Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - Scientific Report

The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was prepared by an international team of over 300 scientists, experts, and knowledgeable members of indigenous communities. The report has been thoroughly researched, is fully referenced, and provides the first comprehensive evaluation of arctic climate change, changes in ultraviolet radiation and their impacts for the region and for the world. It is illustrated in full color throughout. The results provided the scientific foundations for the ACIA synthesis report - Impacts of a Warming Arctic - published by Cambridge University Press in 2004.

1. An introduction to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment; 2. Arctic climate: past and present; 3. The changing Arctic: indigenous perspectives; 4. Future climate change: modeling and scenarios for the Arctic; 5. Ozone and ultraviolet radiation; 6. Cryosphere and hydrology; 7. Arctic tundra and polar fesert ecosystems; 8. Freshwater ecosystems and Fisheries; 9. Marine Systems; 10. Principles of conserving the Arctic's Biodiversity; 11. Management and conservation of wildlife in a changing Arctic environment; 12. Hunting, herding, fishing, and gathering: indigenous peoples and renewable resource use in the Arctic; 13. Fisheries and aquaculture; 14. Forests, land management, and agriculture; 15. Human health; 16. Infrastructure: buildings, support systems, and industrial facilities; 17. Climate change in the context of multiple stressors and resilience; 18. Summary and synthesis of the ACIA; Appendix A. Chapter authors; Appendix B. Biographies; Appendix C. Reviewers; Appendix D. Species names; Appendix E. Acronyms; Appendix F. Glossary.