Changing Climate, Changing Landscapes
"Seal got the land for Crow... Some pieces they got tree, some they got sandbar, driftwood. Pretty soon she brought up the whole thing." - Crow Makes the World as told by Louise Profeit-Leblanc
Changing climate shaped the landscape of Beringia
Climate transformed the landscape of Beringia many times during the last glacial age, determining which plants and animals were able to survive. During colder periods, glaciers scoured the land surrounding Beringia, and influenced wind and weather patterns. During warmer periods, more clouds, rain and snow altered soils and drainage patterns.
Animals survived where food survived
The fossil remains of trees such as spruce, birch and poplars have been found beyond their northernmost range today, indicating there were periods when the climate was warmer and wetter. In the cold and dry periods of full glaciation, spruce, and probably tree birch, were absent from large areas of Beringia, but survived beyond the ice sheets. Mastodon, that depended on shrubs for food, were uncommon in Beringia during the colder periods.
Over time, burns create a mosaic of vegetation types, providing different habitats
for a variety of animals. Southeast Yukon. Photo: Sue Kemmet
Some plants and animals adapted to climate change, some did not
Post-glacial flooding caused sudden and catastrophic landscape changes. More gradual changes allowed time for plant and animal adaptation. The current rise in global temperatures, particularly in the north, is continuing to change the landscape. The arctic coast is eroding faster than it has in living memory in some areas. Permafrost is melting and the circumpolar treeline has shifted over the last 50 years.
Left: Permafrost slumping erodes the coastline of the Beaufort Sea. The melting
permafrost expands upslope because meltwater and earth flow downslope, repeatedly
exposing more permafrost to melting. Photo: Greg Brooks, NRCan,
Geological Survey of Canada
Right: Block failure along the Beaufort coast. The Beaufort Sea undercuts the
cliffs causing large blocks of land to drop into the sea. Photo:
S. R. Dallimore, NRCan, Geological Survey of Canada
The earth's climate is changing. Can our society adapt to these changes? How can we reduce the degree of change?