For the European Arctic it is particularly important to determine what will happen to the Atlantic Gulf Stream which keeps climate in western Europe relatively mild. The Arctic Ocean is also an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Sediments, carbon, nutrients and pollutants carried by rivers into the Arctic Basin affect the uptake of carbon by the marine biota and environment. Any changes in snow cover will affect the global heat budget of the planet. Their origin could be long-range transport from heavily industrialised regions at middle latitudes or local sources.
Pollution is important for human health but can also affect ecosystem function at a regional scale.
Ultimately it is collective human behaviour that determines levels of fossil fuel emissions and pollution. Social anthropologists will conduct interviews in towns and villages in the Usa Basin to assess social perception of environmental degradation . These studies aim to establish how people with different backgrounds relate to their environment. We will compare views as expressed by Indigenous Peoples with those articulated by the more recent Russian immigrants, who came to the Arctic to work in industry. Special emphasis is given to understand how social awareness might affect environmental legislation and its implementation in the future, with consequences for the Arctic environment and, indirectly, global climate.