![]() ![]() ![]() Through partnerships, cutting edge technology and extensive data collection, NOAA is prepared and ready to respond to potential incidents. Transportation industries rely on NOAA data, tools and response services should oil spills, chemical spills and other accidents occur at sea. NOAA is the nation's chartmaker, and commercial and recreational vessels depend on NOAA nautical charts, data other tools for the latest information on ocean depths, water levels, and shorelines. Until recent years, most of the 426,000 square nautical miles of this region were relatively inaccessible by ship due to thick, impenetrable sea ice. This is leading to new maritime concerns, especially in newly emerging areas used by the offshore oil and gas industry, cruise liners, tugs, barges and fishing vessels. Recent analyses show we can expect to see a nearly ice-free summer at the top of the world by 2040, if not sooner. Recent research by NOAA and NASA using 41-year measurements from NOAA’s Barrow Observatory show that carbon dioxide emissions from the Arctic have risen 70 percent since 1975.Īs sea ice continues to disappear, Arctic vessel traffic is on the rise. Warming is also contributing to rising greenhouse gas emissions from the tundra. This phenomenon has been linked to recent severe Arctic cold outbreaks in the winter in the eastern United States and high pressure systems over the western United States that contribute to drought. When the temperature difference between the traditionally cold Arctic air and warmer air of the mid-latitudes breaks down, the jet stream meanders. Unlike snow and ice which reflect 70 percent of the sun’s radiation back to space, the dark colors of open water and snowless land absorb heat and cause the Arctic to warm twice as fast as the rest of the world.Ītmospheric warming is also triggering changes in the jet stream, a major driver of global weather patterns. The number of people living in the Arctic, including 40,000 in the Alaskan Arctic.Īs the Arctic warms, it loses summer sea ice, snow melts sooner in spring and the Greenland Ice Sheet loses mass, which contributes to sea level rise. ![]()
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