Arctic Dreams

by Barry Lopez
A brief look at maps, arctic
news and issues, Alaska, and
animals.

Maps

4 General Projection Classes

Cylindrical projections: result from projecting a
spherical surface onto a cylinder.
Conic projections: result from projecting a
spherical surface onto a cone.
Azimuthal projections: result from projecting a
spherical surface onto a plane.
Miscellaneous projections include unprojected
ones such as rectangular latitude and longitude
grids and other examples of that do not fall into
the cylindrical, conic, or azimuthal categories

Sea Ice

Source http://igloo.atmos.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/test/print.sh

Northwest Passage

The Arctic:
Health barometer for the
planet.

Arctic in the News

October 17, 2009
Arctic ice cap to disappear in 20-30 years: study
By Relax News
The Arctic ice cap will vanish completely in summer
months within 20-30 years, polar researchers said
Thursday, sounding the alarm two months before a
critical climate change summit in Copenhagen.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/arctic-ice-cap-to-disappear-in-2030-years-study-1804495.html

Climate change is a human rights issue

20 October 2009
The Herald Scotland
Climate change in the Arctic Circle is forcing Inuits to
abandon their homeland and move south, a visiting
polar leader will tell the Scottish Government today.
People themselves have to change their way of thinking,
and their lives. For some of us climate change may
seem like a theory, but its an important reality for us
now. [It] is visible in our area, and you can see it with
changes in the fish and the other living creatures, and
changes in the migration of birds and marine animals.
Aqqaluk Lyng, vice-chairman of the Inuit Circumpolar
Council and representative to Greenlands 40,000 Inuit
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/polar-leader-issues-climate-change-plea-1.927336

Inuit Circumpolar Conference

CHARTER
PREAMBLE - RECOGNIZING
THAT we, the Inuit, are an indigenous people, with a unique ancestry, culture and homeland;
THAT the worlds arctic and sub-arctic areas which we use and occupy transcend political boundaries;
THAT due to our historical inheritance and use and occupancy of our homeland we enjoy cultural
rights unique to indigenous peoples and share common traditions, values and concerns;
THAT the Inuit homeland and its resources are of critical importance to the international community;
THAT international and national policies and practices should give due consideration to protection for
the arctic and sub-arctic environment and to the preservation and evolution of Inuit culture and
societies;
THAT our right to self-determination must be confirmed and Inuit participation in policies and activities
affecting our homeland assured;
THAT in furtherance of our spirit of cooperation with the international community, we seek to promote
world peace and the objectives of this Charter;
THAT an international organization of Inuit, known as the INUIT CIRCUMPOLAR CONFERENCE
dedicated to protect and advance Inuit rights and interest on the international level, has been
created by a resolution unanimously adopted on June 15, 1977 in Barrow, Alaska;
http://www.inuit.org/

Alaska
49th State in the Union
The largest state, 16% of total US land area
571,951.26 square miles
Alaska is more than twice the size of Texas,
the next-largest state
(You could fit 11+ Englands in Alaska)
Purchased from Russia in 1867. Named a
state in 1959.
http://www.city-data.com/states/Alaska-Location-size-and-extent.html http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/02000.html

Pingok Island, Alaska

Guesstimate of walking path taken in course of chapter

Arctic Animals
Ringed Seal
Bearded seal
Belukah whale
Marine Isopods
Northern Phalarope
Loon
Ptarmigan
Canada geese
Peregrine falcon

Common Eider
Glaucous gulls
Savannah sparrow
Ground squirrel
Arctic fox
Itinerant wolverine
Caribou

Ringed Seal
Average lifespan: 40 years
Average size: 5 ft, 150 lbs
The smallest and most
common and widely
distributed seals in the Arctic
Found throughout the Northern Hemispheres circumpolar oceans
Feed on polar and arctic cod and a variety of planktonic crustaceans.
Different populations have different names and some variation in
behavior and appearance. But ringed sealsthe smallest seal
speciesget their name from the light-colored circular patterns that
appear on their darker gray backs. Some
of these markings are so dense, in fact,
that they take on the look of splattered paint.
Food source for polar bears

Bearded seal
Average life: 35 years
Average weight: 400500 lbs.
Found around the arctic
ocean
Hunted for its meat and
hide

Belukah (Beluga) Whale

Average life: 35-50 years
Average size: 13-20 ft, 2,000 3,000 lbs.
Diet: Carnivorous
Unlike most other whales, the beluga has a flexible neck that enables it
to turn its head in all directions.
Protection status: Threatened
Animals trapped by Arctic ice often die, and they are prey for polar
bears, killer whales, and for Arctic people.
They are hunted by indigenous people of the
north, and by commercial fisheries that
brought some populations, such as those in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to near collapse.

