WELCOME TO BARROW, ALASKA, GROUND ZERO FOR CLIMATE CHANGE.

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  • Author(s): Reiss, Bob
  • Source:
    Smithsonian. Mar2010, Vol. 40 Issue 12, p58-66. 9p. 15 Color Photographs, 1 Black and White Photograph, 2 Maps.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
      CLIMATE change research; CLIMATOLOGY; GREENHOUSE effect; GLOBAL temperature change research; PERMAFROST; METHANE; ALASKAN Eskimos
    • Subject Terms:
      UTQIAGVIK (Alaska); ALASKAReport Available; ARCTIC regions
    • Abstract:
      The article examines climatic change research, focusing on research conducted in and around Barrow, Alaska. As the northernmost city or town in the U.S., Barrow is considered an excellent site for climatic change research related to global warming, which is occurring at a faster rate in Arctic regions than in the rest of the planet Earth. Scientists and government officials from Barrow discuss evidence of climatic changes in the region, which include a large increase in the amount of navigable water as compared to ice. The effects of this environmental change on the indigenous peoples of northern Alaska such as the Inuit are considered. A research project into the possible release of methane gas into the atmosphere from tundra previously contained by subsurface permafrost is described.