnerable than village subsistence 

practices. Recent economic setbacks in the Russian Arctic forced many big industries to 

be downsized or totally abandoned. At the same time, this situation has pushed thousands 

of village and town residents back to their reliance on subsistence activities and local 

food. Despite their technological capabilities, modern economies and industries are, in 

fact, very poorly adapted to any environmental change in the Arctic (as elsewhere). They 

lack flexibility, rely on the continuous influx of outside resources, have low (if any) 

capacity of advance warning, and rarely if ever address the need for alternative or 

supplemental strategies for survival. Therefore, the record of past human responses and 

the knowledge of locally developed tactics for coping with environmental shifts remain 

critical in drafting any scenarios for modern adjustments to climate change. 

Implications of Potential Changes

Several recent meetings and workshops as well as individual studies have focused on the 

impact(s) of future climate change and its potential implications for Arctic residents 

(Anderson and Weller 1996, Anonymous 1997, National Research Council 1996, Weller 

and Lange 1999). This issue is of the highest concern to Arctic residents and the scientific 

community alike. Several recent studies of future climate change are advancing models 

that feature a drastically shrinking area of polar sea ice or, in some cases, a totally icefree Arctic, at least in summer. The implications of these new conditions for northern 

economies, local lifestyles, subsistence practices, and cultures of the Arctic people would 

indeed be enormous—if these projections ever are to become a reality. 

Of the many potential impacts of future climate change upon local Arctic communities, 

the following have been identified as the most challenging (Weller and Lange 1999): 

• changes in the availability of key marine and terrestrial subsistence resources at the 

strategic locations and times of the year; whales, walrus, seals, caribou, salmon and 

other fishes, and various species of waterfowl are likely to undergo shifts in range and 

abundance, due to altering weather and ice regimes; 

• changes in established harvest strategies that most probably will require substantial 

reallocation of local labor, capital, and technology (like boats, snowmobiles, and 

weapons); 
 75 

• transformation in main food storage practices as traditional means of food 

preservation via ground-cellar freezing, drying, etc., may be highly affected by 

increased temperature and shifts in summer precipitation; 

• accelerated permafrost thawing, which will increase damage to and costs for existing 

building and pipeline maintenance, road and airstrip construction, sewage and waste 

facilities, public infrastructure, etc.; 

• unpredictability in supplemental and/or alternative resources that are widely used by 

Arctic coastal residents; these include domestic reindeer herding, hunting for caribou 

and other inland game species, fur-trapping, plant gathering, etc.; inland resources are 

even more sensitive than coastal ones to shifts in temperatures and precipitation 

associated with changing sea ice regimes; 

• increased storm activity and coastal erosion—this threatens many a coastal 

community and often requires village relocation and new construction at great 

expense; 

• increased risk of pollution and of new human and animal health problems—as 

northern marine ecosystems may become more vulnerable due to warmer climate, 

less ice cover, and intensive water circulation; these factors may also trigger new 

diseases, as human and animal parasites move north. 

While scientists and local residents alike advance their concerns about various potential 

impacts of the rapidly changing Arctic environment, there is a profound difference in the 

ways both parties address the very notion of change. Whereas scientists often view 

change as a short-term and rapid phenomenon, native residents usually see change as 

existential and they are more prepared to live with it (Weller and Lange 1999). This is 

quite understandable based upon the cultural and ecological experience of Arctic people, 

both modern and prehistoric. By the time any long-term Arctic resident approaches old 

age, he or she necessarily has memories of numerous events throughout the span of his or 

her personal environmental observations and experience. From this, people clearly gain 

increased sensitivity toward short-term and medium-term environmental shifts (Krupnik 

1993)—whether those are changes in ice conditions, animal migration routes, or game 

abundance and availability at the usual places and times of year. 

Certain cultural factors based on generational experience of living in the Arctic greatly 

enhance native adaptation to and the validity of native observation of the ongoing 

changes in Arctic ecosystems (as framed by Krupnik, in Weller and Lange 1999): 

• “Being on the Land”—this facilitates continuous scanning of the environment for any 

signal of change and provides channels for advance warning. It also increases the role 

of strategies based on alternative resources in case of incoming environmental shifts. 

• Reliance on long-term observations and generationally transmitted local knowledge 

about numerous components of the local ecosystem. This creates an enormous bank 

of local environmental observations and generalizations. It is culturally valuable and 

persistently maintained and transmitted within the community. 

• “Always being ready”—a product of high mobility, economic flexibility, and an 

existential attitude to environmental change. 
 76 

Maintaining diversified subsistence strategies—usually a combination of marine and land 

game hunting, fishing, herding, and trapping. 

Therefore, the overall success of native responses to current environmental changes 

depends greatly upon the ability of native communities to match strategies derived from 

their traditional cultural experience (like subsistence flexibility, population mobility, 

increased use of alternative resources, etc.) with those provided by the modern economic 

and political framework. The ability to accommodate the data and recommendations 

derived from traditional (or tradition-based) knowledge and modern environmental 

science emerges as a key avenue for any future strategies of adaptation. 
 77 

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caribou crashes: climatic and ecological dimensions of North Alaska prehistory. 

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Minc, Leah D. 1986. Scarcity and survival: the role of oral tradition in mediating 

subsistence crises. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 5: 39-113. 

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International Arctic Science Committee. 
 81 

BENTHIC PROCESSES IN THE NORTHERN BERING/CHUKCHI SEAS: 

STATUS AND GLOBAL CHANGE 

Jackie M. Grebmeier1 and Kenneth H. Dunton2

1

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Tennessee, 

Knoxville, TN 37996, USA 

2

Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, TX 78373, USA

Introduction 

The shallow Arctic waters have important pelagic and benthic foodwebs, with the 

benthos playing a much greater role in system production and turnover than at lower 

latitudes (Laevastu and Favorite 1981, Grebmeier and Barry 1992, Grebmeier et al. 

1995). The Bering and Chukchi Seas contain some of the highest faunal biomass in the 

Arctic, as well as in the world ocean. High nutrient levels in the seawater are upwelled 

onto the shelf and influence the planktonic and benthic foodwebs as well as sediment 

community dynamics. In regions of high water column production there is a tight 

coupling between water column and benthic production. Both zooplankton grazing and 

the microbial loop have little influence on carbon utilization in waters that are extremely 

rich in phytoplankton, allowing more utilizable carbon to settle to the benthos to maintain 

a rich benthic food web. Regions of high benthic production in shallow Arctic seas, such 

as Lancaster Sound and the Bering, Chukchi, and Barents Seas support a large 

component of bottom-feeding fish, whales, seals, walruses, and seaducks (Hood and 

Calder 1981, Welch et al. 1992, Joiris et al. 1996). 

Benthic production is extremely important in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas, with 

high organic carbon deposition occurring over the shallow shelves, resulting in enhanced 

benthic standing stock to support key higher trophic organisms, such as Pacific walrus, 

gray whales, and bearded seals (Grebmeier et al. 1995). Predation by demersal fish, 

invertebrates, and marine mammals is an important factor limiting benthic biomass in the 

southeast Bering Sea. By comparison, cold temperatures limit fish populations in the 

northern Bering Sea northward, where benthic-feeding marine mammals and seabirds 

provide relatively higher regional predation pressure (Grebmeier et al. 1995). On the 

shallow Bering Sea shelf, the benthic food web is influenced by endotherm predation on 

bivalves and amphipods. The prey base for both gray whales and walruses is apparently 

declining as these apex predators approach or exceed carrying capacity (Lowry et al. 

1980, Highsmith and Coyle 1992), so major environmental changes affecting prey 

communities are likely to have significant effects. 
 82 

The Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas 

The seasonally ice-covered Bering and Chukchi Sea shelves are some of the largest 

continental shelves in the world. Mean current flow of Pacific-derived water is northward 

over most of the year into the Arctic Ocean. Sea ice production, extent, and duration are 

critical for annual carbon production (both sea ice algae and open water phytoplankton), 

water mass formation, and hydrographic flow influencing subsequent carbon transport 

through the system, as well as resting sites for marine mammals. High primary 

production can occur regionally in the water column (up to 300 g C m-2

yr

-1; Springer and 

McRoy 1993, Springer et al. 1996), with ice-edge production quantitatively more 

important in regions of limited open water production. In specific areas of these seas this 

production is not directly consumed by pelagic secondary consumers, but rather by a rich 

macrobenthic community (Highsmith and Coyle 1992, Grebmeier 1993, Grebmeier and 

Cooper 1995). As a result, large populations of benthic-feeding marine mammals and 

birds serve as apex predators in the food chain (Fay et al. 1977, Grebmeier and Harrison 

1992, Highsmith and Coyle 1992, Oliver and Slattery 1985, Oliver et al. 1983, Hunt 

1991). 

The benthos is a long-term integrator of overlying water column processes. The 

distribution of benthic standing stock (Figure 1) and sediment oxygen uptake (an 

indicator of carbon supply to the benthos; Figure 2) in the northern Bering and southern 

Chukchi Seas indicate a strong pelagic-benthic coupling of biological processes in the 

region (Grebmeier 1993, Grebmeier et al. 1995). The highest benthic biomass regions 

occur in the northern Bering Sea southwest of St. Lawrence Island, in the central Gulf of 

Anadyr, north and south of Bering Strait, at a few offshore sites in the East Siberian Sea, 

and in the northeast sector of the Chukchi Sea (Figure 1). By comparison, sediment 

oxygen uptake patterns indicate enhanced carbon deposition to the benthos southwest of 

St. Lawrence Island, northern Bering Sea, and southern Chukchi Sea (Figure 2). The 

lower uptake rates nearshore in the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas and northeast sector 

of the Chukchi Sea indicate reduced carbon deposition. This decoupling between benthic 

biomass (long-term scale) and sediment oxygen uptake (short-term scale) in these areas is 

likely due to higher current flow and associated transport of carbon past the sites on 

variable time scales. 

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of primary and secondary consumers in the 

northern Bering/Chukchi Seas also reflect the strong coupling between the pelagic and 

benthic components. In the Chukchi Sea, Dunton et al. (1989) found low 13C enrichment 

of secondary consumers relative to that of zooplankton and similar 15N enrichments 

among a variety of secondary consumers relative to zooplankton. These data reflect the 

existence of shorter food chains (Figure 3), which in the Chukchi Sea is related to a more 

direct coupling of benthic consumers to the very high pelagic primary production on the 

shallow shelf, little of which is grazed before reaching the sea bed (Dunton et al. 1989). 

