By: Lauren Everett, associate program officer with the Polar Research Board and the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate at the National Academy of Sciences
Climate changes currently underway in the Arctic are a driver for global sea-level rise, offer new prospects for natural resource extraction, and have rippling effects through the world's weather, climate, food supply, and economy. A new booklet and interactive website from the U.S. National Academies' Polar Research Board (PRB) introduces the threats and opportunities of the Arctic's rapidly changing environment and explains why the Arctic matters—to all of us.
Drawing on a collection of peer-reviewed reports of the National Research Council (NRC)—as well as other national and international reports—the booklet and website provide a brief, reader-friendly primer on the complex ways in which the Arctic and its diverse people, resources, and environment affect the entire globe.
The new resources are part of a larger Arctic Matters initiative that the PRB has launched to coincide with the U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council. With the goal of expanding public understanding and interest in Arctic changes and their global linkages, the effort will include a large public symposium in early 2016, featuring a series of engaging presentations. A special planning committee has been appointed to help shape the goals and content of the symposium.
The booklet, interactive website, archived webinar, and other resources are available here.
The PRB is a unit within the National Academies and is responsible for studies related to the Arctic, Antarctic, and cold regions in general. More information about the PRB and other related activities is available here.