February 27, 2020 — Rapidly warming Alaska is already a poster child for climate change, from its vanishing sea ice to its thawing permafrost. But over the last three years, the state’s northwestern coast has experienced a series of unusual climate-related changes—remarkable even for the long-altered Pacific Arctic.
Beginning in 2017, a combination of abnormally high temperatures and unusually strong, southerly winds swept the Bering and Chukchi seas. An alarming cascade of ecological consequences ensued—record-low sea ice, shifting algae blooms, migrating fish populations and sudden seabird die-offs were just a few.
“Most of my own research is with people living in the coastal communities, so talking to them and hearing about what they’re seeing,” said Henry Huntington, an independent Alaskan researcher and consultant. “And they saw some very unusual things, and things that struck them.”
“Ridiculous” water temperatures and unstable sea ice were among the most common complaints raised in interviews with coastal residents, Huntington noted.
“Adding to that, what we’re hearing from folks on the research cruises, it just became apparent that things were really a lot different from what any of us expected,” he said.