Stable isotopic analyses of sediment organic carbon also indicate a coupling between the 

water column and benthos, with less negative 13C values occurring under the more 

productive regions of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas (Naidu et al., in press). 
 83 
 84 
 85 

Geographically, the benthos in the region south of St. Lawrence Island and into the Gulf 

of Anadyr in the northern Bering Sea and the southern Chukchi Sea is dominated by 

bivalves, amphipods, and polychaetes (Grebmeier 1993, Grebmeier and Cooper 1994, 

1995, Grebmeier et al. 1995). The area north of St. Lawrence Island to Bering Strait is 

dominated by amphipods and bivalves. As one moves northward to the Chukchi outer 

shelf the faunal are dominated by a mix of amphipods, bivalves, and polychaetes. Benthic 

faunal biomass declines northward in the Chukchi Sea, although there is an enrichment in 

benthic biomass near Barrow Canyon and the outer edge of the Chukchi continental shelf 

(Feder et al. 1994, Grebmeier, unpubl. data; Figure 2). A relatively rich region of benthic 

fauna also occurs just to the east in the Beaufort Sea (K. Dunton, unpubl. data). 

Observations of black, sulfide-rich muds near the head of Barrow Canyon suggest a 

shunting downslope of organic shelf-derived materials (Grebmeier and Cooper 1994, 

Devol et al. 1997). Ultimately, changes in the overlying flow directly impact benthic 

community structure, carbon deposition, and sediment composition. Sediment grain size 

is directly related to the current strength, and individual species of benthic infauna require 

specific sediment regimes within which to feed and grow. 

The St. Lawrence Island Polynya (SLIP) Region 

In the Bering Sea south of St. Lawrence Island (SLI), the water transport is 

predominantly from south to north. However, in the ice-covered winter/early spring 

period, the area is influenced by the seasonal SLI polynya (SLIP), an area of open water 

that develops south of SLI as prevailing northerly winds force sea ice away from windsheltering land-masses (Kozo et al. 1990). The SLIP extends 20-40 km (sometimes 

further) south over a shelf 30-70 m deep (Schumacher et al. 1983, Smith et al. 1990, 

Stringer and Groves 1991). This brine injection sets up periodic baroclinic currents that 

transport water and likely entrained organic matter to the south and then west as 

geostrophic balance is reached (Schumacher et al. 1983). Recent benthic studies indicate 

that the benthos underlying this cold pool area southwest of SLI has the highest oxygen 

uptake as well as benthic biomass on the northern Bering Sea shelf, suggesting that low 

temperatures do not limit benthic carbon cycling (Grebmeier et al. 1990, 1995). Very 

high standing stocks of benthic infauna (primarily bivalves) are maintained by nearshore 

primary production enhanced by SLIP dynamics, and subsequent baroclinic transport of 

carbon-rich waters southwestward from the island (Grebmeier 1992, Grebmeier and 

Cooper 1995). Total organic carbon content and C/N ratios of surface sediment also 

indicate deposition of high quality organic carbon southwest of St. Lawrence Island 

(Grebmeier and Cooper 1995). 

Recent studies south of St. Lawrence Island suggest that changes in the bivalve 

populations over the last few decades are likely linked to changes in the northward 

transport of water across the shelf (Walsh et al. 1989, Grebmeier and Cooper 1995, 

unpubl. data, Roach et al. 1995). Benthic productivity is directly linked to higher trophic 

levels since the regional foodweb is dominated by marine mammal predation on bivalves 

and amphipods. The prey base for both gray whales and walruses is apparently declining 

as these apex predators approach or exceed carrying capacity (Lowry et al. 1980, 
 86 

Figure 3. Representation of a simplified northern Bering/Chukchi Sea food web. The 

high density and abundance of benthic biota reflects the large proportion of 

phytoplankton that falls directly to the seabed, ungrazed by pelagic organisms. The 

direct assimilation of phytoplankton by the benthos results in shorter food chains and a 

more efficient transfer of carbon to large marine mammals and diving seabirds. 

Organisms are: 1: ice algae; 2: phytoplankton; 3: copepods; 4: walrus; 5: basket stars; 

6: ascidians; 7: shrimps; 8: filter-feeding bivalves; 9: sea stars; 10: sand dollars; 11: 

crabs; 12: bottom feeding fishes; 13: diving seabirds; 14: deposit feeding bivalves; 15: 

polychaetes, 16: Native subsistence hunters. 

Figure 3. Representation of a simplified northern Bering/Chukchi Sea food web. The high density 

and abundance of benthic biota reflects the large proportion of phytoplankton that falls directly to 

the seabed, ungrazed by pelagic organisms. The direct assimilation of phytoplankton by the 

benthos results in shorter food chains and a more efficient transfer of carbon to large marine 

mammals and diving seabirds. 

Organisms are: 1: ice algae; 2: phytoplankton; 3: copepods; 4: walrus; 5: basket stars; 6: 

ascidians; 7: shrimps; 8: filter-feeding bivalves; 9: sea stars; 10: sand dollars; 11: crabs; 12: 

bottom feeding fishes; 13: diving seabirds; 14: deposit feeding bivalves; 15: polychaetes, 16: 

native subsistence hunters. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

14 15 

Plant and Animal Detritus 

Sea ice 

13 

16 
 87 

Highsmith and Coyle 1992, Brendan Kelly, pers. comm.), so that environmental changes 

affecting prey communities are likely to have significant effects. In addition, the 

spectacled eider, a diving seaduck that winters under very harsh conditions in the Bering 

Sea (Petersen et al. 1995, Larned and Tiplady 1997), has been observed to dive for 

benthic food in sub-freezing water 40-60 m deep south of St. Lawrence Island. 

Ephemeral openings in the shifting pack ice are typically used. The wintering area was 

first located south of St. Lawrence Island in March 1995; up to 40,000 eiders from U.S. 

and Russian populations were packed together in single leads with bodies touching in 

water kept open only by movements of the eiders themselves (W. Larned, U.S. Fish & 

Wildl. Serv., pers. comm.). 

Sediment oxygen uptake rates show a distinctive southwestern excursion away from SLI, 

implying an enhanced flux of particulate carbon to the benthos downstream from the 

SLIP (Figure 4a-c). However, a declining trend in sediment oxygen uptake in the 

productive areas to the southwest of SLI has recently been observed, with oxygen uptake 

decreasing from 35 mmol O2 m

-2 d-1 in 1988 to 20-25 mmol O2 m-2 d-1 in 1993-1994 

(Figure 4a-d). This decline in sediment oxygen uptake is indicative of a reduction of 

carbon supply to the benthos interannually. Multivariate community analyses indicate 

that there are different benthic communities to the southwest of the island relative to 

nearshore and much further offshore to the south and to the east (Figure 5a-c; Grebmeier 

and Cooper 1995 unpubl.data). Although benthic biomass fluctuates among years, there 

is also an indication of a declining trend in benthic biomass from 1990 to 1994 (Figure 

5d; Grebmeier and Cooper, unpubl. data), and recent studies indicate this trend has 

continued in 1998 and 1999. This biomass decline coincides with indications since the 

late 1980s that benthic community structure has also been changing in the region 

(Sirenko and Koltun 1992). 

Changes in Benthic Fauna and Oceanographic Processes 

Recent retrospective studies of benthic communities indicate a changing marine system 

in the Bering and Chukchi Seas (Sirenko and Koltun 1992, Grebmeier and Cooper 1995, 

unpubl. data, Francis et al. 1996). In particular, the region just north of Bering Strait has 

historically been a settling basin for organic carbon, resulting in high benthic standing 

stock and oxygen uptake rates (Grebmeier et al. 1988, 1989, Grebmeier 1993). 

Specifically, the benthic productivity in a region north of Bering Strait near 67°30 N, 

169° W has historically maintained the highest benthic faunal biomass of the entire 

Bering/Chukchi system (Stoker 1978, 1981, Grebmeier 1993, Grebmeier and Cooper 

1994, Grebmeier et al. 1995, Reed 1998). Although benthic biomass remains high in the 

area, a change in dominant benthic fauna has occurred regionally and is likely an 

indication of changing hydrographic conditions (Grebmeier 1993, Grebmeier et al. 1995, 

Grebmeier, unpubl. data). 

With respect to the St. Lawrence Island polynya region, any change in regional 

oceanography due to physical effects of the Gulf of Anadyr gyre position or size would 

ultimately be related to northward transport of water through Bering Strait, and 
 88 
 89 

geostrophic balance within the Arctic Ocean basin. This balance drives the northward 

current regime in the northern Bering Sea (Walsh et al. 1989). Recently Roach et al. 

(1995) indicate reduced transfer of Pacific Ocean water north through Bering Strait, 

which suggests coincident reduction in northward transport of waters south of St. 

Lawrence Island. Water-column primary production and the final location of carbon 

deposition to the benthos is related to ice production and brine formation in the SLI 

polynya during late winter-early spring. The Gulf of Anadyr “cold pool” is maintained by 

ice production/brine formation in the SLIP. Reduced ice production south of SLI might 

decrease renewal of nutrients for early-season production by ice algae and phytoplankton, 

and baroclinic currents that would move it to the southwest (Grebmeier and Cooper 

1995). Both these factors would limit benthic populations. Alternatively, an enhanced and 

more energetic polynya with global warming might maintain a chemostatic-type system 

as occurs north of St. Lawrence Island (Walsh et al. 1989), allowing a longer growing 

season with increased production and subsequent transport. On-going studies in the 

region are currently investigating a variety of these hypotheses (Grebmeier, Cooper, and 

Lovvorn, unpubl. data). 

Current Regional Studies 

There are a variety of ecosystem-type studies currently being undertaken in the northern 

Bering and Chukchi Seas, including work on long-term status and change of hydrography 

and benthic processes in the Bering Strait region (Cooperative Institute for Arctic 

Research /NOAA). Another collaborative program is investigating hydrographic forcing 

of benthic ecosystem change south of St. Lawrence Island (National Science Foundation 

[NSF]). 

