Also available at the AINA website.
Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change: Impact and Adaptation to Climate Change for Fish and Marine Mammals in the Canadian Beaufort Sea
The first three stages of the Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change were conducted from March 2002 to March 2004. Written and oral reports and GIS analysis occured throughout this period; and an interactive website has been developed. Funding and in-kind support comes from the Climate Change Adaptation Fund, the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, the Arctic Institute of North America, and the University of Calgary Department of Geography. This research is implemented by Magdalena A K Muir, Jennifer Shea and biological and GIS specialists; in cooperation with the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, Inuvialuit and government organizations, research scientists and academic institutes, and interested parties.
For 2004 and following, European applications of the Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change are being developed. One project is European Coastal and Marine Management and GIS Applications. Another project is European Climate Change, and involves an examination of various aspects of climate change in Europe. The Climate Change and Impacts on Wine Production (the Ariadne Project) examines changing microclimates in southern and northern Europe, and the impact on types and yields of grapes. This is a brief summary, and more information on the Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change, and these related projects, is found on the website http://www.beaufortseaclimatechange.com.
Based on existing scientific research for environmental impacts in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, this Project examines climate change and impacts on fish and marine mammals in the Canadian Beaufort Sea region, subsistence uses by the Inuvialuit, and the management of these species by the Fisheries Joint Management Committee and other government agencies and departments. The research identifies impacts of climate change and interactions with other environmental factors, illustrates these impacts and interactions with GIS analysis, and develops an interactive web-based communication strategy to discuss results and to recommend adaptive strategies that based on integrated management approaches.
Climatic impacts for the Beaufort Sea include changing in ice cover and thickness, break-up and freeze up for the Mackenzie River, and atmospheric and ocean circulation; and potential interaction between climatic changes and air and marine contaminants. One focus for the research and GIS analysis are the inter-related topics of climate change, transboundary airborne and water borne contaminants, changing ocean circulatory patterns, and future hydrology changes for the Mackenzie River. Another focus is the relationship between ice cover, climate change, and marine species that are ice-dependent in the Beaufort Sea. In the Beaufort Sea, seals and polar bears are dependent on ice cover for habitat. Ringed seals are also the major food of polar bears, and important species for traditional and subsistence hunting. While the Beaufort Sea beluga whale population is large and healthy, climate change may affect their feeding patterns, if nutrient changes occur, and migratory routes, as they appear to travel along ice edges.
For the GIS analysis in the early stages of the project, a literature review was conducted, and as well as a consideration of the use of GIS analysis to explore relationships between climate change and contaminants, and impacts upon fish and marine mammals that are subject to subsistence harvesting. GIS analysis was also used to explore relationships between the Mackenzie River watershed, ice cover in the Beaufort Sea, and fish and marine mammals. This includes a GIS analysis of relationships between sea ice cover and movements of beluga whales, with additional related GIS analysis is being completed using subsequently acquired data sets.
A website for the Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change has been developed to communicate existing and future results of the research project. This website includes web-based applications to communicate and exchange information and observations on existing and future climate change in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, relevant links to further information, data bases, and organizations; and information on future related research under the Beaufort Sea Project for Climate Change.
Investigator: Magdalena A. K. Muir, Project Leader, International Energy, Environmental, and Legal Services Ltd., makmuir@ieels.com Investigator: Jennifer A Shea, Coordinator, GIS Services, jashea@ucalgary.ca