Defenders of Wildlife Blog

The Royal Dutch Shell Company began drilling in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea on Sunday, with potentially disastrous consequences for Alaska’s wildlife.

The Chukchi Sea is home to many imperiled species, such as bowhead whales, Pacific walrus, and polar bears, a species already facing enormous challenges due to melting sea ice, one of the many effects of climate change.  A major oil spill here could be even more destructive to wildlife than the Gulf oil spill of 2010, because a cleanup response would be nearly impossible to perform.  Here’s why:

The threatened Steller’s eider, a seasonal visitor to the Chukchi. Birds suffer heavily in oiled waters: the oil on their feathers destroys their insulation from the cold, and makes them sick when they try to clean themselves.

Infrastructure.  The nearest coast guard station is in Kodiak, Alaska, more than 1000 miles away.  The closest village to the Chukchi Sea drilling site has just one small boat ramp and no hotels to accommodate cleanup crews.  The nearest airports that can handle the large cargo planes needed to transport oil cleanup equipment are 100 miles away or more.

Weather.  The Chukchi Sea is almost completely covered in ice over the winter months.  In summer, 20-foot swells, gale force winds and thick, lingering fog is common.  Stormy seas would endanger the lives of crew members and render oil booms and skimmer boats useless.  It can take weeks or months for backup rigs to drill relief wells, even in the relatively calm waters of the Gulf; in the Chukchi Sea, it may take even longer.  Worst of all, if an oil well breaks open and can’t be capped by the end of the summer, it will gush into the sea for months beneath the Chukchi Sea’s winter ice pack.

Temperature.  The temperature of Arctic seawater is often far below freezing, making it difficult to burn off oil because the water below the surface-oil cannot be heated sufficiently to start the burn.  Oil dispersant chemicals are known to be ineffective in cold temperatures, in addition to the potential harmful effects they could have on marine life.  Finally, oil simply takes longer to break down in cold temperatures.

A Fragile Ecosystem.

Polar bears are already stressed by the loss of sea ice they use to hunt due to climate change.  A major oil spill would jeopardize their food supply even more.  Photo (c) Joan Cambray.

The Chukchi Sea supports an intricate and delicate web of life. It provides critical food sources for migratory birds from around the world and pristine waters for important parts of the life cycle of many fish species. Every part of this ecosystem, from the tiniest zooplankton to the greatest bowhead whale, would be threatened by an oil spill in the Chukchi.  As the Defenders of Wildlife Fact Sheet on drilling in the Arctic details,

 “exposure to oil damages the eyes, mouth, skin and lungs of marine mammals and reduces the insulating effect of feathers on birds. Wild animals can also suffer from kidney failure after ingesting oil in attempts to clean themselves. Those animals that manage to survive will still be at risk from accumulating pollutants and metals in their bodies from the fish they eat. They may also suffer from starvation as the food chain they rely on for survival is disrupted.”

Even without a spill, noise and toxic pollution that are a normal part of industrial drilling will negatively impact local wildlife.  There is also so much about the arctic ecosystem of the Chukchi that we just don’t know anything about.  In its review of drilling plans the government admitted to a complete lack of information on key wildlife populations and their use of the Chukchi, but approved Shell’s drilling plans anyway.    The fact is that the Chukchi Sea is one of the last places any oil company should be allowed to drill.

Noise from drilling rigs disturbs marine mammals like these bowhead whales, which depend on echolocation to navigate the icy waters of the Chukchi.

Ironically, Shell was only able to drill for one day before a large ice floe forced it to back off the drill site. This should be a warning cry about the hazards of drilling in the Chukchi Sea.

We must not let our thirst for oil put yet another rich and vibrant ecosystem at risk of an environmental catastrophe, especially when this time, if an oil spill happens, cleanup will be virtually impossible.  Only time will tell if Alaskan wildlife can weather this latest threat to their survival.

UPDATE 9/17/12:  Shell’s oil containment barge suffered damage to its oil containment dome during testing, causing the company to scrap efforts to drill in the Chukchi until next year.  The barge had been previously plagued with leaks and safety standard issues, and has been unable to reach Coast Guard certification.  The threat of an oil spill has subsided-for now-but this fragile place will be in danger once more if drilling resumes in 2013.

