Changing Arctic Biodiversity – Drivers and implications (CAB Driver)

Climate change directly impacts ecosystem globally with consequences for societies and their inhabitants. Nowhere is the climate changing faster than in the Arctic. It is arguable, therefore, that this region can serve as an important bellwether for quantifying and mitigating climate change impacts. Several processes occurring in the Arctic have global implications, and significant components of these changes are linked to the changing cryosphere (sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets). Sea-level rise results in part from mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet, changes in the formation of deep-water drive global ocean currents, and changes in albedo due to sea-ice melt (Arctic amplification) accelerates warming. At all scales, change in the Arctic climate transforms the physical environment and has serious implications for the foundation of ecosystems and the services they provide: biodiversity. The changing cryosphere and its biodiversity also offer prospects for economic growth related to maritime transport and exploitation of previously inaccessible living and non-living resources. Thus, we require governance tools for mitigation and adaptation to avoid potential conflict and to assure growth is sustainable. The overarching objective of this multi- and trans- disciplinary proposal is: to identify how a changing biodiversity in the Arctic is affecting ecosystems, ecosystem services and the socio-economy in Europe. With this goal in mind, CAB Driver will contribute to the EU goals of promoting sustainable use of resources and international cooperation in this era of climate change. Ecosystem science is inherently multi-disciplinary: investigating the dynamics of community structure and function over time and space, and identifying the interactions among system components, including the critical human element. This project work across natural and social science boundaries to provide governance advice and projections of socio-ecological status of the future Arctic.