Preliminary Proposal : Coastal Alaska- Coa Lter

Kaeriyama et al. studied the effects of climate events on Pacific salmon species in the offshore waters of the central Gulf of Alaska during the early summers of 1994-2000. They based their study on analyses of stomach contents, and carbon and nitrogen isotope concentrations. In all species except Chum Salmon, Gonatid squid was the dominant prey. During

As important as it is, Arctic coastal sea ice plays a vital role in dynamics of the coastline, covers stretches of open water which serve as important biological habitats, and serves as a platform for a broad range of activities by residents and industries (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Sea ice is also important because it is used as a platform for harvesting seals and whales in spring, transport of personnel and supplies to camps, and as a network of trails (Druckenmiller et al., 2009). Dangerous effects of climate change include “ice breakouts” which are when large chunks of ice that whalers are using as working areas break off of the main ice blocks and take whaling camps out to sea (Druckenmiller et al.,

Global warming is the number one concern on the planet right now (Ankara 1). Ankara University suggests that “the most common definition of global warming is the process in which Earth’s temperatures increase due too many human activities” (“The Impact of Global…” 1). A basic background of how climate change is provoked is that it is caused by fossil fuels and carbon dioxide being released in the air due to many human activities. This event can potentially harm the human population and put many ecosystems around the world to extinction. Marine ecosystems, in general, are parts of the Earth’s hydrosphere, which make up large parts of the Earth and contain magnificent biodiversity from beautiful fish to the

Saanich Inlet, Satellite Channel, and Haro Strait are all located in close proximity on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island, B.C. Saanich Inlet is a long fjord with a width of 7.2 kilometers, and is characterized by its deep, 215-meter basin. It is here, that hypoxic to anoxic waters are found, which are uniquely replenished with oxygen rich waters on an annual basis during the late summer and early fall (Anderson and Devol, 1973). Because of it’s sheltered orientation on a North to South axis, Saanich Inlet receives very little wind and tidal mixing, giving it a sturdy, stratified water column wherein phytoplankton blooms are able to thrive during spring and many other parts of the year, further contributing to the anoxic deep waters (Gargett et al., 2003). This deep basin in Saanich Inlet rises up to a shallower sill located at the North end of the fjord, which leads to Satellite Channel.

Hence, improving riparian shading to lower water temperature by replanting trees at waterway banks is a well-known management practice (e.g., Merced River Ranch revegetation experiment) (Caissie, 2006). Alternatively, controlled river flooding is another management option, as it leads to a regular setback of community development and maintains the system in an immature, but highly productive stage (Junk and Wantzen, 2004). Growth is often an essential component of fish population dynamics models and, therefore, may be used by fisheries managers to mitigate the impact of climate change. However the basic understanding of the role of terrestrial organic carbon in aquatic food webs (Zigah et al., 2012), and the extent to which juvenile salmonid growth ultimately depend on terrestrial (allochthonous) and aquatic (autochthonous) primary carbon sources and how they vary along riverine longitudinal gradients is not fully known (Nakano and Murakami, 2001; Perry et al., 2003; Cole et al. 2006; Maier and Simenstad, 2009). Primary carbon sources within rivers vary spatially, seasonally, differ in quality, and are likely to respond differently to diverse environmental changes (Doucett et al., 2007). Allochthonous organic carbon subsidies link aquatic ecosystems to surrounding watersheds and can

The marine biome is tremendously impacted by the effects of climate change. The sea levels have been rising, the water temperature has been rising, organism’s habitats have been destroyed, the tides are coming in stronger, the ocean is acidifying and many more things that will end up impacting all of us and the rest of the world in a very big way. Climate change is real and the proof is right in front of us. Flooding in major cities, el nino, more frequent natural disasters, wildfires, heat waves, and so much more. The facts are right there, we have just been too blind, too egotistical, to imperfect, to realize that we have changed the world. We did not mean to but we did so we need to fix what we caused.

