Bering and Chukchi Seas Will Likely Become Too Warm for Seafloor Arctic Species by 2100

Deep Sea Research Part II, 2 December 2022

With continued high CO2 emissions, cold water invertebrates in the Arctic Bering and Chukchi seas, such as mussels, snails, and clams, may lose half of their habitat within the next thirty years. The Bering and Chukchi seas connect the Pacific and Arctic oceans, supporting a wide range of marine animals. With the Arctic already warming three to four times the global average, if emissions continue their current trajectory most of this seafloor region will be too warm for invertebrate animals by the end of the century. Summer seafloor temperatures would warm 1.3°C by 2050, and 4.5°C by 2100. Such warming waters will push invertebrate species farther north to find suitable habitats. In turn, this movement will decrease food availability for keystone species such as halibut and yellowfin sole, threatening commercial fishing activity and large mammals such as walrus. The loss of suitable habitats in this region will harm Indigenous and local communities who depend on traditional harvests of walrus and seabirds for food and cultural connections. Authors warn that these seafloor-dwelling populations support many larger marine mammals; their findings underscore the importance of reducing emissions to limit temperature rise and protect vulnerable communities from irreversible ecosystem loss on human timescales.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064522001965?via%3Dihub