Summer Climatic Gradients and Vegetation near Barrow, Alaska

Reports a June-Sept 1956 study of rainfall, evaporation evapotranspiration and vegetation at four sites: Nuwuk, the old Eskimo village site on the Pt Barrow spit, a beach ridge six mi SW of Nuwuk, a site near South Barrow test well no3, about 11 mi S of the beach ridge, and Meade River 28 mi from the ocean. Another site at Inaru River was used only for vegetation studies. Simple instruments gave periodic values for the three elements. Deviations of precipitation from US Weather Bureau records are tabulated. Distinctive changes in vegetation within a few miles with increase in shrubby and decrease in grassy components accompanied a general amelioration of climate inland. Sod block evapotranspirometers, weighed at intervals, showed more than a third increase in evapotranspiration rates between the ocean and 28 mi inland.Gradients du climat et de la végétation en été, près de Barrow, Alaska. À l'extrême pointe du nord de l'Alaska, on constate une amélioration générale du climat vers l'intérieur des terres, qui s'accompagne de changements visibles de la végétation en quelques milles seulement, dont une augmentation de l'élément broussailleux et une diminution d'importance de l'élément graminacé. Des instruments très simples ont permis de recueillir des données périodiques sur la pluie, l'évaporation et l'évapotranspiration. Le pesage à intervalles réguliers d'évapotranspiromètres à motte de gazon a donné des estimations raisonnables des taux d'évapotranspiration, qui augmentent de plus du tiers entre l'océan et des lieux situés à 28 milles (45 km) à l'intérieur

Climate Change, Coral Reef Ecosystems, and Management Options for Marine Protected Areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide place-based management of marine ecosystems through various degrees and types of protective actions. Habitats such as coral reefs are especially susceptible to degradation resulting from climate change, as evidenced by mass bleaching events over the past two decades. Marine ecosystems are being altered by direct effects of climate change including ocean warming, ocean acidification, rising sea level, changing circulation patterns, increasing severity of storms, and changing freshwater influxes. As impacts of climate change strengthen they may exacerbate effects of existing stressors and require new or modified management approaches; MPA networks are generally accepted as an improvement over individual MPAs to address multiple threats to the marine environment. While MPA networks are considered a potentially effective management approach for conserving marine biodiversity, they should be established in conjunction with other management strategies, such as fisheries regulations and reductions of nutrients and other forms of land-based pollution. Information about interactions between climate change and more “traditional” stressors is limited. MPA managers are faced with high levels of uncertainty about likely outcomes of management actions because climate change impacts have strong interactions with existing stressors, such as land-based sources of pollution, overfishing and destructive fishing practices, invasive species, and diseases. Management options include ameliorating existing stressors, protecting potentially resilient areas, developing networks of MPAs, and integrating climate change into MPA planning, management, and evaluation