Series: Alaska Park Science - Volume 16 Issue: Science in Alaska's Arctic Parks

The National Park Service manages five parks that fall partially or entirely within the Arctic tundra biome. These five parks encompass 19.3 million acres of land and constitute approximately 25% of the land area managed by the National Park Service nationwide. These are undeveloped places, with free-flowing rivers and wilderness at a massive scale.

• Article 1: Download Alaska Park Science: Volume 16, Issue 1

  

  Download a print-friendly copy of Volume 16, Issue 1 of Alaska Park Science. Read more

• Article 2: Alaska's Northern Parks: The Wonder of the Arctic

  

  The Arctic is a region characterized by extremes and adaptation. It is rich in natural and cultural history. The articles in this edition of Alaska Park Science highlight the many facets of life in the Arctic. Read more

• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

  Article 3: Animal Icons as Peaceful Warriors: Beyond Science and Culture to Achieve Conservation

  

  Muskoxen are an iconic Arctic species, and the Arctic is a place for an international commitment to conservation. This article explores the history of muskoxen and international conservation with Russia. Read more

• Article 4: Understanding Arctic Sea Ice in a Period of Rapid Climatic Change

  

  Decreasing sea ice poses significant challenges to both wildlife and people of the Arctic. This article explores the impacts associated with decreasing sea ice and how we may adapt. Read more

• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

  Article 5: Tracking the First Marine Mammal Hunters at Cape Espenberg, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

  

  Life in the Arctic would be nearly impossible without knowledge of how to harvest resources from the sea. Preserved at Cape Espenberg is the oldest evidence for marine mammal hunting in northern Alaska that suggests people developed maritime adaptations before their arrival in Alaska or as they arrived, instead of after a prolonged period of adaptation. Read more

• Article 6: Alaska Native Place Names in Arctic Parks

  

  Indigenous place names are rich ethnographic and historical resources. Many of them refer to activities that regularly took place at the site; others tell of historical events that occurred there. These names have been replaced by English names on modern maps; this article discusses efforts to document these names into the future. Read more

• Cape Krusenstern National Monument

  Article 7: Learning from the Past: Archaeological Results from Cape Krusenstern National Monument

  

  With such a large geographic extent to cover, archaeologists in Alaska are often covering new ground. Increasingly, however, archaeologists are returning to previously researched sites for new insights. Read more

• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

  Article 8: A Paleontological Inventory of Arctic Parks

  

  Mammoth bones from the same skeleton are relatively uncommon in Alaska, making this one of the more complete mammoth skeletons known. Arctic parks also contain abundant marine fossils, including trilobites, ammonites, brachiopods, gastropods, and many more. Read more

• Noatak National Preserve

  Article 9: Applying Wilderness Character Monitoring in the Arctic

  

  The Noatak Wilderness in the western Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska recently completed a Wilderness Character Narrative that describes the area’s holistic and often intangible wilderness character. A Wilderness Character Monitoring Baseline Assessment was also completed that describes how we will monitor wilderness character for the Noatak Wilderness. Read more

• Article 10: The Fate of Permafrost

  

  At present, permafrost is continuous in Arctic parks and discontinuous in Denali and Wrangell St.-Elias national parks and preserves. We expect the distribution of permafrost will still be continuous in Arctic parks by the 2050s; however, it is very likely that the distribution of permafrost in Denali and Wrangell-St. Elias will become sporadic by then. Read more

• Noatak National Preserve

  Article 11: Potential Effects of Permafrost Thaw on Arctic River Ecosystems

  

  Changing hydrology and stream chemistry associated with permafrost thaw will likely impact fish in Arctic rivers. While climate change may directly affect fish by increasing stream temperature, permafrost thaw will likely affect fish indirectly by altering different components of the stream food web. Read more

• Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve

  Article 12: Perennial Snowfields of the Central Brooks Range: Valuable Park Resources

  

  The nature of change in perennial snowfields in the central Brooks Range is one of rapid decline, and these changes are of increased significance to the high alpine hydrology and ecology of Gates of the Arctic. Results of research will help archaeologists continue to target field survey areas, as well as address the impacts that these changes are having on park natural resources. Read more

• Article 13: Caribou: Nomads of the North

  

  Caribou are an iconic Arctic species that are highly adaptable both physiologically and behaviorally. Yet, caribou populations face many challenges, such as climate change and industrial development, and are in decline in many portions of their range. Read more

• Article 14: Lichens of the Arctic

  

  Because certain lichen species are both abundant and sensitive to changes in the environment, they can serve as useful indicators of ecosystem health. When exposed to even low levels of certain pollutants, particularly sensitive species will decline or die, making lichen community composition a good indicator. Read more

• Article 15: Muskox: An Iconic Arctic Species, Then and Now

  

  In response to changes in hunting regulations and low harvest rates, the most recent data show that between the 2012 and 2015 the muskoxen population across the Seward Peninsula appeared to stabilize. The number of animals within Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and adjacent areas, however, declined during the same time period. Read more

• Article 16: Declining Sheep Populations in Alaska’s Arctic Parks

  

  Dall’s sheep are an important subsistence species for local residents, particularly when caribou are scarce, and they are highly valued by sport hunters and wildlife enthusiasts. Their populations may be at an all-time low, however, in Noatak National Preserve and Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve due to weather conditions and other factors. Read more

• Article 17: Small Mammals as Indicators of Climate, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Change

  

  This is a time of rapid environmental changes in Alaska. Species that have evolved within tundra habitats over multiple glacial cycles are not only best adapted to high-latitude and high-elevation environments, but may also respond more slowly to change. Studies of small mammal communities could provide valuable insights to larger ecosystem changes. Read more

• Article 18: Collaborative Conservation of the Rare Alaskan Yellow-billed Loon

  

  Through collaborative research with our partners, we are addressing the data gaps outlined in the Status Assessment and Conservation Plan for the Yellow-billed Loon to inform prudent conservation efforts and science-based management of this rare and majestic species across Alaska. Read more

• Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve

  Article 19: Rust in the Wilderness: The Story of Mining Machines in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

  

  Today visitors to Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve can explore mining camps that look as if the miners simply dropped their tools, turned off their machines, and walked away. Read more

• Article 20: Why the National Park Service Cares about Shipping in the Arctic

  

  An increase of up to 500% of ship traffic in the Arctic was recently forecasted over the next decade with the largest increase coming from “destination” shipping, such as tourism and resource extraction. The NPS is actively engaged in efforts to document and forecast these changes because of the potential to impact park resources and values in the Arctic. Read more

• Article 21: Synthesis of Coastal Issues and Projects in the Western Arctic National Parklands

  

  The Arctic coastal parks are currently facing a new set of threats brought about primarily by climate change and associated economic trends. Remote parks, people, and cultures are finding themselves increasingly in the midst of complex and novel situations. Read more

• Article 22: National Park Service Participation in the Arctic Council

  

  The Arctic Council and its working groups provide a forum through which NPS scientists and managers can share information and learn from a wide array of colleagues and Arctic residents that are coping with similar challenges. Read more