Canadian Arctic is warmest it’s been in 10,000 years: study

A polar bear wanders along the Hudson Bay. New research suggests the Arctic is warmer than any time in the past 10,000 years. (iStock)
New research suggests Canada’s Arctic is the warmest it has been in 10,000 years — and the temperatures are still climbing.

The study was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Researchers studied permafrost samples in the Yukon near the Dempster Highway (northwestern Canada) and determined that temperatures in the Arctic today are almost 2 C warmer than at any time in the past 10,000 years.

The temperatures recorded today are even higher than the previous recorded highs, which happened about 9,900 and 6,400 years ago, when the earth’s axis was tilted more strongly toward the sun, the report states.

Duane Froese, a professor at the University of Alberta and a co-author of the study, suggests that time period may actually be much longer.

“I would guess we’re getting back over 100,000 years since we’ve seen temperatures at least this warm,” he said.

Research shows warming Arctic

This study adds to the growing research showing dramatic warming in the Arctic.

Last month, the UN released its environment report on the Arctic, which describes scenarios where Arctic winter temperatures increase by three to five degrees by 2050 compared to 1986-2005.

Permafrost thaw is altering the western Arctic landscape on Banks Island. Scientists predict that by 2075, with moderate climate warming, 10,000 new permafrost slumps could form on the island every decade. (Submitted by Antoni Lewkowicz)

Another study, published earlier this week, suggests the Arctic will no longer look the same, with greening tundra and warmer winters.

“The earth is getting a lot warmer a lot faster,” Froese said. “We don’t seem to have any great political will or mechanisms to slow the rate of change.”

But people living in the Arctic are already taking action.

The Vuntut Gwich’in First Nation in Old Crow, Yukon, is set to declare a state of emergency due to climate change as they watch the effects unfold firsthand in their community. That includes rising temperatures, less snow cover, warmer winters and thawing permafrost.

Froese says these effects will only continue, especially as the permafrost melts, which may happen more slowly or less dramatically than melting glaciers.

“Permafrost behaves a bit different,” Froese said. “It has all the insulation of the vegetation and soil on the surface of it that slows the penetration of heat into the ground.

“Particularly in the western Arctic, we’re starting to see big, big changes from those warmer temperatures and melting permafrost.”

Written by Alex Brockman, Interview by Qavavao Peter

Related stories from around the North:

Canada: Northern Canada warming at three times the global rate, report finds, CBC News

Finland: Finland has used up its annual share of Earth’s resources, Yle News

Greenland: Tall ice cliffs are slumping and may trigger rapid sea-level rise, study finds, CBC News

Norway: Temperatures on Svalbard have been above normal for 100 straight months, The Independent Barents Observer

Russia: Warmest winter ever on the Northern Sea Route, The Independent Barents Observer

Sweden: Sweden ‘too slow’ in meeting emissions goals: climate report, Radio Sweden

United States: 2018 was the 4th-warmest year on record, NOAA and NASA reveal, CBC News

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