Impact of Climate Change on Tundra

Climate Change has a big effect on the tundra habitat. Higher temperatures will lessen snow cover. That, in turn, will decrease the sunlight reflected back into the atmosphere and increase warming. About half the areas will see vegetation change, and areas currently populated by shrubs may find woody trees taking their place. Past research suggested that warming has already brought later winters and earlier springs to the Arctic. Human activity has seen a dramatic change in the arctic due to climate change.  This is, by far the worse impact human activity has had on the globe, but in particular, the Arctic is fragile.  Other human influences are the vast and untapped oil reserves in the Arctic have made it a target for oil companies.  Oil and gas pipelines are a huge human influence in the Arctic.  Garbage and other waste not to mention the impact of the oil and gas industry have left some parts of the Arctic polluted. For example, climate change is impacting the polar bears. Polar bears have evolved for a life on the sea ice which they rely on for reaching their seal prey. But the arctic sea ice is rapidly diminishing due to a warming earth, affecting the entire arctic ecosystem, from copepods to seals to walruses. Arctic ecosystems are particularly threatened by a group of chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are very stable pesticides, industrial chemicals, and byproducts that can be transported over long distances from sources in temperate regions to the Arctic, where they are more likely to deposit because of colder temperatures. POPs are particularly dangerous because they can accumulate to toxic levels in humans and animals. Some of these chemicals are known or are suspected to cause cancer, perturb development, and reduce fertility in Arctic wildlife. A new global treaty on POPs is expected to reduce their future impact.
For polar bears, sea ice losses mean:

• Reduced access to food

• 

  Photo Taken By Leila Zehtabchian

  Drop in body condition

• Lower cub survival rates

• Increase in drowning

• Increase in cannibalism

• Loss of access to denning areas

Scientists predict that as the Arctic continues to warm, two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear within this century.

Photo Taken By Leila Zehtabchian