With all the attention to wolves last week, here is something you may have missed.  Arctic sea ice has hit a new low, not just beating the old record, but beating it with an expected three weeks remaining in the melting season.

Arctic sea ice naturally goes through an annual cycle of expansion and contraction, with summer ice extent reaching its lowest point in September, then stabilizing and starting to expand again as the weather gets colder.  The previous record low of 1.61 million square miles occurred on September 18, 2007. The new low of 1.58 million square miles was set on August 26, 2012, with South-Carolina-sized areas of ice melting daily.  If this keeps up through mid-September, the minimum for 2012 will shatter all previous records.

The six lowest sea ice extents since satellite measurements began in 1979have all occurred in the past six years. While we don’t know for sure what the ice data looked like prior to that, the adventures of explorers searching for the fabled “Northwest Passage” remind us that heavy ice cover was once the norm.

This graph from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows the dramatic loss of Arctic ice in 2012 so far.

What’s even more alarming about the new record is that this wasn’t even a spectacularly warm summer in the Arctic. Rather, it seems that year after year of big summer ice melts have made the sea ice thinner and more fragile, thus more prone to melting each year. Cambridge University professor Peter Wadhams estimates that the ice pack “has lost at least 40% of its thickness since the 1980s, and if you consider the shrinkage as well it means that the summer ice volume is now only 30% of what it was in the 1980s.”

If all this ice loss strikes you as bad news for polar bears and other Arctic wildlife, you’re right. If you think that’s the only thing we have to worry about, think again. The difference with and without sea ice is like the difference between wearing a white shirt and a black shirt on a hot, sunny day. The white ice reflects the sun’s energy back out toward space, but the dark surface water exposed when the ice melts absorbs much more of the sun’s energy, leading to even faster heating.

And all that dark, heat-absorbing water where once there was ice leads to another problem: the icy sediments at the bottom of the sea are starting to thaw as well.Professor Peter Wadhams points out, “we are also finding the open water causing seabed permafrost to melt, releasing large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere.”

This new low is another sign that climate change isn’t an issue we can just ignore and worry about later. It’s real, it’s urgent, and it’s affecting our planet right now.

Visit explore.org to watch live streaming video of polar bears on their northward migration.

One of the largest carnivores in the world, the polar bear is not an animal you want to bump into. But now, thanks to Explore.org, you can watch these fascinating mammals from the safety of your own home. By tuning into one of many high-definition cameras set up in the remote wilds of the Arctic, you can track a Canadian population of polar bears as they make their way north to the Hudson Bay.

Historically, sea ice on the Hudson allows the bears to hunt seals as far as 100 miles off the coast. But climate change is having a dramatic impact on the Arctic landscape, diminishing this once-reliable habitat. This year, Arctic sea ice reached its second lowest level on record. Such trends are taking a serious toll on sea-ice dependent animals like polar bears, and in Alaska reports of drowned or starving bears, cannibalism and other aberrant behavior are increasing. Without help, these Arctic icons could disappear from U.S. shores forever.

Cameras like these offer the many who will never travel to the chilly north a rare glimpse into what life is like for these majestic animals, and hopefully inspire them to fight for polar bear survival. Charlie Annenberg, a filmmaker and founder of explore.org who spearheaded the project, said he hopes the cameras will “allow people to observe the natural world we live in with the hope that they’ll develop emotional connections with the planet.”

Photo courtesy USFWS

Don’t wait to check it out! The migration has already begun, and runs only through the end of November. Video capturing the movement is now being streamed live.

Disclaimer: you made find it difficult to tear yourself away. We at Defenders have already watched a three-bear-wrestling match, and can’t wait to see what these animals are up to next…

Learn more:

Last week saw a win for polar bears! Learn more.

Read Defenders report, Sea Bear Under Siege, to see our recommendations for helping polar bears survive in a world with less and less sea ice.

Summer is coming to a close in the Northern Hemisphere, and to say it was not a good year for Arctic sea ice would be something of an understatement. In fact, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reports that this August was the second lowest month ever for sea ice since satellite record-keeping began in 1979 (higher only than an all-time low in 2007). But the melt season isn’t over yet–and with one more week to go, sea ice already covers less than two-thirds of the area it covered in the early 1970s. Both the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea route appear to be open, and several large areas of open water (polynyas) have opened within the ice pack.

