Images of Antarctica (left) and Greenland (right) to scale. Antarctica is 50 per cent larger than the United States or Europe. Greenland is 7 times smaller than Antarctica. There is enough ice in Antarctica to raise global sea level by 60 metres and 7 metres in Greenland.

The loss of ice from the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased and will contribute substantially to global sea level rise.

The temperature regime of sub-sea permafrost is determined by the annual temperature of the surrounding seawater, just like the thermal regime of terrestrial permafrost is determined by the arctic surface temperature.

Regional variability in sea level change relative to the global average by the end of this century.

Arctic sea ice and atmospheric circulation.

Sea-level rise is accelerating.

Reduced sea ice amplifies warming.

Satellite altimetry data has revealed that sea level is not rising uniformly.

Biological invasions are known from around the globe but are relatively less known or studied in the Arctic. This secondary migration of invasives complicates ecological interactions as naturally occurring species from areas adjacent to the Arctic are also expanding their ranges northward. Another study found that the rate of marine invasion is increasing; that most reported invasions are by crustaceans and molluscs; and, importantly, that most i...

Polar bears occur in 19 relatively discrete subpopulations with an estimated worldwide abundance of 20,000– 25,000 animals. Our knowledge of the status and trend of each subpopulation varies due to availability, reliability, and age of data. Furthermore, for many subpopulations, there is limited or no data collected over a sufficient period of time to examine trends. Based on a 2009 review of the worldwide status of polar bears, one of 19 subpopu...

Annual rates of population change of individual murre colonies during 12 years after the 1977 climatic regime shift in the North Pacific and during 9 years after the 1989 shift, in relation to changes in sea surface temperatures around the colonies from one decadal regime to the next. Population data are from 32 U. aalge and 21 U. lomvia colonies, encompassing the entire circumpolar region. Ten sites supported both species, so 43 different study...

The common eider, Somateria mollissima, has a circumpolar distribution breeding mainly on small islands in Arctic and boreal marine areas in Alaska (Bering Sea region), Canada, Greenland, Iceland, western Europe, and the Barents Sea region. In Russia, there is a gap in distribution along the mainland coast from the Yugorski Peninsula (Kara Sea) to Chaunskaya Bay in east Siberia (Figure 5.1). Important wintering areas include the Gulf of Alaska/Be...

Sea ice represents a unique ecosystem in the Arctic, providing habitat to specialized iceassociated species that include microorganisms, fish, birds, and marine mammals. Individual species use sea ice in different ways depending on their biological needs. Ice algae form the base of the food web. Some algae stay attached to the bottom of the ice, some fall into the water column, and some fall to the bottom of the sea, and so provide food for speci...

Temperature changes may influence fish populations both directly, through shifts to areas with preferred temperature, and indirectly through the food supply and the occurrence of predators. The length of the ice-free period in the Arctic, for example, affects annual primary production, which is the basis of the food chain supporting populations of fish, sea mammals, and seabirds. As the amount of ice in the Arctic has considerably reduced since t...

Dramatic changes, such as sea ice loss, are projected to occur in Arctic ecosystems over the next century. Understanding how the Arctic’s living resources, including its vertebrate species, are responding to these changes is essential in order to develop effective conservation and adaptation strategies. Arctic species that are adapted to these extreme environments are expected to be displaced, in part, by the encroachment of more southerly specie...

Dramatic changes, such as sea ice loss, are projected to occur in Arctic ecosystems over the next century. Understanding how the Arctic’s living resources, including its vertebrate species, are responding to these changes is essential in order to develop effective conservation and adaptation strategies. Arctic species that are adapted to these extreme environments are expected to be displaced, in part, by the encroachment of more southerly specie...

Distribution and spawning areas of arctic cod, polar cod, herring and capelin in the Barents Sea region. The Barents region is in the Arctic and covers the area of Western Russia and the northern areas of Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Polar bears occur in 19 relatively discrete subpopulations with an estimated worldwide abundance of 20,000– 25,000 animals. Our knowledge of the status and trend of each subpopulation varies due to availability, reliability, and age of data. Furthermore, for many subpopulations, there is limited or no data collected over a sufficient period of time to examine trends. Based on a 2009 review of the worldwide status of polar bears, one of 19 subpopu...

Illustration in a set of graphics prepared for a pilot assessment report on the Black Sea drainage basin, for the UNEP Global Impact on Waters Assessment (GIWA). All data and information were prepared in close collaboration with the GIWA Black Sea team and the GIWA secretariat. The graphics were never not used in this form in the final report on the Black Sea, published in 2005.

The comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) is well adapted to the habitat (salinity, temperature, and food range) and reproduces faster than endemic species. As it eats the same food as them, it has had a drastic effect on their numbers, upsetting the entire food chain. The jelly is an invasive species, brought from North America by ships.