This time of year Billy Adams would expect to see sea ice lining Utqiagvik’s Chukchi Sea shoreline. But right now, it’s all open water.Adams lives in Utqiagvik and is an observer for the Alaska Arctic Observatory & Knowledge Hub, a coalition of northern communities that shares data about sea ice, wildlife and coastal waters.
“The open water at this point the first week in December in the Chukchi Sea, that is a very clear climate change signal,” Thoman said. “That exposed water is basically acting as a heating pad, putting out that heat into the polar atmosphere,” he said. The North Slope has seen progressively warmer winters in recent years. As of yesterday, Thoman reported, ice coverage in the Chukchi Sea was the ninth lowest on record for the date.Adams said he’s concerned about what the spike could mean for caribou, an important subsistence animal. Warm weather tends to bring lots of snow, which he said makes it difficult for caribou to find food in the tundra.