CLIMAGE CHANGE - What 35,000 Walruses Are Telling Us

"Largest number of walruses seen ashore in Alaska is sign of ‘tremendous change’" PBS NewsHour 10/2/2014

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JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  When it comes to animal pictures going viral on the Web, the homely walrus hasn’t been at the top of the list, but put 35,000 walruses together on a beach in Alaska, and that’s a different story.

These images, the largest gathering of Pacific walruses ever recorded, has indeed done just that.  These walruses have been the stars of the Internet.  The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spotted them last weekend during its annual survey of marine mammals.

The location is near Point Lay, Alaska, on the shores of the Chukchi Sea.  Scientists say a loss of sea ice is a big part of the reason the walruses are hauling out.  That’s the term used to describe their moving on to land.

Margaret Williams is a managing director of the Arctic Program for the World Wildlife Fund, and she joins me now.

Welcome to the NewsHour.

MARGARET WILLIAMS, World Wildlife Fund:  Hi, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  So why are the walruses doing this?  What’s going on?

MARGARET WILLIAMS:  Well, walruses are one of the many species in the Arctic that are highly dependent on the Arctic sea ice.

So the mothers raise their calves on the sea ice.  They use — these animals use the sea ice as a platform from which to dive to reach their food.  Walruses like the eat clams and shellfish.  And when the sea ice melts, as it is right now, they have to go somewhere to rest and to reach their food.

So they’re coming ashore in large numbers.  And the sea ice is melting so rapidly.  It’s melting earlier in the summer and later every — and forming later in the spring.  So the Arctic sea ice is changing dramatically.

GLOBAL WARMING - Ground Giving Way in Frozen North

"Why in ‘remote, cold corners’ of the world, melting ground is giving way" PBS NewsHour 8/20/2014

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JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Finally tonight, new indications that the planet is warming, especially in the frozen north.  Scientists have been tracking Arctic thawing for decades, and they have seen a dramatic increase since 2000.

When holes opened up in the earth recently in Siberia, a wave of speculation was set off as to their cause.  Scientists now think warming is the culprit.

To help us understand all this, we welcome back Tom Wagner.  He directs studies of the polar regions for NASA.

And it’s good to have you on the program again.

TOM WAGNER, NASA:  Thanks for having me back.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  So, just for those folks who don’t follow the polar region so closely on a regular basis, like you do, remind us, what is the Arctic made out of and how are you seeing it change?

TOM WAGNER:  Yes, so the top of the Arctic is an ocean covered by sea ice, but all around it are the lands of Russia and Alaska and things.  And that’s frozen ground, ground like in your backyard, but it’s frozen solid.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  And what have you been observing, you and other scientists, in terms of the change?

TOM WAGNER:  Well, in general, the Arctic has warming.

We know there’s been less sea ice.  We also know snow melts earlier and things like that.  But this recent story from Siberia took everybody by surprise, because literally holes the size of a football field just opened up in the ground.

ARCTIC THAW - Melting Glaciers = More Navigable Water

Note that this is climate change in action.

"Unmapped Routes May Pose Dangers for Shipping Boom in Arctic Waters" PBS Newshour 9/17/2013

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SUMMARY:  Melting glaciers mean more water to explore and profit from in the Arctic, but it can also mean danger for mariners.  NewsHour producer April Brown reports that scientists from the NOAA who inform sailors how close they can get to the ice have not been able to keep up with the dramatic speed of climate change and new vessels.

GWEN IFILL (Newshour):  Next, we head north to the Arctic Sea.

Thanks to climate change, there are now new waters to discover there.  Melting ice has opened new routes for ships, and raised concerns about safety for maritime traffic in uncharted territory.

NewsHour’s April Brown reports part two of our series, Arctic Thaw.

APRIL BROWN:  The vivid blue glaciers in Prince William Sound captivate tourists from all over the world. But they are slowly shrinking.

CODY HANNA, Klondike Express Captain:  We're back here, you know, about five months out of the year every day, so we're watching these glaciers break off, move back, and we're seeing the change daily.

