The Arctic Environmental Problems - New Ecoinformatics Tools in Environmental Science: Applications and Decision-making - page 491

Fig. 6.2 Key interactions among major components of the Arctic climate system and the impact
on human activities in the North

field of numerical modeling of high-
latitude climate change. It has been mentioned in the Report (2001) that current
estimates of future changes to the Arctic vary signi

Much more dif cult situation exists in the

cantly. The model results
disagree as to both the magnitude of changes and the regional aspects of these
changes.
Climate variability and change have become important issues in the Arctic
region over the recent decades. These issues have also prevailed in numerous
international and national programs of scienti c research. The most essential results

of a penetrating analysis of these researches consist in the improvement of arctic
science about key interactions among major components of the Arctic climate
system in conditions of human activity growth (Fig. 6.2 ).

6.2 Climate and Cryosphere

6.2.1 Cryosphere Interactions with the Global Climate
System

Walker et al. (2004) mention that the atmosphere-permafrost system plays impor-
tant role in the global gas exchange processes which is comparable with the role of
tropical ecosystems in the regulation of biogeochemical cycles. After all, knowl-
edge of organic matter decomposition processes and vital functions of poor vege-
tation covered in arctic latitudes, without doubt, allows the signi

cant reduction of
uncertainty in the assessment of sources and sinks of greenhouse gases and, most of