Climate change is the increase in temperature of the Earth and its atmosphere. This has a huge effect on the world including Canadian ecosystem. Humans have added to this effect due to their irresponsible use of fossil fuels and polluting the environment increasing the amount of green house gases in the atmosphere. One of the results of climate change is ocean acidification, this occurs from the ocean absorbing the carbon from the atmosphere reacting with the water and forming carbonic acid. There are many different experiments done by multiple scientist exploring the effect that ocean acidification has on the environment and the species that live in it, specifically the predatory prey cycle. There was a study done by Elise A. Keppel et al.

Ecosystems in the approximate northern part of our planet are subject to profound changes, such as amplified rise in air temperature following the rapid loss of millions of square kilometers in the Arctic sea ice (Lawrence et al., 2008; Serreze and Barry, 2011; Screen et al., 2012; Bhatt et al., 2014). This sea ice induced warming feedback extends from the marine to the terrestrial domain and may consequently increase the emission of strenuous greenhouse gas methane from high latitude wetland soils (Parmentier, 2013). An increase in terrestrial methane emissions possible therefore can be accessible to the sea ice changes occurring easily off within the Arctic Ocean, when sea ice melts and gives way to an unblocked ocean, an immense lowering

- Ocean acidification in high-latitudes is an ecological threat that we will face in this century. Alaska is particularly at risk because we rely on its healthy marine ecosystems to support local and state-wide commercial, cultural, recreational and subsistence interests. My background in studying ocean change in Antarctica left me poised to bring my particular skill set to Alaska to try and get a better understanding of the resilience of our living marine resources to ocean acidification.

The authors of the article starts by explaining ocean acidification, the aftermath of excessive carbon dioxide reacting with seawater resulting in carbonic acid, could negatively affect one of the core strategies of survival: sex (p.68). As the ocean decreases in pH level, marine life is impeded and interfered. Shells and skeletons of clams and mussels become harder to develop and the health of countless organisms are threatened. Although the oceans absorb one-third of all CO2 produced by humans thus reducing global warming, it is at the expense of organisms in the sea (p.69).

First of all, Alaska is a place that has beauty under the ice… A vast land, with its majority of carnivorous creatures from the size of a spec of dirt, to the largest creatures such as the Orca Whale, which is also known as the ‘Killer Whale’. Wildlife is one of Alaska’s many gifts. There are many other factors to this majestic, and icy

Climate change looms large over our rapidly growing and continually changing world. No longer are the adverse effects of this menacing global issue a mere ominous projections, they are starting to become a very concrete reality. Countries are today experiencing rising sea levels, which compromises coastal infrastructure, prolonged drought, squeezing food supply and agricultural productivity, as well as extreme storms. Rising temperatures have already led to vast reductions in the size of the Arctic. There is now no doubt amongst scientists that anthropogenic activity has been the primary catalyst to the

Determine the mechanisms that relate the present and anticipated future variability in glacial dynamics to shifts in coastal ecosystem structure and function using laboratory and field experimentation, observations, and modeling.

The main factors in this climate change are observed to be the increase in temperatures and the resulting acidification of the oceans. The previously mentioned changes and others in the report are readily observable, such as the uptake of anthropogenic carbon since 1750 that has led to the ocean becoming more acidic, with an average decrease in pH of 0.1 units and in some instances blatantly obvious, even to the average layperson. It is difficult to conclude what the rate of change in the future will be and the effects of observed ocean acidification on the marine biosphere.

Global warming is a major problem when providing a suitable habitat and lifestyle for ample marine life. With sea levels rising there are consequences to plant life in coastal wetlands that can not handle the amount of water being provided. The wetlands are important in their job to protect the species they contain and for stabilizing coastlines. Storms are increasing in magnitude and severity, causing the transport of nutrients to marine life to be disturbed. As shores move further inland animals will have to move and adapt, history has shown how this can decrease populations. In the future both rare and abundant species could become locally extinct, with rare species on the verge of becoming totally extinct.