The word polynya is Russian. In oceanographic terms, it is an ice-free region in an ocean that is otherwise covered with ice. SLIP forms every winter as a result of winds blowing ice away from the south of the island. It is an area of high biological productivity. It is also important in the generation of sea ice. The data shows that this area is transforming, possibly as a result of climate change.

• • •

“The Arctic is a spectacular system in terms of biology and the dynamics of climate change,” Cooper said.

This system’s seas, ocean and huge stretches of land are home to a plethora of plant and animal species. The colorful tufted puffin, bald eagle, arctic fox, caribou, beluga whale and polar bear all call the lands, skies and waters of the Arctic home. The delicate yellow arctic poppy, cottongrass and arctic willow are just a few of the many colorful plants one can find on a tundra walk.

Just as with any other ecosystem, the ecosystems of the Arctic are incredibly complex, interconnected and delicate. But more so than any other, these ecosystems appear to be increasingly threatened by rising temperatures and a changing climate.

For many in the scientific community, global climate change is no longer just a question. Human influences are changing the planet. Ice records indicate there is more carbon dioxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere today than in the past 400,000 years, Cooper said.

Greenhouse gases allow the visible light from the sun to pass into the earth’s
atmosphere and warm its surface, but they the heat, preventing its escape back into space. The likely result has been the overall warming of the planet within the past century, according to Cooper.

The Arctic is among the earth’s regions experiencing the most dramatic changes. In the past decade, sea ice has retreated further north and the melting of northern glaciers has accelerated. In 2002, sea ice retreated at a rate faster than any earlier year recorded by the satellite-driven data, and these unprecedented patterns continued in 2003 and 2004, Grebmeier said. It now appears that 2005 is likely to exceed the 2002 record for maximum sea ice retreat, Cooper said.

These trends affect biological populations. For instance, the spectacled eider, a diving sea duck, has experienced a 90 percent drop in population in the North American Arctic, Grebmeier said.

The spectacled eider is a crucial predator in the SLIP region and is closely connected to the sea ice. During the winter months, some spectacled eiders dive over half the length of a football field to feed on the rich bivalve communities, which include clams, cockles, mussels, oysters and scallops. Year after year, the world’s spectacled eider population returns to the same small area to feed, Cooper said.

Although the reasons for the sea duck’s decline are uncertain, recent studies published by University of Wyoming’s James Lovvron and colleagues determined that, over the past several decades, the bivalves on sea floor, the eider’s primary food source, are now smaller in size. Changing ocean patterns may be to blame.

Cooper said climate change could impact bivalve communities because water current will change in response to large-scale wind and precipitation patterns.

The current flow affects the sea floor sediment in which bivalve populations live. Different bivalves prefer specific sediment grain sizes. A change in grain size may make them less able to compete for food and space.

A dramatic change in the spectacled eiders’ primary food source is certainly not good news for the animal. In 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the spectacled eider as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In hopes of sustaining the species’ ever-dwindling population, its entire range within Alaska has been tagged as critical habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service defines a critical habitat as a specific geographic area that is essential for a species’ conservation. Ultimately, only time will tell what is in store for the spectacled eider.

• • •

The ship has stopped. Midway through the voyage, the fog is incredibly dense — a familiar thick, gray mist enveloping our world. The ocean is eerily quiet, its glassy surface disturbed only by an occasional gentle ripple. It is as if nothing else exists in this vast expanse.

Unexpectedly, there is a momentary break in the fog, revealing a hidden island. The cold grayness of the island’s boulder-covered landscape blends in well with the background. Yet, despite its austere and unlivable appearance, tiny brightly colored wooden houses perched on stilts crowd the shoreline.

Little Diomede is between Alaska and Siberia one mile from the International Dateline. On a clear day, Siberia can be seen from its shores. It is home to a small, isolated population of native Alaskan Inuit.

• • •

For well over 2,000 years, the Inuit of Alaska, Canada and Greenland have sustained a traditional hunter-gatherer life in these harsh climates, harvesting what they need from marine life and land vegetation. They are a people connected deeply to their environment. Today, their centuries-old culture and traditions are being challenged by a formidable foe, one they have little control over — global climate change.

Arctic communities, like that on Little Diomede Island, will be among the first to put a human face on the issue of global climate change.

In “Endangered Peoples of the Arctic,” Patrick Attungana says of his culture, “We eat the animals of the seas. We eat the animals of the land. We have two sources for our subsistence, we who live on the shores.”

The Inuit of Alaska traditionally hunt many animals associated with the sea, including bearded seals, the bowhead whale and the polar bear. Hunting success is especially dependent on their knowledge of environmental conditions.

Grebmeier points out that native communities have an interest in learning about the changes they are observing in their environment. These subsistence communities, especially those along the coast, know that the environment is not as predictable as it once was. They once could predict when and how far the ice would recede, when the animals would arrive and when trees and shrubs would produce berries.

Today, seasons, conditions and animal migration patterns are less dependable, Grebmeier said.

Climate change will have a long-term effect on these communities. With decreased pack ice, shoreline communities face a greater threat from the destructive physical forces of waves brought on by fall storms. As a result, there has been an increase in shoreline erosion, threatening homes.

Global climate change is an ongoing and very serious challenge to the future of the native communities in the Arctic, one that is only beginning.

• • •

The fog is back. Mike, a crew member from the Laurier, has arrived in a Zodiac boat to take us from the island back to the ship. There is more work to be done.
The children of Little Diomede were excited to have visitors to their home. They gave us a tour of their island, teaching us names of plants and showing us their school. They wave bye-bye as we clumsily make our way down the slippery algae-covered rocks and climb into the boat.

As we speed away from the island, I realize I was welcomed into a community that because of its remote location is usually closed to the outside world.

This is a corner of Earth few get to see. It is a beautiful place, teeming with life, excitement and danger. It is also a place with a message. Its people, plants and animals are telling us that our planet is changing — changing quickly.