A Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH)
Scientists investigating the arctic environment have collected significant new data in recent years because of improved access to the central Arctic Ocean, new technologies, and better agency and international cooperation. With these new data, researchers have noted unexpected changes in the Arctic. These include:
- lower sea-level atmospheric pressure
- increased air temperature over most of the Arctic, but lower temperatures over eastern North America and Greenland
- changed ocean circulation and rising coastal sea level
- warmer Atlantic waters penetrating farther in the Arctic Ocean
- reduced sea ice cover
- thawing permafrost
Through SEARCH, government agencies will cooperate to understand the full scope of the changes going on in the Arctic. Scientists will research exactly how the observed changes relate to the Arctic's natural variability and if the changes indicate the start of a major climate shift in the North. |
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