Frontiers in Understanding Climate Change and Polar Ecosystems Report of a Workshop (2011) / Chapter Skim
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3 Methods and Technologies to Address the Frontier Questions
3 Methods and Technologies to Address the Frontier Questions
Pages 39-46
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From page 39... ...
It is beyond the scope of this document to present all of these methods and technologies, however, many workshop participants highlighted the importance of a concerted effort to advance the establishment of longterm field and data observatories, synthesis and management centers, and education and outreach tools to improve the connection between polar research and societal needs. EMERgINg TECHNOLOgIES genomics Genomics is "the study of the structure, content, and evolution of genomes," including the "analysis of the expression and function of both gene and proteins" (NRC, 2003)
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From page 40... ...
The enormous amounts of data produced from these exhaustively sequenced samples will require novel bioinformatic tools to convert the data into a format that can be used by scientists to include in ecosystem models that address evolution, diversity, biogeography, biogeochemistry, and metabolic capacity in response to climate driven environmental change. Remote Sensing Workshop participants noted that the ability to understand polar ecosystems and their linkages to the regional and global climate system has been intimately linked to ongoing collections of satellite imagery
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From page 41... ...
data available to scientists, investigation of features previously unseen by lower spatial resolution satellites (e.g., sea ice melt ponds, glacial streams, individual trees and shrubs, and individual animals such as the Pacific walrus and Adelie penguin) has the potential to revolutionize the ability to detect and understand polar ecosystem change.
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From page 42... ...
SuSTAINED LONg-TERM ObSERVATIONS In situ Observations Because of their remote location and harsh environment, the polar regions lack sufficient observational assets to meet existing needs for research support, forecasting, and modeling, especially in winter. Thus, several participants noted the need for a vastly enhanced, expanded, and better-integrated system of sustained observations to support frontier scientific research in the polar regions.
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From page 43... ...
The majority of workshop discussions on this topic centered on subsistence community impacts in the Arctic. Long-term data on properties and phenomena such as storm surges, sea ice thickness, permafrost melt, and tundra lake extents are critical to understanding the processes themselves, assessing impacts, devising mitigation plans, and modeling future change.
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From page 44... ...
An area of concern that arose during workshop discussions was that the potential impacts on community composition in the Arctic due to an ice-free or ice-reduced regime, including reductions in permafrost and the arctic ice cap, will allow for profound terrestrial, under-sea, and surface changes that may permanently alter taxonomic composition, as is already being experienced with northerly migrating tree and other plant species, range expansion by species into previously marginal habitat areas, and southerly migration of ice-dependent species in search of food. Another potential negative consequence of climate change is the loss of synchrony between plant and animal species where, for example, a long-distance migratory bird species arrives when adequate food resources are unavailable.
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From page 45... ...
Thus, workshop participants highlighted the need for a marine LTER site in the U.S. Arctic to evaluate status and trends in ecosystem dynamics in regions of the western Amerasian Arctic off Alaska where sea ice is retreating rapidly and where the productive marine ecosystem is already undergoing change, such as a northward migration of both lower and high trophic organisms.
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From page 46... ...
LTER sites, although in general the usual mode is for the two groups to meet separately, for example, in SCAR and IASC. The need for institutional mechanisms to facilitate better interdisciplinary, crosspolar dialog and more formalized synthesis activities was a major theme of workshop discussions.
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