A new collaborative NSF and Office of Naval Research program was recently initiated 

called the Western Arctic Shelf-Basin Interactions (SBI) project that has as its goal to 

investigate and interpret global change impacts on biogeochemical cycling and trophic 

dynamics in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas (Grebmeier et al. 1998; SBI home page: 

<http://utk-biogw.bio.utk.edu/SBI.nsf>). Sea ice extent and duration is a key element of 

the physical, biological, and geochemical aspects of this program and results from this 

current sea ice workshop will provide valuable insights for the objectives of the SBI 

program. 

Also, an Environmental Observatory was recently funded by NSF to monitor the physical 

and biochemical parameters of waters that flow past Little Diomede Island in Bering 

Strait throughout the year (home page: <http://eco53.bio.utk.edu>). The program also 

includes annual oceanographic sampling of water column and benthic parameters at 

select high productivity sites south and north of Bering Strait. In addition, this 

observatory will rely on local Alaska Natives for many activities, such as collection of 

daily water samples at the land-based observatory and assistance with marine mammal 

and sea ice observations. 
 90 
 91 

Summary and Future Research 

The wide shelves of the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas support an extremely 

productive and dynamic benthic system. The high nutrient inflow of Pacific waters across 

these shelves supports high primary production that settles quickly to the underlying 

benthos. Both consumption by benthic organisms and benthic carbon cycling are 

extremely important for sequestering and recycling carbon over the shelves as well as 

supporting higher trophic levels utilized by local Inuit. These shelves are covered by sea 

ice for 6-9 months of the year and the role of sea ice in influencing the hydrographic 

structure in the region is critical for both water mass formation and carbon production 

and transport through the system. 

Important questions for future studies related to sea ice and benthic systems include: 

• What is the role of sea ice in ice algal community vs. open water production and how 

will changes in the extent and duration of the ice cover influence these processes? 

• What is the interaction between ice extent and organic carbon flux to the benthos and 

how does the timing of ice melt interact with stimulating benthic production and 

carbon cycling? 

• How will a projected reduction in ice thickness and extent influence the quantity and 

spatial location of organic carbon reaching the benthos? 

• How will a reduced ice cover impact higher trophic level populations and their 

associated predation on the benthos? 

An understanding of the interactions between sea ice formation and extent on water 

column and sediment carbon production and recycling processes is essential to predict the 

potential impact of global change on ecosystem dynamics in the seasonally-ice covered 

northern Bering and Chukchi Seas. 
 92 

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Stringer, W.J., and J.E. Groves. 1991. Location and areal extent of polynyas in the Bering 

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200. 
 95 

THE ARCTIC SEA ICE ECOSYSTEM AND 

GLOBAL WARMING 

Igor A. Melnikov 

P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovsky 

Prospekt 36, Moscow 117851, Russia 

Introduction 

The Arctic Ocean is a major component of the world’s atmosphere-ocean system and 

within this ocean, sea ice is the dominant environmental feature. This several-meter-thick 

sea ice cover affects the magnitude of both heat and matter fluxes from the atmosphere 

and upper ocean and supports a unique and tightly coupled biological community – the 

Arctic sea ice ecosystem (Melnikov 1997). 

A peculiar feature of the sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is the presence of permanent 

ice remaining after summer ice melting, as well as the seasonal ice that is formed on the 

surface of the Arctic Seas mainly in winter. The area of the sea ice cover at the time of its 

maximum development is formed by the areas of the deep Arctic Basin (4.47 million 

km2

) and areas of the shallow Arctic Seas (3.96 million km2) for a total of 8.43 million 

km2

 (Gorshkov 1980). The annual cycle of sea ice formation, consolidation, and ablation 

is a fundamental process in the Arctic Ocean, significantly enhancing the degree of 

ecological variability as well as overall productivity (Legendre et al. 1992). Because sea 

ice is a physical layer dividing two environments different in thermal capacity – the 

atmospheric air and the ocean water – there is a sharp gradient between the 

environmental factors affecting its top and bottom surfaces. As a consequence of 

thermodynamic processes of melting and freezing, the ice continually modifies its 

thickness: growth from below during winter may be considered necessary to restore the 

ice layers lost as a result of summer melting. The sum of these processes and their 

seasonality is the homeostasis of the ecosystem supporting the equilibrium ice thickness 

(Zubov 1945). 

Observations carried out in the early 1970s have shown that in spite of interannual 

variability in environmental factors, the time-scale characteristics, physical structure, 

chemical compounds, and species composition of the sea ice cover were stable within the 

vertical thickness of ice and within the geographical scale of the Arctic Ocean. These 

facts have allowed us to consider the sea ice cover as an integral and stable ecological 

system (Melnikov 1980, 1997). 

Warming of the Arctic Ocean during the last decade is a phenomenon that has been the 

subject of wide discussion in the literature. Many general models predict a greenhousegas-induced warming in polar regions associated with a warming of the upper ocean and 

a substantial retreat of sea ice cover (e.g., Walsh 1991, McPhee et al. 1998, Johannessen 

et al. 1995, 1999, Vinnikov et al. 1999). As a physical layer between warm air and warm 
 96 

Figure 1. From 1946 to 1997, four anticyclonic and four cyclonic regimes track the Arctic 

Ocean oscillation. Recent SLP data suggest that the ocean-atmosphere system will shift 

to an anticyclonic state (Johnson et al. 1999). 

upper ocean water, sea ice changes its thickness due to melting from both its top and 

bottom surfaces. Modern observations in the high Arctic have shown dramatic changes 

both in environmental factors and in the composition, structure, and dynamics of iceassociated biological communities in the Arctic Ocean. What changes do we really 

observe in the modern Arctic Ocean and how do these variations change the biological 

and geochemical characteristics of the sea ice cover? 

From 1975-1981, the Soviet Ice Station “North Pole-22” (NP-22) drifted within the 

Beaufort Gyre in the Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. From October 1997 to October 

1998, the U.S. National Science Foundation conducted the round-year experiment 

SHEBA (Surface HEat Budget of the Arctic Ocean), supported by the Canadian Coast 

Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers (Perovich et al. 1999). The drift of the Ice Station 

SHEBA was in the same area where the NP-22 had drifted two decades before. During 

the NP-22 and SHEBA drifts, multi-disciplinary studies of the sea ice/water system were 

carried out, including micro-scale sea ice observations and observations at the ice/water 

interface (Melnikov 1997, Sherr et al. in press). This workshop presents an opportunity to 

show preliminary data related to the questions of global change in the Arctic Ocean. 

Changes in the Arctic Ocean 

Ocean-atmosphere system oscillation

There is evidence that atmospheric circulation is changing, including a reduction in 

surface level pressure (SLP) over the Central Arctic Ocean. From 1946 to 1997, four 
 97 

anticyclonic and four cyclonic regimes track the SLP oscillation (Figure 1). Proshutinsky 

and Johnson (1997) identified anticyclonic wind-driven ice and surface water motion in 

the central Arctic for the periods 1946-1952, 1958-1962, 1972-1979, 1984-1988, and 

cyclonic motion for the periods 1953-1957, 1963-1971, 1980-1983, and 1989-1997. 

Recent SLP data suggest that the ocean-atmosphere system will again shift, or has 

already shifted, to an anticyclonic state (Johnson et al. 1999). The results of recent 

research on arctic climate oscillatory behavior show a standing SLP oscillation over 

much of the northern hemisphere associated with a sea ice anomaly propagating 

anticyclonic (clockwise) circulation around the Arctic Ocean (Mysak and Venegas 1998) 

and forcing upper ocean and ice circulation (Carmack et al. 1995, Morison et al. 1998) 

and river discharge (Johnson et al. 1999). 

Water masses

Hydrographic data gathered during the last decade (icebreaker transects in 1990-1994, 

SCICEX cruises in 1993-1997) have supplied intriguing evidence that Atlantic Water 

flowing into the Arctic Ocean has warmed relative to previous years and has increased in 

volume by about 20% (Carmack et al. 1995, Morison et al. 1998). Warming relative to 

historical data was observed, as well as freshening of the upper ocean. A warm core of 

Atlantic Water with temperatures of 0.5o to 1.7oC was observed above the Lomonosov 

Ridge, and another less apparent warm core with a temperature of 1oC existed over the 

Mendeleev Ridge. According to Carmack et al. (1995) and Morison et al. (1998), these 

data indicate a fundamental change in the circulation of the Arctic Ocean since the early 

1990s. Changes were occurring at different depths and locations for different variables. 

Pacific Water transport since 1940 to 1998 also showed a remarkable trend in decreasing 

inflow through the Bering Strait (Coachman and Aagaard 1988). 

Ice extent

Field and satellite-based observations show a rapid decrease in Arctic Ocean sea ice 

extent over the past 46 years (Cavalieri et al. 1999, Johannessen et al. 1999, Vinnikov et 

al. 1999). Satellite observations indicate a decrease in the area of ice extent of nearly 3% 

per decade since the late 1970s, accelerating in this decade (Cavalieri et al. 1999). 

Johannessen et al. (1995) reported a reduction of the annual mean ice cover of the Arctic 

Ocean between 1978 and 1994. Using satellite-derived ice maps, they estimated a 

decrease of the total sea ice extent of 0.05 x 106

 km2/yr, of which 14% is due to a 

reduction of the area of multiyear ice. Reduction of sea ice cover is very noticeable in the 

Amerasian basin of the Arctic Ocean. Ten-year mean concentrations of the permanent sea 

ice cover following summer minimum ice area were remarkably lower and, conversely, 

the area of ice-free ocean (mainly in Chukchi and Beaufort Seas) was two to three times 

greater (Figure 2). As a reflection of the decrease in the surface area of permanent sea ice, 

the ice edge has migrated northward; e.g., the position of the ice edge in the Beaufort Sea 

in autumn 1998 was farther north than its historical mean autumn position (Figure 2). 

Ice thickness

Rothrock et al. (1999) compared sea ice thickness data acquired by the Scientific Ice 

Expedition (SCICEX) in the mid-1990s with data from 1958 and 1976, finding a mean 

decrease of 1.3 m (around 40%) in ice thickness over the deep Arctic Ocean with greater 
98 

Figure 2. Ten-year mean concentrations of sea ice on September 30 as obtained from satellite passive microwave 

and sea ice concentrations on September 30, 1998 (right). Ice concentration ranges from 0% (blue) to 100% (whiimages courtesy of W. Chapman, NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center.
 99 

decreases in the eastern and central Arctic than in the western Arctic. Data on reduced 

concentrations and thickness of perennial ice in different parts of the Arctic Ocean since 

1970s were based on indications from submarine sonar. However, it remains unknown 

whether the nature of the perennial ice pack as a whole has changed. Perennial multiyear 

(MY) ice is approximately three times thicker than seasonal or first year (FY) ice, so that 

changes in ice type and distribution could both reflect and effect climate change in the 

Arctic Ocean. So, these data need to be supported by field studies to make time-series 

measurements of the thickness of all types of ice. 

