COLD LAND PROCESSES IN THE NORT
type: Concept
in scheme: projects
definition: Rationale: The stability of the ecosystems in more than a half of Northern Eurasia and north North America (in Cold Land Regions, CLR) relies on the stability of seasonal snow cover and ice that, so far, holds these ecosystems together. Breach of this stability affects societies and economic activity in high latitudes. Currently, changes in terrestrial cryosphere are among the strongest contemporary environmental changes. However, these changes as well as their associated feedbacks and impacts are still inadequately described within the contemporary Earth System Models. During the 20th century, we observed snow cover and glaciers’ retreat and permafrost thaw affecting water supply, land cover, and the carbon cycle. Glacier wastage has affected sea level rise, water freshening, sea ice reduction, bioproductivity changing, and redistributing gravity field patterns. Further consequences are difficult to predict. Paleodata, instrumental observations, and model simulations of future climate changes suggest significant and rapid changes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and land cover occur in high latitudes particularly over the CLR. It is critical to develop the ability to measure, monitor, and model the processes that will provide the possibility for accurate future projections of climatic and environmental changes in these regions because these changes have the potential to impact the Global Earth System and human society. We need (a) to understand how the changes in these regions affect regional and global biogeochemical, surface energy and water cycles, as well as human societies and how to develop the capability to predict changes to support global projections, informed decision making, and numerous applications in these regions; (b) to establish (restore, develop, utilize) an observational system to retrieve and properly interpret information about the current state and changes of the environment in the CLR; (c) assess their interactions with global clim…

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type: Concept