APRIL BROWN:  Cody Hanna captains the Klondike Express tour boat.  He says the melting glaciers create more navigable water.

SCIENCE - Under-Arctic Ecosystem Discovery

"Beneath Arctic ice, scientists find an ecosystem never imagined" by Pete Spotts, Christian Science Monitor 6/7/2012

Scientists have discovered a vast pea-soup-green bloom of tiny plant-like marine organisms under Arctic Ocean ice. The bloom represents an enormous, and until now, unknown reservoir of food for marine life in frigid waters at the top of the world.

These waters, in sum, appear to be far more biologically productive than previously believed.

"This wasn't just any phytoplankton bloom," says Kevin Arrigo, a Stanford University marine scientist and lead author of the study. "It was literally the most intense phytoplankton bloom I've ever seen in my 25 years of doing this type of research" in oceans around the world.

The scientists sampled only a relatively small section of ice above the Arctic basin's continental shelves last summer. But the findings suggest that, where the mix of nutrients and sunlight are right, other areas around the basin could be highly productive as well, the researchers say.

WORLD - Polar Bear Kills 1, Injures 4

"Polar bear kills British boy in Arctic" BBC News 8/5/2011

A polar bear has mauled a 17-year-old British boy to death in the Arctic and injured four other UK tourists.

Horatio Chapple, from Wiltshire, was with 12 others on a British Schools Exploring Society trip near a glacier on the Norwegian island of Svalbard.

The four who were hurt - two severely - included two leaders of the trip. They have been flown to Tromsoe in Norway where their condition is stable.

BSES chairman Edward Watson described Mr Chapple as a "fine young man".

Mr Watson said the society had been in touch with his family - who live near Salisbury - and had offered "our utmost sympathy".

He said: "Horatio was a fine young man, hoping to go on to read medicine after school. By all accounts he would've made an excellent doctor."

He said the society's executive director was traveling to Svalbard, adding: "We are continuing to gather information on this tragedy."
Helicopter scrambled

The attack, near the Von Post glacier about 25 miles (40km) from Longyearbyen, took place early on Friday.

The group contacted the Svalbard authorities using a satellite phone and a helicopter was sent to rescue them.

The BSES, a youth development charity, said the injured men were trip leaders Michael Reid and Andrew Ruck, who is from Brighton but lives in Edinburgh, and trip members Patrick Flinders from Jersey, and Scott Smith.

They suffered head injuries but are now stable, Norwegian authorities said.

The father of Patrick Flinders, Terry, said he believed the polar bear had crossed a trip wire and into his son's tent.

"According to the doctor and the other people Patrick was trying to fend off the polar bear by hitting it on the nose - why, I don't know, but he did and... the polar bear attacked him with his right paw across his face and his head and his arm," he said.
Extremely dangerous

Those worried about their relatives should call 0047 7902 4305 or 0047 7902 4302.

The UK Foreign Office said the British ambassador was leading a consular team to Tromsoe to provide assistance to the expedition group.

Lars Erik Alfheim, vice-governor of Svalbard, said polar bears were common in the area.

"These days when the ice comes in and out like it does right now, it's not unlikely to encounter polar bears. Polar bears are extremely dangerous and it's an animal that can attack without any notice."

The BSES group of 80 people were on a trip which began on 23 July and was scheduled to run until 28 August.

A blog on the group's website dated 27 July described polar bear sightings from their camp where they had been marooned due to "an unprecedented amount of ice in the fjord".

"Despite this everyone was in good spirits because we encountered a polar bear floating on the ice, this time we were lucky enough to borrow a kind Norwegian guide's telescope to see it properly," it said.

"After that experience I can say for sure that everyone dreamt of polar bears that night."

Earlier this year the governor's office warned people about bear attacks after several were spotted near Longyearbyen.

Polar bears are one of the largest land carnivores, reaching up to 8ft (2.5m) and weighing 800kg (125st).