Mean sea ice thickness values of non-deformed and deformed MY ice from different 

geographical regions in the Arctic Ocean are shown in Table 1. Measurements were 

carried out directly during field observations at the “North Pole” ice drifting stations of 

the Soviet Union (Buzuev 1968) and during the transarctic crossing from Alaska to Fram 

Strait via the North Pole (Koerner 1973). Ice thickness ranged from 3 to 6 meters for the 

period 1967-1981. By 1997-98, ice thickness had dramatically decreased by 1.4-2.1 m in 

a region of the SHEBA drift in the Canadian Basin. This remarkable change can be 

explained by a decrease of cold-day temperature per year (i.e., the sum of daily average 

sub-zero temperatures at a given location) below the number needed to maintain the 

equilibrium thickness of ice at 3-6 meters. Since early 1970s, the sum of cold-day 

temperature decreased from 7000 (NP-22, 1974-1975) to 6200 (SHEBA, 1997-1998) for 

the same geographical region (Figure 3). Field observations during the SHEBA cruise 

(Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory [CRREL] data) showed that 

Ice 

thickness 

(cm) 

Type of Ice Region Year Author 

334 

593 

MY, nondeformed 

MY, deformed 

Deformed 

East-Siberian 

Sea 

1967 Busuev (1968) 

370 

430 

MY, nondeformed 

MY, nondeformed 

Eurasian 

sub-basin 

Amerasian 

sub-basin 

1969 Koerner (1973) 

390-510 MY 

Mean 

for the 

Arctic Ocean 

1981 Wadhams (1981) 

140-210 MY, nondeformed 

Amerasian 

sub-basin 

1997-

1998 

SHEBA,1997-1998 

personal data 

Table1. Mean sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean for the period 1970-1998. 
 100 

Figure 3. Sum of cold day temperature during the period October 1974-October 1975 

(North Pole-22) and October 1997-October 1998 (SHEBA) in the region of the Beaufort 

Gyre (Canadian Basin of the Arctic Ocean). Within the same region, the cold day 

temperature period was longer in the early 1970s than in the late 1990s. The coldest 

month at NP-22 was March, but at the SHEBA Ice Camp it was December; in autumn 

(September), it was twice as warm during the SHEBA period than that of NP-22. 

undeformed MY ice grew 75 cm during the winter, but lost 70 cm through surface 

ablation plus 40 cm through bottom ablation during the summer. Combining the growth 

and ablation gives a net thinning of 35 cm during the SHEBA year (Perovich et al. 1999). 

Changes in the Sea Ice/Water Interface 

Salinity/Temperature

Rapid melting of the sea ice cover during the last decade resulted in the freshening and 

warming of the upper ocean in the Arctic. McPhee et al. (1998) give CTD (conductivitytemperature-density) profiles for the upper 0-100 m obtained by the Arctic Ice Dynamics 

Joint Experiment (AIDJEX) (Oct 1975) and SHEBA (Oct 1997) expeditions in the same 

area (Figure 4). During this period of time, salinity values declined 3-4 parts per thousand 

in the 0-30 m layer and the temperature increased up to 0.4o

C. A distinct seasonal 

halocline was formed between 30 and 35 m, which was stable through the SHEBA winter 

up to April and formed a significant barrier to turbulent mixing, capping the remnant 

mixed layer. Between October 1997 and April 1998, the SHEBA station had traversed 

enough of the region to make it clear that the freshening was widespread. 

Nutrients 

The SHEBA mean annual values of Si concentrations (μg-at/l) per m2

 of the 0-30 m 

water column were about 60% lower during winter and about 40% lower in summer 

compared with the NP-22 data (Figure 5a). 

SUM O F CO LD DAY TEM PERATURE

0

400

800

1200

X XI XIII II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

NP-22,O ct74-O ct75 SHEBA,O ct97-O ct98

Totalfora year

NP-22:6995

SHEBA:6191
 101 

Figure 4. Temperature and salinity profiles from ice stations in the Beaufort Gyre: NP-22 

(21 Oct 1975), AIDJEX (01 Oct 1975), and SHEBA (23 Oct 1997). Adapted from 

McPhee et al. (1998). 

Dissolved oxygen

The SHEBA mean seasonal concentrations of O2 within 0-30 m were 8% higher in the 

winter and 13% higher in the summer compared with NP-22 data. The NP-22 O2

concentrations were seasonally stable, so that the summer-winter differences measured 

by SHEBA show a remarkable increase in seasonal variability (Figure 5b). 

Chlorophyll “a” 

The winter values from both SHEBA and NP-22 are similar but the summer 

concentrations for SHEBA were 55% higher than those of NP-22. In terms of 

chlorophyll, the annual standing stock during the SHEBA time was 0.273 μg/l, compared 

with 0.159 μg/l during NP-22. Increases in chlorophyll production (approximately 30%) 

may be explained by an activation of the phytoplankton photosynthesis beneath the sea 

ice that is, probably, connected with increasing of the dissolved oxygen concentrations in 

0-30 m layer during the SHEBA time (Figure 5c). 
 102 

SILICATE,m gk-at/L

0

3

6

9

12

15

W inter Sum m er

11.4

4.75

13.2

8

OXYGEN,m l/l

7

8

9

10

W inter Sum m er

8.30

8.94

8.31

9.35

CHLO RO PHYLL,m kg/l

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

W inter Sum m er

NP-22 SHEBA

0.061 0.067

0.22

0.34

Fig. 5. Mean concentrations of silicate, oxygen, and chlorophyll_a in the 0-30m water 

column at NP-22 (1975-1976) and SHEBA (1997-1998).[FOR mgk USE μg] 

a

c

b
 103 

SALIN ITY,psu

0

1

2

3

M YI FYI

0.9 1.0

1.6

2.2

SILIC ATE,m kg Si/m 2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

M YI FYI

31

6

50

7

C H LO R O PH YLL,m kg/m 2

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

M YI FYI

NP-22 SHEBA

0.13

0.06 0.07

0.24

Figure 6. Mean salinity and concentrations of silicate and chlorophyll_a in multiyear 

(MY) and first-year (FY) ice at NP-22 (1975-1976) and SHEBA (1997-1998). [FOR mgk 

USE μg] 

a

c

b
 104 

Changes within the Sea Ice Interior 

Salinity

SHEBA and NP-22 mean salinity values of the multi-year (MY) ice are approximately 

equal (about 1 psu/m2) (psu = salinity in parts per thousand) but SHEBA values of the 

first-year (FY) is higher of NP-22 salinity (2.2 psu/m2 and 1.6 psu/m2, respectively) 

(Figure 6a).

Silicate

The mean Si concentrations of both MY and FY ice from NP-22 are much higher than 

those from SHEBA. The most curious feature of the SHEBA ice samples is very low 

concentrations of Si in the MY and FY ice. Decrease of Si values within the sea ice 

interior may be caused by an active release of these components during the melting of 

ice, that, in turn, may limit the summer growth of sea ice diatoms (Figure 6b). 

Chlorophyll “a”

The mean NP-22 chlorophyll concentrations in MY ice are twice as high as in samples 

from SHEBA (0.13 ug/m2 and 0.06 ug/m2, respectively) but the SHEBA values of the FY 

ice are 3 times higher than the FY values from NP-22 (0.24 ug/m2 and 0.07 ug/m2, 

respectively). The main feature of chlorophyll concentrations in the ice is a remarkable 

decrease of this component in MY ice in contrast to the large increase in the FY ice 

samples (Figure 6c).

Figure 7. Sea ice flora associated with the sea ice/water interface at NP-22 (1975-1976) 

and at SHEBA (1997-1998). 

Changes in the Sea Ice Biota 

I. Sea ice/water interface 

Flora

Eighty-five species were identified in samples collected at the NP-22 and SHEBA 

stations from the bottom surface of the ice. These species can be broken down in the 

following categories for the NP-22 and SHEBA sites respectively: Bacillariophyta – 46 

and 22; Pyrrophyta – 1 and 19; Others – 1 and 2 (Melnikov et al. 2000). The main 

features of the SHEBA and NP-22 algal populations associated with the bottom surface 

of ice are: 

NP-22

96%

2% 2%

Bacillariophyta Pyrrophyta O thers

SHEBA

52%

44%

4%

Bacillariophyta Pyrrophyta O thers
 105 

1. A remarkable decrease of diatom species from 46 species or 96% of algal 

populations (NP-22) to 22 species or 52 % (SHEBA) in the under-ice layer 

(Figure 7); 

2. Remarkable differences in species composition between the under-ice 

phytoplankton of SHEBA and NP-22: only 3 species from diatoms 

(Chaetoceros socialis, Cylindrotheca closterium, Thalassionema nitzschioides), 

1 dinoflagelate (Dinophysis acuta), and 1 silicoflagelate (Dictyocha speculum 

var. octonarius) were common for both algal communities; the overall 

similarity between species from the SHEBA and NP-22 algal populations was 

only 8%; 

3. A remarkable increase of Pyrrophyta in the SHEBA samples (19 species) 

compared with the NP-22 (only 1); and 

4. The development within the ice/water interface at the SHEBA station of large 

aggregations formed by the fresh-water algae Ulothrix implexa (Kutz), which is 

a very common species in brackish waters but which had never been found 

before in the high marine Arctic. 

Fauna

The total list includes 59 species. Of the 43 species in the NP-22 collection and 37 

species from SHEBA, only 21 species were in common, or 37% of the total list 

(Melnikov et al. 2000). The main difference is due to amphipods: 14 species or 33% of 

total populations in NP-22 and 4 species or 11% of total populations in the SHEBA 

collection (Figure 8). Dominant species of the cryopelagic fauna in the NP-22 collection, 

such as polychaetes Antinoella sarsi and mysids Mysis polaris, were not observed by 

SHEBA. At the same time, in SHEBA water, the role of jelly-like plankton such as 

appendicularians, medusas, and benthic larvae are remarkably increased compared with 

NP-22.

