ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A new report shows the Arctic is melting faster than expected, and that the oceans could rise significantly by the end of the century.
Researchers within the International Arctic Monitoring and Assessment program are predicting the sea level will increase up to 3 feet over the next 90 years, and that in about 40 years the Arctic Ocean could experience a summer with no sea ice at all.
"It makes us very concerned because what it suggests is that our understanding of the way the earth is responding to climate warming isn't as complete as it actually should be," Dr. Jeff Welker, a UAA professor of Biology, said of the new report.
If there's one place the announcement really hit home, it was at UAA, where Welker and other researchers are gathering to kick off a new collaborative effort called "Classrooms for Climate Change."
They plan to work with the Chugach National Forest to share climate data as they try to explain how changes in the Arctic will affect people in Southcentral.
