Climate Change in the Arctic - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 311

This is the end of my threadbare attempt at ecological and societal impacts. It falls a
very long way from being comprehensive, but I hope it has given an idea of the scope of
change that can be expected even if those changes may at present be only in their infancy.
At present, what is clear is that major elements of the Arctic marine ecosystem based on
sea ice, such as polar bears and several species of seal, are possibly facing extinction with-
in the next few decades. With this come the most important socioeconomic and cultural
impacts imaginable for the people whose lives depend on these resources. What the future
holds for terrestrial ecosystems is at present less clear, but it is safe to predict that major
ecosystem-wide impacts lie ahead.
Indeed, the Arctic is not alone. It is generally accepted that early signs ofclimate-driv-
en, large-scale regime shifts in terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems can now be
detected in many regions of the globe - from polar regions to tropical coral reef systems.
To find out more on how widespread these changes are, I recommend chapter 18 of the
IPCC AR5 Working Group II Report .