Fig. 8. Sea ice fauna associated with the sea ice/water interface at NP-22 (1975-1976) and 

at SHEBA (1997-1998). 

II. Sea ice interior 

NP-22

21%

9% 33% 9%

2%

26%

Copepoda Am phipoda Cyclopoida

Harpacticoida Appendicularia O thers

SHEBA

32%

11% 14% 5%

8%

30%

Copepoda Am phipoda Cyclopoida

Harpacticoida Appendicularia O thers
 106 

Flora

The total list of sea ice algal populations includes 102 taxa; 84 species or 76% of the total 

list were indicated in NP-22, whereas in SHEBA they were only 26 species or 23%, 

respectively (Table 2). Species similarity between the NP-22 and SHEBA was only 8%. 

NP-22 

1979-1980 

Interstitial Flora SHEBA 

1997-1998 

79 Bacillariophyta 18 

0 Pyrrophyta 5 

0 Chrysophyta 1 

0 Silicoflagellatae 1 

5 Chlorophyta 1 

Total: 84 Total species number: 102 Total: 26 

Similarities between species: 8% 

Table 2. Sea ice flora associated with the sea ice interior at NP-22 (1979) and at SHEBA 

(1997-1998). 

The prevalence of diatoms is most variable in both MY and FY ice at the NP-22 (79 

species) compared with SHEBA (18 species). Fresh water algae (mostly Chlorophyta) 

were detected only on the upper surface of ice. The obvious predominance of fresh water 

algae compared with diatoms is the main peculiarity of the algae populations from 

SHEBA: fresh water algae (Pyrrophita) were dominant by number and were distributed 

within both the MY and FY ice interior from the snow-ice surface to the sea ice/water 

interface. 

Fauna

The main intriguing feature of the MY and FY sea ice faunal populations is an absence of 

interstitial fauna within the sea ice interior in the SHEBA ice samples; these fauna had 

previously been detected in high numbers in the NP-22 samples. In contrast to the nine 

species detected in NP-22 including Protozoa, Foraminifera, Acarina, Nematoda, 

Turbellaria, Harpacticoida, and Amphipoda, ice samples from SHEBA held only one 

specimen of Foraminifera (Table 3). The free-living nematode Theristus melnikovi

associated with the sea ice interior was very common in the ice samples from NP-22, but 

was never been detected in the sea ice samples from SHEBA. 

NP-22 

1979-1980 

Interstitial Fauna SHEBA 

1997-1998 

3 Protozoa 0 

1 Foraminifera 1 

1 Acarina 0 

2 Nematoda 0 

1 Turbellaria 0 

1 Harpacticoida 0 

1 Amphipoda 0 

Total: 10 Total species number: 10 Total: 1 

Similarities between species: 10% 
 107 

Table 3. Sea ice fauna associated with the sea ice interior at NP-22 (1979) and at SHEBA 

(1997-1998). 

Implications for Future Climate Change 

Thus, observations over the last two decades (SHEBA versus NP-22) confirm dramatic 

changes due to a warmer climate within the sea ice biological communities in the Central 

Arctic Ocean: 

• SHEBA populations of sea ice diatoms are very scarce by species and number both in 

the multi-year and in the newly formed ice; 

• freshwater green algae previously developed on the upper-ice surface and/or within 

the upper sea ice layers (NP-22) are now dominant by number and are distributed 

through the whole thickness of sea ice (SHEBA); 

• populations of invertebrate animals like nematodes, copepods, amphipods, and 

turbellarians that previously lived in the sea ice interior (NP-22) were not found in the 

multi-year ice and newly formed sea ice (SHEBA); and 

• in the SHEBA samples, cryopelagic fauna associated with the bottom sea ice surface 

as well as the under-ice zooplankton were scarce by species and numbers. 

Observed changes in the composition and structure of sea ice biological communities 

may be explained by the growing melting of the sea ice cover during the last decade. 

Several factors likely to have been responsible include: (1) drainage of fresh water 

throughout the sea ice interior, (2) accumulation of fresh water beneath the ice, and (3) 

formation of the sharp halocline at around 30 m. The recent water/ice system above the 

halocline may, in fact, be more a freshwater/brackish system than the real marine system. 

On this basis, it seems that dramatic changes within the sea ice environment can be 

considered a result of global warming in the Arctic. 

Recent scientific meetings and workshops have focused on the impact of future climate 

change and its potential implications for Arctic indigenous populations (Weller and 

Lange 1999). Many issues are of the highest concern to both Arctic residents and the 

Arctic scientific community. What are the potential effects on high Arctic nature due to a 

drastically shrinking area of polar pack ice, an increase of the seasonal sea ice surface, or 

a totally ice-free Arctic Ocean, at least in the summer? How will these changes impact 

the economics, lifestyle, and culture of Arctic residents as well as the political and 

economic framework of the circumpolar Arctic countries? All these issues are of great 

concern and urgently need to be discussed and studied. 

On the basis of the historical materials and recent observations obtained over the Central 

Arctic Ocean, it may be concluded and speculated that: 
 108 

• the modern permanent sea-ice cover in the Central Arctic Ocean has rapidly 

decreased both in surface area and in thickness, and the ice-edge has moved 

significantly farther north; 

• both the ice-free water surface and seasonal sea ice have increased remarkably, 

especially in the areas of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas; 

• sea-ice cover of the Arctic Ocean will become more similar in its characteristics to 

the Southern Ocean, where seasonal rather than permanent sea ice is a dominant 

component of the marine ecosystem; 

• the increase of seasonal sea ice versus pack ice and the advance of ice-free areas will 

promote photosynthetic activity of phytoplankton within the water column due to 

strong penetration of light, and ice-associated primary production will be reduced 

compared with that of the water-column. 

From the early 1930s, it has been well known that the ice edge is the area of highest 

biological production in the ice-covered arctic seas (Usachev 1935, Shirshov 1937, 

Zubov 1945). The recently observed shrinking of the permanent sea-ice cover in the 

Arctic may be considered a signal for a strong northward shift of ice-associated animals 

including birds and marine mammals as the ice-edge retreats. If this scenario is more or 

less probable, can we speculate that recent observations of beluga whale migration far to 

north depends on this ice-edge retreat and the degeneration of the quality of pack ice in 

the Arctic Basin (L. Lowry, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, personal 

communication, 2000)? If so, the sea-ice-dependent lifestyle of Arctic indigenous people 

will be sharply changed in the near future. To understand this phenomenon, we urgently 

need long-term and large-scale observations of sea-ice-associated processes over the 

whole Arctic. 
 109 

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CLIMATE CHANGE AND MARINE ECOSYSTEMS OF THE 

WESTERN ARCTIC 

Alan M. Springer 

Institute for Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 757220, 

Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA 

The most widely known consequence in Arctic seas of climate warming in this century 

has been the loss of sea ice. In recent years seasonal ice extent and the thickness of the 

ice have both decreased. The loss of sea ice has many implications for Arctic ecosystems, 

the animals that live there, and the people who depend on those resources for their lives 

and lifestyles. 

Perhaps the most obvious deleterious change is the reduction in essential habitat for 

several species of marine mammals. Polar bears, walruses, bearded seals, and ringed seals 

rely on sea ice as a substrate on which to haul out and, for some, to den. The extreme 

retreat of sea ice beyond the continental shelf of the northern Chukchi and Beaufort seas 

in recent years may have stressed walruses, for example, by maintaining them at a 

distance from feeding areas in shallower water over the shelf. 

The food web associated with sea ice is critically important to populations of several 

species of marine mammals and seabirds. An under-ice community is supported at its 

base by epontic algae, those that live at the ice-water interface (Horner 1985). A variety 

of crustaceans graze the algae, and in turn are preyed upon by Arctic cod, the single-most 

important species of forage fish in the Arctic (Andriashev 1954, Bradstreet et al. 1986, 

Welch et al. 1992). Ringed seals and beluga whales in the Arctic depend on Arctic cod 

(Lowry et al. 1980, Welch et al. 1992), as do seabirds including thick-billed and common 

murres, black guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, and ivory gulls (Divoky 1976, 

Bradstreet 1980, Springer et al. 1984). 

Although Arctic cod are found in open water away from sea ice in summer in the 

Chukchi and Beaufort seas, it nevertheless is a cold-water species, preferring 

temperatures characteristic of Arctic habitats (Andriashev 1954, Craig et al. 1982, 

Gillispie et al. 1997). The distribution of Arctic cod in summer in the Bering Sea is 

determined by water temperature: it is much more abundant and wide-spread in years of 

heavy sea ice and the development of an extensive cold pool on the eastern shelf (WyllieEcheverria and Wooster 1998). If temperatures continue to warm, the range of Arctic cod 

may retract northward, limiting their availability to dependent predators. A possible 

analog of such a process has been recently suggested in the northeast Atlantic. There is 

speculation that Atlantic cod, a cold-water species, is being displaced northward by 

continued warming of the north Atlantic, jeopardizing the commercial fishery (Pearce 

1999). 
 112 

Many of the anticipated effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems and key 

components—sea ice and marine mammals and birds—are negative. There may be 

compensating positive effects, however, that will in certain cases mitigate some of the 

negative ones. For example, in the coastal zone of the northeastern Bering Sea and 

eastern Chukchi Sea, early warming in spring and warmer summer water temperatures 

favor the productivity of the neritic community found in that habitat (Neimark 1979, 

Springer et al. 1984, Springer et al. 1987). Early retreat of sea ice from Norton Sound and 

break-up of the Yukon River enhance warming of the regional environment and advance 

the development of Alaskan Coastal Water (Coachman et al. 1975), a coastal jet 

originating on the southeastern shelf of the Bering Sea and flowing north through eastern 

Bering Strait (Figure 1). It constitutes approximately a third to a half of the total flow 

through Bering Strait, and contrasts in many ways with Anadyr Water, the other major 

source of flow through Bering Strait in the west. Alaskan Coastal Water has a low 

salinity, is nutrient-poor, and in summer is warm, compared to high-salinity, cold, 

nutrient-rich Anadyr Water. Both water masses play crucial roles in ecosystems of the 

Bering-Chukchi shelf. 

