Climate Change

 

The Effects of Climate Change are Easily Visible in Kenai Fjords National Park

Though the climate has changed in the past, the rate of change is now increasing rapidly. Just under half of Kenai Fjords is covered in glacial ice. Whether by personal photo or scientific monitoring, changes seen in the ice over days and decades tell an important story for our planet. Through yearly observations, we learn more about the effects of a changing climate. These changes impact the complex relationships of the terrestrial and marine environments of Kenai Fjords, especially the creatures that inhabit them.

The topics below describe smaller pieces of the global effects of human-caused climate change. Despite the challenges and impacts we face, there are still examples of hope and resilience for the future.

 

Left image
Exit Glacier 1984
Credit: NPS Photo

Right image
Exit Glacier 2024
Credit: NPS Photo

 

What's the Difference between Climate and Weather?

"Climate is what's in your closet, weather is what you wear each day."

Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere; it has high short-term variability over days, weeks, months. People generally think of weather as the combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation, cloudiness, visibility, and wind. Climate refers to long-term weather patterns of a place, often 30-year averages are used to compare weather to a location’s climate.

 

How is the Ice Changing?

It’s in our name: Fjords, glacially-carved valleys filled with sea water, are a key piece to our climate story.

Glaciers are the main surface cover for the park and form the source of all park watersheds. That means most of Kenai Fjords' land, water and life are downstream, and therefore impacted by glacial change. A retreating glacier can reveal bare rock that eventually becomes a forest, creating new habitat for moose and terrestrial birds. It can also result in the development of a glacier-fed river or lake that provides nutrient-filled freshwater habitat for aquatic species such as salmon, which are fed on by bears and other wildlife like bald eagles. Over time, glacial retreat has shaped Kenai Fjords and left rivers and streams that feed into the rich fjord estuary ecosystem we see in the adjacent coastal waters.

Rapid and accelerating rates of ecosystem change have become prominent and disconcerting. This is felt disproportionally at high latitudes, with Alaska warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the United States over the past 60 years. From 1985 to 2020, Kenai Fjords National Park saw a 12% decrease in glacial area.

As glaciers shrink and change, we will continue to see downstream impacts on hydrology, tourism and recreational opportunities, public safety, vegetation patterns and wildlife behavior at a local and global scale. As changes accelerate, glacial retreat will profoundly impact the landscape of Kenai Fjords National Park and beyond. Monitoring, understanding, and predicting glacier change is a critical ongoing activity for National Park Service scientists. Visit the StoryMap An Insight into Ice to learn more about the changes of glaciers at Kenai Fjords:

 

An Insight Into Ice

 

The Domino Effect of Change

Though not all of us live near Kenai Fjords, we are all affected by the health of the oceans.

The effects of climate change are wide-reaching. Examples of direct and indirect effects of climate change are currently being studied in public lands all over Alaska. One of those topics is marine heatwaves, which are prolonged times when the ocean is much warmer than usual.

From 2014 to 2016, the north Pacific Ocean, including the coast of Kenai Fjords National Park, experienced the largest marine heatwave on record. The warming ocean caused widespread ecosystem changes, and was linked to a seabird die-off of an estimated 0.5 - 1 million common murres. Seabird die-offs have happened before, but never to this extent in terms of geographic area, length, and number of dead birds.

Learn more about effects on coastal seabirds, and the entire ecosystem around them, in the StoryMap How Marine Heatwaves are Changing Ocean Ecosystems:

 

Marine Heatwaves & Ocean Ecosystems

 

How Do the Changing Cycles Affect People?

People are connected to these natural cycles and have been for thousands of years.

Whether you see Kenai Fjords through the lens of a camera or deep ancestral ties, you affect and are affected by these lands and waters. On a global scale, human influence is now detectable in nearly all major components of the climate system. Scientists estimate that Alaska's melting glaciers supply one quarter of global glacier melt contributions to sea level rise. The ice regulates the Earth's climate, reducing warming by reflecting sun back into space.

Broad global effects, however, often miss the nuances of change and adaptation at the local level. The Sugpiat, a maritime people, have built a thriving, reciprocal relationship with this rugged coast since time immemorial.

Sugpiaq people practice a subsistence way of life harvesting traditional food from the land and sea. Kelp, mussels and cockles are collected in the intertidal zone, but as the seasonal cycle of plants and animals change, so do the resources for survival. The impacts of climate change threaten these "traditional ways of life, destabilize infrastructure, and disrupt the seasonal activities that Alaskan communities, especially indigenous peoples, have relied upon for millennia" - Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC).

That intimate interdependence with local ecosystems provides essential insight into the extent of change and how to build resilience.Their Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge are key to a comprehensive understanding of what was and what is to come at Kenai Fjords. Learn more by visiting the Generations of Change StoryMap by CRRC:

 

 

Generations of Change

 

My family proudly eats about 90% wild resources that are harvested from the land that we live on. My husband is an avid hunter and he goes and fills our freezer and I'm an avid hunter and harvester. Plants and berries and different foods from the land and fill our freezer to have for year round. Climate change definitely impacts our community for food resources because we're a glacial fed land.

—Raven Cunningham, Chugach Regional Resources Commission

Image credit: Photo courtesy of Chugach Regional Resources Commission

 

What Might Future Change Look Like?

As changes happen rapidly, more frequent monitoring and projections can help inform resource management decisions.

The graph below describes the expected changes in winter temperatures for the Kenai Fjords. Rising temperatures continue to affect the Harding Icefield and its outflowing glaciers, which cover 46% of the park's 1,047 square miles as of 2024. As average winter temperatures rise towards a 0°C threshold (32°F), these changes can be the difference between liquid water versus snow or ice - glaciers or no glaciers.

Looking ahead can help us plan to meet these challenges in the future. Learn more about the wide range of projections presented on the Scenarios Network for Alaska + Arctic Planning (SNAP) website.

 

Projections for average winter temperature at Kenai Fjords compared with a historical range

Developed by the Scenarios Network for Alaska + Arctic Planning at the International Arctic Research Center

 

Exit Glacier Nature Center power center uses solar energy for most summer operations

NPS Photo

Where Can We Find Balance?

How does Kenai Fjords National Park weigh visitor access and long-term preservation?

Goals of the park management team include incorporating best environmental management practices, pollution prevention, waste reduction, and environmentally-preferable purchasing in all park operations, and will strive for continual improvement in each of these areas. Some of these improvements include the Exit Glacier Nature Center solar panels, and the replacement of fleet vehicles with either electric or hybrid vehicles.

Going forward, the park works to strike a balance between human access and resource preservation, limiting our effects on natural ecosystems in park boundaries as well as limiting carbon emissions which increase temperatures globally. The National Park Service is working towards sustainability across all parks - find out more by looking at the Green Parks Plan.

 

Collaborate on ideas for your community with a Kenai Fjords Park Ranger

NPS Photo

We All Can Lead the Path Forward

The conversations we start in special places like Kenai Fjords can follow us home and spread through our local communities.

After visiting the park and witnessing its dramatic change, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Finding inspiration and creativity through conversations and community can be a path forward. Check out the Climate Change Response Program for a list of ideas and actions we can take to make a difference.

For more ideas on ways to talk about climate change and to learn about the science, check out this article in Alaska Park Science Communicating Science and Inspiring Hope.

 

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