Map of Alaska (USA). The village of Shishmaref is located in the northwest.
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe original image
Global Warming Endangers an Alaskan Eskimo Village
News story originally written on August 28, 2002
Global warming is raising temperatures of arctic regions much faster than other areas on Earth. This rapid warming is causing the village of Shishmaref, Alaska to wear away slowly into the sea.
Shishmaref, located on a small barrier island off the coast of Alaska, is the home of 600 Eskimo people. They have noticed over many years that winters are warmer than they used to be with less sea ice surrounding their island. In fact, the average winter temperature in Alaska is now 4 degrees Celsius higher than it was 40 years ago.
The arctic warms much faster than other places because the warming climate melts snow and ice that cover the surface, allowing the newly exposed Earth surface to absorb more solar energy. As the surface is able to absorb more energy, the climate warms some more and is able to melt even more snow and ice according to Gunter Weller, professor at the University of Alaska.
As the arctic warms, the layer of frozen ground that covers the surface melts, becoming soft and easily worn away. This means that Shishmaref's small island was once solid but is now basically a pile of shifting sand and dirt.
Without sea ice surrounding the island and frozen ground the island is exposed to severe storms, which are wearing away the coast so rapidly that people of the village are considering moving the entire town off the island.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our online store
includes issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist
, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, as well as books
on science education!
You might also be interested in:
Recently, scientists at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research have shown that there is a 90% chance that global temperatures will rise 3-9 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years. This is...more
This picture of the Earth surface was taken from high above the planet in the International Space Station. In this view from above, we can see that there are lots of different things that cover the Earth....more
In the north polar region, the climate has warmed rapidly during the past few decades. Average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere in the world. In Alaska (USA) temperatures...more
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,...more
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd...more
A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon...more
Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be...more