Round Table #1 (RT1), given by director of WCRP, Dave Carlson, was titled melting snow and ice. It gave a snapshot of the past century or so of; CO2 emissions, arctic sea ice volume, worldwide glaciers, NH snow cover, permafrost temperatures, Greenland mass loss and the arctic sea ice volume, followed by other graphs depicting current arctic sea ice volume. The conclusions of this talk were; Arctic sea ice extent and Arctic sea ice thickness have decreased by 50% each. Arctic sea ice volume (or mass) has decreased by 75% at the end of the summer compared to 20 years ago and how long it will take for the remaining 25% to disappear is unknown, but largely speculated. Also, Arctic polar amplification due to global warming has more impact during winter than during summer. It implies other effects such as GHG trapping long waves radiation and/or heat advected from lower latitudes to the Arctic for being more responsible of the increase of Arctic sea ice melting than the albedo effect. The end of the lecture also covered the tipping points of the Arctic situation expressed by climate models. The models include; future warming and Arctic amplification, impacts of summer Arctic sea ice loss, future challenges, and certain temperature anomalies caused by an altered jet stream. This discussion ended with an explanation of APECS (association for young scientists of polar early career services) and how important it is to build upon what we know now with further research.
Round Table #2 (RT2), which was given by biologists and Ecologists from the UK, was titled Impacts of Climate Change on Arctic Fauna and Flora. It covered the observed changes in phenology, distribution and interactions of Arctic organisms over the past century to summarize the changing biodiversity in the Arctic. The polar bear was used as a case study to show how many Arctic habitats are rapidly shrinking. The conclusion of this lecture was that, as habitats shrink in the Arctic, there is a need for new policy for fauna linked with pack ice in terms of the establishment of more wildlife refugees.
Round Table #3 (RT3) was given by Lee-Karp from Maine University and was titled, Changes in Marine Ecosystems.It focused on plankton and ice algae, which occupies the bottom trophic levels of the Arctic food chain. The lecture explained why both ocean stratification and acidification is negatively impacting these basic organisms, which in turns, negatively impacts all other Arctic animals. This is all because of the high vulnerability of each Arctic food chain level due to the lack of biodiversity in each.
Round Table #4 (RT4) was given by Jeremy Wilkon from Cambridge University and was titled, Changes in Arctic Sea Routs, Social and Economic Impacts. With the increased accessibility of the Arctic, in terms of hydrocarbons, there will be an increase of human activity and therefor and increase of pollution in the Arctic. The main shipping lane that is opening up, due to ice melt, is between Russia and the North Pole. As the ice continues to melt, if economic conditions favor it, neighboring countries will increase their presence in the Arctic, which could lead to future conflict and search and rescue missions as international trade and destination shipping increase in the region. This lecture was rapped up with an explanation of the new polar codes for only commercial vessels that will be operating in the Arctic and the major omissions from the policy. The policy focuses on safety at sea and the protection of the environment.
Overall, the theme coming out of this conference is that scientists and policy makers need to approach Arctic research, and its finding, more holistically.
A few of the organizations that collaborated to this event include; CRNS, UPMC, WCRP, WMO, CNRS, UPMC, and APECS.
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