Canada Goose
Average life: 24 years
Because of changing weather,
settlement, and farming patterns, many
have begun to alter their migrations.
Just 50 geese can produce two and a
half tons of excrement in a year.
They can cover 1,500 miles (2,400
kilometers) in just 24 hours with a
favorable wind, but typically travel at a
much more leisurely rate.

Isopods

n. any of a large order (Isopoda) of small sessile-eyed aquatic or terrestrial

crustaceans with the body composed of seven free thoracic segments
each bearing a pair of similar legs

Northern Phalarope
Expert swimmers and pass most of
their time, when not breeding,
upon the surface of the water,
where they can outride the most
severe storms in safety.
Range: Breeds from Labrador,
Hudson Bay and Alaska
northward. Winters south of the
United States, migrating along
both coasts, and to some extent
in the interior.

Peregrine falcon
Average lifespan: 17 years
Though some individuals are
permanent residents, many
migrate. Those that nest on
Arctic tundra and winter in
South America fly as many
as 15,500 miles (25,000
kilometers) in a year.

Savannah sparrow
Savannah Sparrows are
able runners; once
discovered, they drop into
the grass and dart away.
Savannah Sparrow: Breeds
from Alaska east to
Labrador and south to New
Jersey, Missouri, and
northern Mexico. Spends
winters regularly north to
southeastern Alaska and
Massachusetts. Found in
salt marshes, grasslands,
tundra, mountain meadows,
sandy regions, and shortgrass prairies.
The global population of this
bird is estimated at
82,000,000

Common Loon
Average lifespan: 30
years
Size: 2 to 3 ft
Weight: 6.5 to 12 lbs
Loons can dive more
than 200 feet (61
meters) below the
surface of the water
in search of food.

Arctic Ground Squirrel

Inuit name: Tsik-tsiks
Range: Alaska, northern Canada from the
Arctic Circle to the southern border of the
Northwest Territories, Alaska. Also Siberia
During hibernation, the body
temperature of the arctic
ground squirrel drops from
98.6 F to 26.4 F

Common Eider
Found in Northern Seas
Principal foods: mussels and shellfish
Threatened by: chronic coastal oil pollution, especially oil spills, the
shellfish aquaculture, disturbance of breeding grounds
disturbance from the development of mineral resources along the
coast and from local shore-based activities, unregulated tourism
and shipping, entanglement in monofilament nets, and is hunted.

Ptarmigan (unspecified)
Willow Ptarmigan: State bird of Alaska
Turns white in winter
In the winter they settle into snowbanks to
sleep. By flying into the bank, rather than
walking, they do not leave footprints and
can avoid predation.
Ranges from Alaska to Labrador
Also found in parts of northern Asia and
Europe. Inhabits tundra and thickets with
alder and willow trees.
Game bird

Glaucous gulls
A large gull.
Breeds
across
the arctic
Adults pearl-gray above, with no black in
wing tips; white on head and underparts.
Bill yellowish; feet pinkish.

Wolverine
A fierce and strong animal about the size of a bear cub.
It is the largest member of the weasel family.
It is most common on the mainland of Nunavut, Yukon and
the Northwest Territories.
The wolverine is short, with powerful legs and large feet. It
looks like a small bear. Wolverine fur is used for
trimming parka hoods.

Arctic Fox

Average Life: 3-6 years

Average weight: 6.5-17 lbs.

Diet: Omnivorous
Facts: They have fur on the bottoms of their feet.
When the seasons change, the fox's coat turns as well, adopting a brown or
gray appearance that provides cover among the summer tundra's rocks and
plants.

Caribou
Endangered species
Average life: 15 yrs
Average Size: 4-5 ft; 240-700
lbs
Food source: plants and
lichen
Food for: Inuit hunters
Headlines
Caribou calf mortality caused by
global warming (July 2008)
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/caribou345.html#cr

Earlier spring in Arctic could hit

caribou diet (May 2008)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/21/climatech
ange.wildlife

Resources
Animals
National Geographic
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals
Arctic Ocean Diversity http://www.arcodiv.org/index.html
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds www.rspb.org.uk
All About Birds
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/id
What Bird.com
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/613/_/Savannah_Sparro
w.aspx
Alaska Wildlife
http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=funfacts.s
quirrel