The Arctic is currently warming three to four times faster than the rest of the world. Melting sea ice, thawing permafrost, rapidly retreating land ice and intensifying wildfires are already impacting Arctic ecosystems. These changes have devastating consequences on local and indigenous populations and will impact the lives and livelihoods of billions of people beyond the Arctic circle. This COP27 session underscored the global impacts of cryosphere loss, specifically in terms of sea level rise, extreme weather, pollution, reduced food security, and rapid ocean acidification. Speakers included Dr. Maxine Burkett, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Fisheries and Polar Affairs in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES); Susanna Israelsson, member of the Sámi Council from Jiellevárre in the northern part of Swedish Sápmi; Dr. Jason Box, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland; Dr. John Walsh, International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Dr. James Overland, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL).
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 23 April 2026 Observations suggest we are currently tracking…
NPJ Natural Hazards, 16 April 2026) Rising temperatures and shifting regional precipitation patterns are reducing…
Nature Communications, 18 March 2026 This study identified a marked increase in both flood frequency…
The Cryosphere, 7 April 2026 Projections of Antarctica’s response to temporary but extreme ocean warming…
The Cryosphere, 1 April 2026 Antarctic sea ice stayed fairly steady from 2010-2014, but began…
Changes in Antarctica can trigger fast and cascading impacts, often with global consequences. Multiple abrupt…