Climate Change and Alaskan Wetlands

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Climate Change and Alaskan Wetlands

• Sadie Iverson
• SWES 574

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Wetlands in Alaska
As of 1990, only 0.1 lost
Walker et al. 2005
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Wetland Types

• Many varieties
• Peatlands (muskegs)
• Marshes (salt and freshwater)
• Some affected by permafrost

Copper River Delta, southeast Alaska
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Wildlife Signficance

• Examples
• Yukon-Kuskokwim River Delta (at left)
• Copper River Delta

bna.birds.cornell.edu
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Climate Change

• 0.6C warming over 20th century
• Causes
• End of Little Ice Age
• Excess greenhouse gases

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Arctic Impact?

• Importance of ice
• Atmospheric effects
• Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, 2004

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Why Alaska?

• Arctic effects
• Heavily mapped for oil and mineral exploration
• Low population density (fewer human effects)

A muskeg
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Methane Effect

• Alaska produces 7 of the Arctics methane
• Attributed to warming of peatlands

Felzer and Hu 2004
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Successional Effect

• Encroachment of scrubby trees like spruce
• Typical of warming eras in history
• Potential effects not fully understood

Sturm 2001
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Wetland Loss Example

• Kenai Peninsula Lowlands

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Kenai Results

• Muskegs, kettle ponds turn to wet soil or uplands
• Rise in temperature, lowering of moisture
• (Klein et al. 2005)