Alaskan Coastal Water transforms the coastal eastern Chukchi Sea into a more productive 

and diverse ecosystem than is typical for such high-latitude seas by advecting heat and 

planktonic biota, and providing a conduit for mobile boreal fauna into the otherwise cold 

Arctic. Species that apparently benefit include sand lance, saffron cod, herring, salmon, 

and their predators—marine mammals, seabirds, and humans. For example, seabirds 

nesting in the eastern Chukchi enjoy much higher productivity in warm-water summers 

than in cold-water summers (Springer et al. 1984). The main difference appears to be 

related to the abundance and diversity of forage fishes. In any year, the birds rely on 

Arctic cod in spring and early summer when seasonal sea ice is present. In cold years, 

Arctic cod remains the principal prey throughout most of summer, but it is not 

sufficiently abundant, available, or nutritious to satisfy the needs of some species of 

seabirds to produce large numbers of chicks. In warm summers, however, boreal species 

of forage fishes arrive in time to provide the needed supplement to Arctic cod, and 

seabird productivity is typically high. Such differences in forage fish diversity and 

abundance could be of consequence to piscivorous marine mammals as well. 

Theoretically, then, warming in the western Arctic could favor the productivity of a 

boreal neritic community that includes species of forage fishes of importance to a variety 

of marine birds and mammals. 

Additional evidence that a warm Arctic is not necessarily bad is found in the population 

dynamics of murres at Cape Lisburne. Cape Lisburne is the site of the northernmost, and 

one of the largest, colonies of murres in Alaska. The colony was first censused in 1977, 

and since that time the abundance of murres has grown steadily until there are now twice 

the original number (D. Roseneau unpubl. data). The rate of increase can easily be 

accounted for by productivity alone or by juvenile or adult survival, suggesting that 

environmental conditions during the last, generally warm, 25 years in the Chukchi Sea 

have been good for the population, and by extension, apparently good for the food web of 

which several species of marine mammals are a part. 
 113 

In addition to recent changes in sea ice, there has been another oceanographic change in 

the Western Arctic that may have important consequences on ecosystem productivity. 
114 
 115 

Transport of water northward through Bering Strait has declined by approximately 30% 

since records were first kept in the early 1940s (Coachman and Aagaard 1988, Roach et 

al. 1995, T. Weingartner unpubl. data). The significance of this may be expressed in 

annual production budgets through declines in primary production, the advective 

transport of zooplankton, and alterations to the physical habitat. 

The annual production cycle in northern seas typically consists of a spring bloom in 

April-May when the bulk of the primary production occurs. The bloom ends when 

nutrients, primarily nitrate, are depleted from the euphotic zone. In shallow water less 

than about 50 m deep, nitrate is depleted from the entire water column, while over the 

remainder of the continental shelf nitrate depletion occurs only in the upper mixed layer, 

above the seasonal thermocline. In these deeper waters, additional post-bloom production 

depends primarily on the strength of summer storms that can break down the stratified 

upper layer and mix nutrients from depth up into the euphotic zone. Annual primary 

productivity over most of the continental shelf of the Bering Sea ranges between about 

50-150 g C m-2

 y

-1, and only about 30-50 g C m-2

 y

-1 on much of the shelf of the Chukchi 

Sea (Figure 2). 

In contrast, annual primary productivity across the shallow shelf of the northern Bering 

and southern Chukchi is in the range of 300-600 g C m-2 y

-1 (Sambrotto et al. 1984, 

Springer and McRoy 1993). Daily production rates are of world record proportion 

(McRoy et al. 1987). Such prodigious productivity results from the flow of water 

northward through Bering Strait. Approximately half of the total transport consists of 

Anadyr Water, a water mass that originates at depth along the edge of the continental 

shelf in the northwestern Bering Sea. The basin of the Bering Sea constitutes an immense 

reservoir of nutrients (nitrate, phosphate, silicate) essential for the growth of 

phytoplankton. Concentrations of these nutrients in the deep Bering Sea are the highest in 

the world outside of eutrophic coastal regions receiving runoff from cities and farms. 

These nutrients are carried in the flow of oceanic water—the Anadyr Stream, literally a 

river in the sea—through the western Bering Strait region, where they provide an endless 

supply to phytoplankton. Primary production is proportional to nutrient supply rates (i.e., 

volume transport of the Anadyr Stream) which vary among years (Springer and McRoy 

1993). 

The immense production of phytoplankton in the region is responsible for a highly 

prolific benthic food web that includes ampeliscid amphipods and bivalves and their 

predators, gray whales and walruses (Grebmeier et al. 1988, Fay 1982, Nerini 1984). It is 

safe to say that were it not for the Anadyr Stream, populations of gray whales and 

walruses in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi would be much smaller than they 

are today. 

In addition to nutrients, the Anadyr Stream carries an immense amount of oceanic 

zooplankton through the region—on the order of a million tonnes per year (Springer et al. 

1989). The majority consists of species of euphausiids and large calanoid copepods that 

are the main link in pelagic food webs between phytoplankton and planktivorous 

vertebrates such as many seabirds and whales. Thus, in the nesting season, St. Lawrence 
 116 
 117 

Island, King Island, and the Diomede Islands host millions of least and crested auklets 

that have been an important element in the subsistence economies of human residents of 

these islands for millennia. Moreover, piscivorous seabirds, such as murres and 

kittiwakes, which also are important subsistence resources, are abundant and diverse in 

the region because of forage fish populations—capelin, sand lance, Arctic cod— that 

flourish on the rich zooplankton (Springer et al. 1987). This larger marine region is the 

wintering area, and was formerly the summering area as well, for bowhead whales 

(Bockstoce and Botkin 1983, Springer and Roseneau 1985). 

And today, the bowheads are telling a story about changing oceanography in the western 

Arctic (Schell 2000). Recorded in their baleen are chemical signatures of food web 

structure and productivity in the form of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. The most 

intriguing aspect of the information compiled from whales over many years is a longterm change in the ratios of carbon isotopes that can be interpreted as reflecting a decline 

in primary productivity. The degree of the decline is approximately 30% in the past 30-40 

years. The similarity between this value and the decline in transport may be coincidental, 

but a cause-and-effect relationship seems plausible, based on the relationship between 

productivity and transport found in field studies (Springer and McRoy 1993). If this is the 

correct interpretation of the baleen isotope data, it indicates that the carrying capacity of 

the ecosystem of the Bering-Chukchi shelf has declined by about 30%, since primary 

productivity sets the upper limit on biomass yield at all higher trophic levels. 

A lack of information on other parts of the system hampers our understanding of the 

validity and significance of this argument. For example, have there been trends in benthic 

production during this time? Benthic communities owe their abundance to the overlying 

primary production. In spite of their huge biomass, zooplankton cannot control the 

persistent phytoplankton bloom and most of the cells settle to the bottom, fueling the 

prolific growth of invertebrates that feed gray whales and walruses. If transport and 

primary productivity have declined by 30%, this could lead to a similar decline in overall 

food web production, providing an alternate hypothesis to explain the recent low body 

condition of walruses in northern Alaska. 

Declining volume transport of Anadyr Water would also reduce the advective supply rate 

of zooplankton to the Bering-Chukchi shelf. This in turn could have some negative effect 

on bowhead whales, the vast populations of auklets, and several species of forage fishes 

and their predators in the region. 

The cause of declining transport is not known. The flow is maintained by a north-south 

atmospheric pressure differential that effectively tilts sea level down toward the north 

(Coachman et al. 1975). A changing balance in this differential is the likely cause of 

declining transport, but how that relates to trends and oscillations in weather and climate 

is a puzzle. 

Identifying the causes and time scales of fluctuations in the physical environment, such as 

in meteorology and sea surface temperature, is a challenge that must be met in order to 

understand ecosystem responses and predict the direction and significance of future 
 118 

changes. For example, a decadal-scale oscillation in meteorological conditions over the 

North Pacific has been identified recently and is now known as the Pacific Decadal 

Oscillation, or PDO (Trenberth and Hurrell 1994, Mantua et al. 1997). For reasons not 

well understood, the Aleutian Low, the dominant meteorological feature over the North 

Pacific, alternates between two quasi-stable states of strength and location. Each regime, 

or the time a given state persists, varies in duration of about 1-2 decades before shifting 

abruptly to the alternate state. This oscillation has been evident since the beginning of 

this century, when pressure data were first recorded. 

Physical correlates to the PDO include a teleconnection to the El Niño-Southern 

Oscillation in the central Pacific; interactions with the Siberian High pressure system, a 

prominent meteorological feature also affecting the western Arctic; and sea ice cover in 

the Bering and Chukchi seas (Niebauer 1998). The relationship of the PDO to sea ice 

cover adds uncertainty about the significance and expected persistence of recent trends. 

That is, an abrupt decrease of over 5% in ice coverage occurred after a regime shift in 

1976. This raises the question of which has been more important in the sea ice budget of 

the western Arctic in recent years—global climate warming, or the PDO? If it is the 

former, sea ice should continue to decrease. If it is the latter, we would expect a return to 

heavier ice conditions with the next regime shift, which could occur at any time. 

Besides physical correlates to the PDO, there are many biological ones too. This was first 

pointed out by Ebbesmeyer et al. (1991) for a variety of environmental changes related to 

the 1976 regime shift. Since then, numerous other associations have been identified, 

including ones between the PDO and the productivity of phytoplankton, zooplankton, 

Pacific salmon, forage fishes, seabirds, and marine mammals (Francis and Hare 1994, 

Polovina et al. 1995, Brodeur et al. 1996, Piatt and Anderson 1996, Anderson et al. 1997, 

Springer 1998). The relationship between ecosystem productivity and the meteorological 

state over the N. Pacific complicates attempts to understand the significance of longerterm changes in the environment, such as global warming. 

Likewise, superimposed on the long-term warming trend in the Arctic is a decadal-scale 

oscillation in sea water temperature (Royer 1993, Springer 1998). In the Bering and 

Chukchi seas, water temperature has numerous biological correlates, including patterns of 

seabird productivity, growth rates and recruitment of forage fishes, and development of 

zooplankton populations (Neimark 1979, Springer et al. 1984, Vidal and Smith 1986, 

Springer et al. 1987, Springer 1998). In at least one case, the slope of the relationship 

between temperature and a biological variable (positive or negative) depends on the 

nature of the meteorological regime (positive or negative anomaly of the Pacific Decadal 

Oscillation), adding a further complication to our attempts to understand functional 

relationships in the ecosystem. 

