Global warming and Arctic habitats

A Pew Center review of current research indicates that nearly half of known wild species have been affected by global warming. For example, polar bear populations are on the decline as arctic sea ice thins making for precarious hunting conditions.  Polar bears prowl the ice floes in search of food, notably seals. These white giants capture their prey by waiting for seals to appear in air holes in the ice. Packing on fat from rich seal meat enables them to survive when the ice melts making prey harder to find.

Figure BE.55 Polar bear on ice floe.
Courtesy NOAA

The warming oceans and melting sea ice has shortened their access to food. In Canada's West Hudson Bay, sea ice is breaking up three weeks earlier as a result of changing climate conditions. Polar bear populations are down twenty percent in the last ten year as fewer cubs are born or make it to adulthood. Ice pack break up leaves polar bears stranded farther from land, sometimes drowning from trying to swim longer distances. In the northern part of Alaska polar bears are moving inland as the Arctic sea ice coverage shrinks.  The United States Department of Interior is considering placing the polar bear on the endangered species list as a result of global warming. [Listen to Elizabeth Shogren's February 2006 and December 2006 reports for NPR that investigate the effect of global warming on arctic polar bears.]

Watch "Climate Change in Northern Alaska" provided by CIRESOutreach