What does this mean for the marine mammals who call the sea ice home? This August, as many as 8,000 walruses gathering sought refuge on the northwest coast of Alaska. But an early haul-out on the beach is no safe alternative to their customary sea ice. Not only do the walruses lose access to the shallow waters of the continental shelf where they dive for clams, snails and other food, but large groups of the animals on land also face the danger of stampedes. In September 2009, more than 130 mostly young walruses were crushed after a disturbance spooked a walrus herd at Alaska’s Icy Cape.

Ice-loss trends are having serious impacts  on polar bears. As sea ice melts, reports of bears swimming miles from shore, drowning and even resorting to cannibalism have become alarmingly frequent. Without sea ice providing them access to seals, they must search farther inland for food, risking interaction with people and communities.

Scientists are at work to figure out why the ice is disappearing so fast, trying to collect better data through new satellite, plane and submarine observations–even drilling holes and poking a tape measure down to measure ice thickness.  They say the thinning of ice over recent decades may hasten an ice-free summer as soon as 2020.

Until then, there are things we can do to help marine mammals like walruses and polar bears adapt to a changing landscape. From protecting these animals under the Endangered Species Act to preserving what shrinking habitat they have, we can help increase the chances of their survival in an uncertain future.

Learn more

Read Defenders report, Sea Bear Under Siege, to see our recommendations for helping polar bears survive in a world with less and less sea ice.

Learn more about sea ice and the value it provides to wildlife in the Arctic.

Good news for polar bears!

A federal judge today upheld the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision that the polar bear be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and continue to receive the protections afforded by the law. The designation had been in dispute ever since the Fish and Wildlife Service first listed the polar bear in 2008.

Jason Rylander, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, said, “With significantly diminished sea-ice habitat and food supply, the life of a polar bear has never been more perilous. The challenge to survive only promises to worsen as climate change transforms the Arctic landscape at an accelerated rate. The court’s decision confirms that polar bears need protection in a warming world.”

Learn more:

Climate change is melting polar bear habitat at an alarming rate, but there are still things we can do to save this Arctic icon. By taking immediate steps protect polar bears, we can keep them from disappearing from U.S. shores. Read more about what we can do to protect this Arctic icon.

Ashore on Svalbard, a male polar bear investigates a whale's backbone. Fat reserves from hunting ringed and bearded seals, and sometimes walruses, must carry bears through lean summers. Photo (c) Florian Schulz

Their arctic habitat in full meltdown mode, polar bears have become the real bad news bears. Reports of drowned, starving and stranded bears, even cannibalism have become commonplace, and dire forecasts for their future just keep coming. Susan McGrath details the way thinning sea ice is making life harder for these iconic mammals in her article, “On Thin Ice.” Read on to preview an excerpt from story, which will be featured in the July issue of the National Geographic magazine, available on newsstands June 28.

The world didn’t know it yet, but during the summer in the Arctic Ocean, sea ice had been melting earlier and faster, and the winter freeze had been coming later. In the three decades since 1979 the extent of summer ice has declined by about 30 percent. The lengthening period of summer melt threatens to undermine the whole Arctic food web, atop of which stand polar bears……

The sea ice above the shallow continental shelves provides the richest sustenance for polar bears, but recently the ice has been retreating far from those areas, reducing the summer habitat bears need most to survive. Whether a polar bear lives in Hudson Bay or the Beaufort or Barents Seas, it faces the same problem. Sea ice on which to hunt is available for progressively shorter periods, forcing bears to fast for longer periods. And because thinner sea ice is more easily shifted by winds and currents, bears may be swept into strange territory, forcing them to make longer, more arduous swims in open water to find favorable sea ice or to get to land.

Get the full story:

Click here to see more of the story by Susan McGrath and the full photo gallery by Florian Schulz on National Geographic’s website.

Defenders is exploring measures to keep both polar bears and Alaskans safe as the loss of sea-ice forces the marine mammals farther inland. Read our report, Sea Bear Under Siege, to see an extensive list of actions that should be undertaken to assist these Arctic marine animals.

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Home on the Ice

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National Geographic July 2011

Available on newsstands June 28th.