[...]... making them highly sensitive to climate change SOURCE: John Priscu Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 20 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR ECOSYSTEMS Observed Changes in Polar Marine Ecosystems Polar marine ecosystems are also experiencing significant climaterelated changes... reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 6 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR ECOSYSTEMS FIGURE 1.1  Map of the Arctic and Antarctic regions SOURCE: Figure 15.1 in IPCC (2007c) Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop INTRODUCTION... reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 16 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR ECOSYSTEMS FIGURE 1.4  This is an image of a fire caused by lightning in the summer of 2007 on the North Slope of Alaska Tundra fires release sequestered carbon into the atmosphere SOURCE: Bureau of Land Management and eliminated from many landscape positions,... impacts change rapidly in scope or nature? What is the importance of change in remote polar ecosystems for the global environment and society at large? 1 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 2 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR ECOSYSTEMS The Polar Research Board (PRB) of. .. superba) and the Antarctic silverfish (Pleurogramma antarctica) This figure illustrates changes in penguin breeding pairs near Palmer Station, Antarctica SOURCE: Adapted from Figure 18 in Ducklow et al (2007) Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved 23 Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 24 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND. .. decreases and changes in traditional food sources, disappearance of permafrost food storage in Arctic villages, and widescale coastal erosion The Antarctic region is an important regulator of global climate and the Southern Ocean is a significant sink for both heat and carbon dioxide, acting as a buffer against human-induced climate change Terrestriallybased environmental change is most apparent in the... National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 1 Introduction T he Earth’s polar regions (see Figure 1.1) are ecologically, economically, and, increasingly, geopolitically... to climate change As an outcome of the workshop, participants brainstormed methods and technologies (see Chapter 3) that are crucial to advance the understanding of polar ecosystems and to promote the next generation of polar research These include new and emerging technologies, sustained long-term observations, data synthesis and management, and data dissemination and outreach Copyright © National Academy... Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 12 Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop INTRODUCTION 13 can have different threshold and tipping point characteristics Understanding these thresholds and tipping points, and the mechanisms controlling them, is among the most... that serve as Copyright © National Academy of Sciences All rights reserved Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop INTRODUCTION BOX 1.4 Case Study: Responses of Penguin Populations to Climate Change Along the West Antarctic Peninsula Apex predators including seabirds, such as Adélie penguins and Crabeater seals, require sea ice as a platform for foraging, . reserved. Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 8 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR ECOSYSTEMS BOX. Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems: Summary of a Workshop 6 FRONTIERS IN UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLAR ECOSYSTEMS FIGURE 1.1 Map of the Arctic and