Sea-level rise

The Arctic is experiencing rapid environmental changes that present challenges to the natural environment, built environment, and social systems that have sustained Arctic peoples and ecosystems for generations. These changes are strongly evident in Arctic coastal systems. New research on Arctic coastal systems has been supported through both the Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) program and the Coastlines and People (CoPe) program. However, coordination and synthesis among these Arctic coastal projects and new perspectives are needed to fully understand these rapid changes.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF’s 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. This Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, enhances efforts in formal and informal education, and integrates the co-production of knowledge where appropriate.

The Arctic is the most rapidly changing environment in the world. People living in the Northern Hemisphere are now experiencing the consequences of a changing Arctic, including abrupt shifts in weather patterns, altered availability of natural resources such as fish, minerals and water, and threats to indigenous cultural heritage and economies.

Most of Greenland is covered by the expansive Greenland Ice Sheet, which, if it all melted, would cause sea level to rise by more than 20 feet. Greenland has been losing ice at a particularly rapid rate since the mid-1990s, with impacts for local and global fisheries. This AccelNet project (GRISONET) is designed to facilitate rapid and effective collaboration-building and foster discovery about the Greenland ice sheet, the ocean, the marine ecosystems and their interactions.

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) is one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. NNA projects address convergence scientific challenges in the rapidly changing Arctic. The Arctic research is needed to inform the economy, security and resilience of the Nation, the larger region and the globe. NNA empowers new research partnerships from local to international scales, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, and integrates the co-production of knowledge. This award fulfills part of that aim.

The rapid warming of the Arctic and melting of Arctic sea and land ice has ramifications around the globe. Shipping routes through an ice-free Arctic in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt affect trade, transportation, coastal ecology and hydrology, human-built infrastructure, demographics and cultural identities, fish and wildlife, energy resources, and air and water quality—not only in the Arctic but also in mid-latitude coastal regions such as New England.