 

And there are other time scales of change that further confuse our understanding of how 

the ecosystem behaves. The PDO and El Nino events are superimposed on longer-term 

trends and oscillations in climate of 50 to 100 years duration and longer (Keigwin 1996, 

Minobe 1997, Springer 1998). Because many contemporary changes in biology 

demonstrate compelling relationships to physical conditions, and because some very-
 119 

long-term data sets show how populations have fluctuated since long before the influence 

of people became an issue in marine ecosystems (Baumgartner et al. 1992), we should 

not necessarily be alarmed over recent events. Change is normal and it must be 

accommodated: ecosystems have mechanisms to deal with it and so must people. 

However, there may be times when remedial, perhaps drastic, actions must be taken to 

conserve species of economic, aesthetic, and ecosystem importance, especially when the 

actions of people are at the heart of the problem. 
 120 

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 123 

MARINE MAMMAL-SEA ICE RELATIONSHIPS 

Lloyd F. Lowry 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, AK 99701, USA 

Species of Major Concern Relative to Climate Change in the Alaskan Arctic 

The marine mammal fauna off western and northern Alaska is particularly diverse, 

largely because of the great number of temperate/subarctic species that occur in the 

Bering Sea (Table 1). Although changes in the environment resulting from climate 

change may affect the distribution and abundance of those species also, this review will 

focus on the Arctic/subarctic marine mammals that are of particular importance to coastal 

residents of Alaska. Those species include: spotted, bearded, and ringed seals, walrus, 

polar bears, and bowhead and beluga whales. A brief description of the distribution and 

abundance of each species is given below. Additional details can be found in Lowry et al. 

(1982), Lentfer (1988), National Research Council (1996), and Hill and DeMaster 

(1998). 

Spotted seals are widely distributed in the North Pacific, generally occurring in areas that 

are seasonally covered with sea ice. They range westward from Bristol Bay to 

Kamchatka, then south into the Sea of Japan. During summer they move northward into 

the Chukchi, Beaufort, and East Siberian seas. From November through May or June they 

are found in the sea ice. In spring they are seen hauled out singly or in small groups, 

mostly in the ice front where the floes are not too congested and move freely. In summer 

and early fall they occur mostly in open water areas and may be seen hauled out in 

groups of 1,000 or more on sandy spits and bars along the coast. Spotted seals are 

common off Alaska and their population may number 100,000 or more. However, there 

hasn’t been a satisfactory method developed for estimating total population size. 

Bearded seals are found in ice-covered regions of the Arctic, mostly over relatively 

shallow continental shelves. In the winter bearded seals occur in the ice front habitat used 

by spotted and ribbon seals, and also farther north in the pack ice wherever the ice is in 

motion and there is some open water. They are ice-associated throughout the year, and 

therefore move north and south as the ice retreats in the summer and advances in the 

winter. According to coastal residents, some weaned pups do not move northward but 

spend their first summer and fall feeding in freshwater estuaries along the Bering and 

Chukchi coasts. The population size of bearded seals has never been accurately estimated 

for the Bering/Chukchi seas, or anywhere else for that matter. They are obviously a 

common animal, and there is no indication that their numbers have changed in recent 

years. 

Ringed seals occur throughout the Arctic basin. During winter the highest densities of 

adult seals occur on the shorefast ice which is the most stable platform for pupping. In 

summer they occur in the drifting ice and open water areas. Off western Alaska where the 
 124 

seasonal ice disappears from the Bering Sea and most of the Chukchi Sea during summer, 

ringed seals probably move northward to follow the ice. In regions like the Beaufort Sea 

where the ice moves a relatively short distance offshore during summer the seals are 

probably much less migratory. Ringed seals are quite abundant. Given the huge area they 

occupy, their worldwide population is almost certainly in the millions. Seal densities vary 

by location, ice type, and year. Over the long-term it is likely that the ringed seal 

population off Alaska is fairly stable and healthy.

 

Walrus are circumpolar and occur in the Arctic and its peripheral seas. The entire 

Alaskan walrus population spends winter and spring in the sea ice, mostly in the Bering 

Sea. The female-calf part of the population, which moves northward with the retreating 

ice in spring, usually spends the summer along the edge of the ice pack in the Chukchi 

Sea. Most adult males stay south of the ice in the summer, using terrestrial haulouts in 

Chukotka and Alaska. Aerial surveys conducted in 1975-1990 by researchers from the 

U.S. and Russia suggested that the population numbered something in excess of 200,000. 

There have been no population surveys done since 1990. Research to look at the age/sex 

composition of walrus herds summering in the Chukchi Sea suggests that calf production 

and survival have been low in recent years. 

Polar bears are widely distributed in the Arctic. There are two populations off Alaska: 

the northern population that stays mostly in the Beaufort Sea, and the western population 

that occurs in the Chukchi and Bering seas. Some pregnant adult females spend the 

winter months in dens on land, but otherwise they live most of their life on the sea ice. 

Polar bear populations are difficult to census. The northern population is estimated at 

about 1,800 animals. The western population may number 2,000-5,000. 

Bowhead whales range seasonally through the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. They 

are thought to winter mostly in drifting ice in the central Bering Sea, then move 

northward in spring through leads in the ice that take them to Banks Island in Canada. 

From there they move southward and spend summer feeding in the eastern Beaufort Sea 

and Amundsen Gulf before migrating westward then southward back into the Bering Sea. 

The most recent abundance estimate for Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort bowheads is 8,200, 

with the population size increasing at about 3% per year. 

Beluga whales that occur off western Alaska comprise four separate stocks. It is thought 

that they all winter in drifting ice in the Bering Sea. In spring the Beaufort Sea stock 

migrates north and east along with the bowheads, and spends summer months in the 

Mackenzie Delta and adjacent parts of the eastern Beaufort Sea. In the fall they migrate 

westward across the Beaufort Sea, taking a northerly route through the ice. Whales from 

the eastern Chukchi Sea stock appear in the Kotzebue Sound-Kasegaluk Lagoon region in 

July, then migrate northward into the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean. They presumably 

move southward into the Bering Sea in fall. The eastern Bering Sea and Bristol Bay 

stocks spend summer months along the coast of Alaska and do not seem to migrate nearly 

as far as the other two stocks. Currently it is thought that all western Alaska beluga 

whales stocks are healthy. Recent abundance estimates are: Beaufort Sea stock—39,258; 
 125 

eastern Chukchi Sea stock—3,710; eastern Bering Sea stock—7,986; and Bristol Bay 

stock—1,555. 

Ways that Climate Change Could Affect Marine Mammals 

Changes in Physical Habitats

Fay (1974) provides an excellent description of the role of sea ice in the ecology of 

Bering Sea marine mammals. He lists the following functions that ice serves for 

pinnipeds: isolation, space, variety, food supply, transportation, sanitation, and shelter. 

For most cetaceans, ice has mainly a negative effect because it excludes them from areas 

they could otherwise use. However, for species adapted to the ice such as belugas and 

bowheads ice may provide a refuge from killer whale predation. 

Global climate change could change sea ice characteristics in many ways. The nature of 

the ice itself could change--it could become thinner, floes could become smaller, and it 

could have more or less snow coverage. The distribution and characteristics of open 

water areas within the ice (leads and polynyas) could change. The overall distribution of 

sea ice could change, with shorefast ice becoming less extensive, and less area covered 

with drifting ice. The persistence of ice could change with ice forming later in the year 

and breaking up earlier and faster. 

The various species of seals have adapted themselves to using ice with certain 

characteristics (Burns 1970, Fay 1974, Burns et al. 1981). These adaptations are 

particularly obvious during the pupping season. Ringed seals prefer to use stable landfast 

ice for pupping. To produce subnivean (under-snow) lairs for their pups they need 

adequate depths of snow on top of the ice. Bearded seal pups are born on moving ice, 

mostly in areas of fairly high ice concentrations. Spotted and ribbon seals pups are born 

mostly in the relatively dynamic ice front. Changes in ice thickness, snow depths, and 

timing of break-up would all be expected to influence pupping success for ice associated 

seals. For example, if there is less shorefast ice, more ringed seal pups will be born on 

moving ice where they are less likely to survive. Also, if shorefast ice breaks up earlier, 

ringed seal lairs will collapse more quickly and pups will be more exposed to predation 

(Burns 1970). 

Seals haul out and bask for much of the time during their annual molt. Ice-associated 

pinnipeds molt on the ice during May-June. Earlier breakup of ice could result in a 

shorter time for molting, or it might cause seals to use land haulouts in order to complete 

the molt. 

Ice associated pinnipeds use ice as a place to rest between feeding periods, and therefore 

it is important that the ice be near their food supply. Walruses are benthic feeders and 

they need to have ice near the shallow continental shelf where they can reach their food 

supply. In years such as 1990 when the summer ice edge was far north of the Chukchi 

Sea continental shelf, walrus needed to either haul out on land or make long swims to the 

south to reach their food supply (Gilbert et al. 1992). 
 126 

Shorefast ice completely excludes cetaceans from nearshore areas. A reduction in the 

amount of shorefast ice could make some nearshore habitats available to them during 

winter-spring. Less drifting ice and a shorter ice season could have negative impacts on 

ice-associated cetaceans (bowheads and belugas) but could be an advantage for species 

that are not adapted to ice such as gray whales and killer whales (Moore and DeMaster 

1998). Polynyas and leads are very important for the distribution and migration of 

bowheads in winter and spring (Moore and Reeves 1993), and changes in those features 

could have a major impact on bowhead behavior. 

 

Climate change will likely result in changes in temperature regimes as a result of changes 

in ocean currents, sea ice coverage, and river flows (Tynan and DeMaster 1997). This 

could have both subtle and major effects on marine mammal distributions, in ways that 

are difficult to predict. One concern is with beluga whales that concentrate in traditional 

areas during summer months (Frost and Lowry 1990). Concentration areas are probably 

selected for a variety of reasons, one of which may be warm water that helps promote 

molting (St. Aubin et al. 1990). Changes in water temperatures in the coastal zone could 

therefore cause changes in beluga use of nearshore areas. 

Changes in Food Availability

Global climate change is expected to have major effects on marine productivity and on 

the marine mammal prey species. Changes in temperature and currents will have variable 

impacts in different areas, and may depress or favor either pelagic or benthic food webs. 

