The Arctic HYDRA Project
There is mounting evidence that the
Arctic is today experiencing an unprecedented degree of environmental change
and level of consolidation in this change – broad-scale increases in air
temperature; reductions in sea ice cover; melting of glaciers; loss of
permafrost; lengthened ice-free period in lake and rivers; and reductions in
snow cover. From a hydrological perspective, the most indicative change
involves trends in the discharge of major rivers in Siberia and North America,
which deliver large amounts of freshwater to the Arctic Ocean. Recent analysis
suggests ongoing redistribution of freshwater from the sub-Arctic into the high
northern latitudes, which is consistent with concerns about an accelerated
hydrologic cycle associated with greenhouse warming.
Research on the Arctic water cycle has traditionally focused along disciplinary
lines and the need for interdisciplinary synthesis and integration of
information from physical, chemical and biological systems is becoming more
important. In this context the Arctic-HYDRA project represents a
consortium-based international study to provide a quantitative picture of the
state of pan-Arctic hydrological system. Starting during the IPY campaign, the
project will represent a critical benchmark against which to assess future
change, with focus on the following key questions:
• What is the role of the unified Arctic Hydrological Cycle in the global
climate system?
• What are the feedbacks of changes in the Arctic Hydrological Cycle on the
regional and global climate systems?
• What are the impacts of hydrological changes in the Arctic on biology,
biogeochemistry, and human society?