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Module 4 • Flora and Fauna: Case Study: Fact Finder
Background
I. FACT FINDER:
The Bering Sea Ecoregion
Background:
A vast land roughly the size of Texas, Chukotka (288,000 square miles) on the far northeastern cor-
ner of the Eurasian continent is still a largely undisturbed Arctic region. The Chukchi Sea, part of the
Arctic Ocean, lies to the north, while the Bering Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, lies to the east. Its
shores are dotted with settlements—many with no more than a few hundred people—which, follow-
ing the collapse of the Soviet Union, face extreme isolation and dire economic conditions. Largely
inhabited by indigenous Chukchi and Siberian Yu’pik, these villages today are entirely dependent on
subsistence activities shaped by the natural environment, its resources, and conditions.
This part of the ancient Beringia region, with its biologically productive and diverse environments, is
considered one of our planet’s most spectacular ecological regions, home to more than 70 percent
of the rare subspecies that occur nowhere else on earth. At the same time, it is considered, among
all Arctic regions, to be the most at risk from climate change, according to the Arctic Climate Impact
Assessment report authored in 2005 by more than 300 scientists worldwide. Scientific research has
established that subsistence living in Chukotka is strongly correlated with, and highly sensitive to,
the impacts of climate change. Therefore, the very existence of these communities is threatened by
climate change. According to the work in 2005 of researcher Vladilen Kavry, residents of the Chukchi
Peninsula are aware of these threats, and are reporting their observations of the changes in the
region.
While burning fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) provides energy, transportation, heating, electric, and
manufacturing, it also adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is actually a good
thing, trapping heat and keeping our climate livable. The rate at which people are adding carbon
dioxide (by burning fossil fuels) to our atmosphere, however, exceeds nature’s ability to maintain its
normal balance. Consequently, our climate is changing at an unnatural pace.
To date, the ten warmest years on record have occurred since the 1990’s. Scientists at NASA’s Goddard
Institute for Space Studies announced that, worldwide, 2006 was the hottest year on record. The five
warmest years ever recorded have occurred in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. The current warm-
ing of our average temperatures on the planet is the most rapid and erratic ever recorded. We know
this to be true because scientists can compare current records to data collected from ice core samples
from Greenland’s ice cap. These same samples, which supply data from the past 400,000 years, offer
significant data on the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Like temperature increases,
carbon dioxide levels have steadily increased since the Industrial Revolution in the 1780’s—when
humans began burning fossil fuels.
The unique plant, animal, and marine ecosystems of the Bering Sea are adapted to live and survive
within the parameters of a relatively extreme environment. These organisms have developed physi-
cally and behaviorally over thousands of years to survive in this harsh climate.
Within the last few decades, temperatures in the Arctic regions have increased almost twice as much
as the global average. Rapid environmental change caused by climate change is now being observed
by Natives and scientist alike throughout the Arctic region. Declines in wildlife abundance, changes
in migration patterns, and diminishing sea ice are some consequences of climate change. Because the
ecosystem is interconnected, any change ripples through the entire habitat, including the Arctic peo-
ple who depend on these resources. For example, much of the region’s biodiversity is reliant upon
sea ice. As the sea ice diminishes, this impressive yet fragile ecosystem will be permanently altered.
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© NOMADS Online Classroom Expeditions GoNorth! Chukotka 2007 Curriculum 24
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