The probable effects on marine mammal populations cannot be reliably predicted, but the 

following are some likely possibilities. Ringed seals depend quite a lot on an under-ice 

food web (Bradstreet and Cross 1982), and decreases in ice coverage and persistence 

could reduce the food available to them. Contrary to that prediction, Harwood and 

Stirling (1992) described reduced productivity of ringed seals in the eastern Beaufort Sea 

during the mid 1970s and mid 1980s that may have been due to reduced primary 

productivity caused by heavier than normal ice cover. Species with relatively narrow 

diets like gray whales (mostly benthic amphipods), walruses (mostly clams), and 

bowhead whales (mostly copepods) could be significantly impacted by changes in 

currents, sedimentation patterns, or primary productivity. Species with relatively broad 

diets, such as spotted seals and bearded seals, might be less affected. 

Polar bears depend mostly on ringed seals for their food, and any changes in ringed seal 

abundance would likely result directly in changes to polar bear populations. Stirling et al. 

(1999) have conducted a long-term study of polar bears in western Hudson Bay, where 

bears hunt ringed seals on the sea ice from November-July then spend the open water 

season on shore where they basically fast. They found decreasing body condition and 

reproductive performance in bears that correlates with a trend toward earlier breakup in 

recent years. With an earlier breakup, bears have a shorter feeding season, they are less 

fat when the come ashore, and they must fast for a longer period. 
 127 

Changes in Interspecific Interactions

As the distributions of various species adjust to climate change, interactions among 

species will also change. Diets will vary depending on the seasonal overlaps among 

marine mammals and their fish and invertebrate prey. Novel prey species may expose 

predators to new types of parasites, different environmental contaminants, etc. 

Distributional and climate changes may put marine mammals into contact with new 

disease agents (bacteria and viruses). 

While marine mammal species show a great deal of ecological specialization, they 

undoubtedly compete with one another to some extent. An interesting example may be 

harbor seals and spotted seals, closely related species that show considerable ecological 

similarity. In western Alaska, spotted seals occur in areas that are seasonally ice-covered 

and harbor seals are more southern, but their distributions overlap somewhat in Bristol 

and Kuskokwim bays (Frost et al. 1983). One might predict that with increased water 

temperatures and decreases in sea ice coverage the boundary between the spotted seal and 

harbor seal populations would shift northward. 

Predatory interactions are also likely to change with shifts in species distributions. 

Changes in seal distribution within the sea ice could bring them into more or less contact 

with polar bears. If ice-inhabiting seals or walrus are forced to haul out on land to 

complete their molt or to stay near food resources they could be more exposed to 

predators such as grizzly bears and wolves. If the overall amount of sea ice is less, ice 

inhabiting pinnipeds will be concentrated in a smaller area during the pupping season. 

Lowry and Fay (1984) documented an unusually high rate of predation by walrus on seal 

pups in 1979, a year of very light spring ice cover in the Bering Sea. 

Relatively little is known about killer whales in western Alaska, but they are known to 

prey on whales, seals, and walruses (Lowry et al. 1987). Such predatory relationships 

could change as a result of climate changes, in ways that are impossible to predict. 

Changes in distribution and behavior of sharks could also result in different rates of 

predation on seals. 

Conclusions 

Currently in the scientific literature there is almost no documentation of effects of climate 

change on Arctic marine mammals. The only exception is with polar bears, where a direct 

link has been shown with changes in sea ice that limit the ability of bears to feed on 

ringed seals. 

The overall effect of climate change on Arctic marine mammals will probably depend on 

the combined effects of changes in physical habitats, changes in prey populations, and 

changes in inter-species interactions. In general one might predict that distributions of 

most species would shift northward, and that populations of ice-associated species are 

likely to decline. Such changes would very likely have major effects on the availability of 

marine mammals to coastal Alaska Natives. 
 128 

Currently there is reasonably good information available on the basic biology of most 

marine mammal species of concern. However, in almost all cases there is no detailed 

information on population size, population trend, habitat use, vital parameters, etc. 

Without additional research and monitoring it will be very difficult to detect changes in 

these populations, and virtually impossible to measure the changes or explain their 

causes.
129 

Table 1. List of the marine mammal species in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas (from National Research Council (1996)). COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME ABUNDANCE/TREND* STATUS**

Baleen Whalesgray whale Eschrichtius robustus moderate/increasing recovered fin whale Balaenoptera physalus low/unknown endangered minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata low/unknown unknown blue whale Balaenoptera musculus low/unknown endangered sei whale Balaenoptera borealis low/unknown endangered humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae low/unknown endangered right whale Balaena glacialis low/unknown endangered bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus low/increasing endangered Tooth Whales and Dolphinssperm whale Physeter macrocephalus moderate/unknown endangered Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris low/unknown unknown Baird's beaked whale Berardius bairdi low/unknown unknown Stejneger's beaked whale Mesoplodon stejnegeri low/unknown unknown beluga whale Delphinapterus leucas moderate/stable OSP killer whale Orcinus orca low/unknown unknown Dall's porpoise Phocoenoides dalli moderate/unknown unknown harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena low/unknown unknown 

Pinnipedsnorthern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus high/stable depleted 

Steller sea lion Eumetopias jubatus moderate/declining endangered 

Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens high/stable OSP 

harbor seal Phoca vitulina richardsi moderate/declining unknown 

spotted seal P. largha high/unknown unknown 

ribbon seal P. fasciata moderate/unknown unknown 

ringed seal P. hispida high/unknown unknown 

bearded seal Erignathus barbatus high/unknown unknown 

Otherspolar bear Ursus maritimus low/stable OSP 

sea otter Enhydra lutris moderate/stable OSP 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

* low = fewer than 10,000; moderate = 10,000-100,000; high = more than 100,000. ** Endangered and threatened refer to Endangered Species Act listings. OSP means within the Optimum Sustainable Population range a

Mammal Protection Act. Depleted means below the OSP range. 
 130 

References 

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Arctic 35: 1-12. 

Burns, J.J. 1970. Remarks on the distribution and natural history of pagophilic pinnipeds 

in the Bering and Chukchi seas. J. Mammal. 51: 445-454. 

Burns, J.J., L.H. Shapiro, and F.H. Fay. 1981. Ice as marine mammal habitat in the 

Bering Sea. In: D.W. Hood and J.A. Calder, eds. The eastern Bering Sea shelf: 

oceanography and resources. Vol. 2. Seattle: University of Washington. p. 781-804. 

Fay, F.H. 1974. The role of ice in the ecology of marine mammals of the Bering Sea. In:

D.W. Hood and E.J. Kelley, eds. Oceanography of the Bering Sea. University of 

Alaska Inst. Mar. Sci. Occasional Publ. No 2. p. 383-399. 

Frost, K.J., and L.F. Lowry. 1990. Distribution, abundance, and movements of beluga 

whales, Delphinapterus leucas, in coastal waters of western Alaska. In: T.G. Smith, 

D.J. St. Aubin, and J.R. Geraci, eds. Advances in research on the beluga whale, 

Delphinapterus leucas. Can. Bull. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 224: 39-57. 

Frost, K.J., L.F. Lowry, and J.J. Burns. 1983. Distribution of marine mammals in the 

coastal zone of the Bering Sea during summer and autumn. U.S. Dep. Commerce, 

NOAA, OCSEAP Final Rep. 20: 365-562. 

Gilbert, J., G. Fedoseev, D. Seagars, E. Razlivalov, and A. Lachugin. 1992. Aerial census 

of Pacific walrus, 1990. USFWS Admin. Rept. R7MMM 92-1. 33p. 

Harwood, L.A., and I. Stirling. 1992. Distribution of ringed seals in the southeastern 

Beaufort Sea during late summer. Can. J. Zool. 70: 891-900. 

Hill, P.S., and D.P. DeMaster. 1998. Alaska marine mammal stock assessments, 1998. 

NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-97. 166p. 

Lentfer, J.W., ed. 1988. Selected marine mammals of Alaska. Washington, D.C.: Marine 

Mammal Commission. 275p. 

Lowry, L.F., and F.H. Fay. 1984. Seal eating by walruses in the Bering and Chukchi seas. 

Pol. Biol. 3: 11-18. 

Lowry, L.F., K.J. Frost, D.G. Calkins, G.L. Swartzman, and S. Hills. 1982. Feeding 

habits, food requirements, and status of Bering Sea marine mammals. North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, Anchorage, AK. Documents number 19 and 19A. 

574p. 

Lowry, L.F., R.R. Nelson, and K.J. Frost. 1987. Observations of killer whales, Orcinus 

orca, in western Alaska: sightings, strandings, and predation on other marine 

mammals. Can. Field-Natur. 10: 6-12. 

Moore, S.E., and D.P. DeMaster. 1998. Cetacean habitats in the Alaskan Arctic. J. 

Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 22: 55-69. 

Moore, S.E., and R.R. Reeves. 1993. Distribution and movement. In: J.J. Burns, J.J. 

Montague, and C.J. Cowles. The bowhead whale. Special Publ. No. 2, The Society 

for Marine Mammalogy. p. 313-386 

National Research Council. 1996. The Bering Sea ecosystem. Washington, D.C.: 

National Academy Press. 307p. 

St. Aubin, D.J., T.G. Smith, and J.R. Geraci. 1990. Seasonal epidermal molt in beluga 

whales, Delphinapterus leucas. Can. J. Zool. 68: 359-367. 
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of polar bears in western Hudson Bay in relation to climate change. Arctic 52: 294-

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 132 

PARTICIPANTS LIST 

Thomas F. Albert, V.M.D., Ph.D. 

Senior Scientist 

Department of Wildlife Management 

North Slope Borough 

P.O. Box 69 

Barrow, AK 99723 

Phone: 907/852-2611 

Fax: 907/852-0351 

talbert@co.north-slope.ak.us 

Professor Vera Alexander 

Commissioner, Marine Mammal 

Commission, and 

Dean 

School of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks 

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P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology 

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Phone: 907/984-6440 

Fax: 907/984-6443 

j2waghiyi@yahoo.com 

Professor Gunter E. Weller

Director 

Center for Global Change and 

 Arctic System Research 

PO Box 757740 

University of Alaska Fairbanks 

Fairbanks, AK 99775-7740 

Phone: 907/474-7371