Introduction
The concept of global warming is not new. The first mentions of the impact of CO2 levels in the atmosphere of the Earth on the surface temperature and the greenhouse effects it caused emerged in 1896, published by Svante Arrhenius (Wulff 163). Only four decades after that, Guy Callendar initiated a discussion of the impact of the rising CO2 concentration on global warming in 1938 (Heymann 1550). However, the problem acquired a global scale and ignited the public interest worldwide only in the 1990s, when the magnitude of climate change and its far-reaching consequences. The past couple of decades witnessed a spur of attention to this subject. The destructive processes were triggered by intense industrial activities, massive burning of fossil fuels across the globe for various human purposes, deforestation, and excessive agricultural exploitation of land (Dunn and Moller 5).
Today, climate change is regarded as the most significant environmental problem of the 21st century, with severe repercussions for every ecosystem in every corner of the globe (Dunn and Moller 3). The 2018 data of IPCC suggests that the global temperature will rise by 1.50C compared to the pre-industrial era by 2040, and the tempo of global warming will persist at 0.20C every decade. Nevertheless, the temperature rises and changes in weather patterns are expected to vary across geographic locations, with a heterogeneous effect of the climate change on different continents.
Climate change is mostly referred to as a result of the Industrial Revolution and an outcome of human activities, for instance, fossil fuel burning, use of aerosols, and pollution. Therefore, the focus of activists is on the world’s top industrial powers, such as the USA and Canada. This region experiences a profound impact of global warming, ranging from northward migration of plants and animals to coastal erosion to wetland loss. The Gulf Coast cities are expected to lose their barrier islands and wetlands, at the same time suffering from wildfire and heatwaves. Alaska is seen as a region with disrupted forests and increased biological production, threatening the local wildlife and marine life (Spellman 81). The whole scale of changes brought by climate change to North America can hardly be embraced without understanding the intricate connections between the involved processes and ecosystems. Thus, this paper examines the impact of climate change on North America, with an explicit focus on the detrimental impact on the aquatic systems, wildlife, weather patterns, Arctic ecosystem, and the agri-food system.
Impact on the Arctic
The Arctic region of North America, Alaska, is expected to experience a pronounced effect of climate change, with a steadily diminishing snow cover and shrinking sea ice. As Moon et al. clarified, arctic land ice is melting rapidly, and the permafrost layer is unstoppably thawing (213). This rapid arctic change has already caused much damage to the coastal areas in the USA, such as flooding of South Ponte Vedra Beach and Black Creek area in Florida, Charleston in South California, and Lumberton in North Carolina (Moon et al. 213). The intensity of flooding is projected to rise, with the disproportionate effect on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast cities caused by climate change-related changes in the planet’s gravitational field.
Another problem resulting from permafrost thawing is the release of large numbers of carbon dioxide and methane caused by decomposing biomass released from the eternal ice of the Arctic (Moon et al. 213). Recent estimates revealed that the permafrost thawing at a depth of more than three meters is likely to release a massive carbon pool sealed in it, speeding up the global warming cycle (Le Quéré 2141). The volume of that carbon pool is enormous, twice as large as the current volume of CO2 in the atmosphere of the Earth. Thus, its release is expected to trigger even more dramatic climate changes and aggravate the global ecosystem quicker.
The melting land and sea ice in the Arctic also present considerable environmental challenges for North America. Arctic ice conserves around 8% of the planet’s freshwater, which is quickly leaking to the sea due to the rising temperature. The emergence of new tundra plants in the Eastern Canadian Arctic suggests that the present-day summer temperatures are higher than those observed within the past 115,000 years (Box et al.). The last interglaciation is known to take place during that period, and the gradual ice thawing reveals the plants hidden in the permafrost since that moment. If the tempo of ice melting remains the same, humankind is likely to witness a global sea-level increase by 50cm – 1 meter by 2100 (Moon et al. 214). Once this scenario is realized, the rising sea level will cause destructive flooding of many coastal areas across North America and globally.
In addition, it is vital to keep in mind that the thawing permafrost in the Arctic causes far-reaching changes in the Arctic terrestrial hydrological cycle, causing an increase in the Arctic river runoff. The Arctic marine ecosystems are also affected because of the change in their nutrient cycle and the evolution of the marine light environment (Moon et al. 215). Other devastating processes in the Arctic Sea triggered by global warming include stratification, benthic-pelagic connections, and the changing current and wind patterns (Sun et al. 7831). These changes cause inevitable damage to the well-established aquatic system, making some species obsolete and putting hundreds of others on the brink of extinction.
Climate Change and Wildlife
The effect of climate change on North America’s wildlife is already pronounced, expected to have the greatest magnitude compared to other challenges of global warming on the continent. According to Silvy, North American wildlife used to be in decline, with many endangered species, even before the climate change (450). Over 1,600 species are included in the conservation list and are covered by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) now, while one-third of every species group is on the verge of extinction. The wildlife species of the USA are moving northward as a result of climate change in the search for familiar habitats and food they are accustomed to. Besides, the changes in seasonality patterns, with early spring and shorter winter months, force animals, birds, and insects to change their locations in search of familiar conditions. As Mahoney and Geist noted, the migration of species has already affected the Inuit dialect (134). The Indigenous people are forced to borrow names of new animals and birds from the English language to describe the species they’ve never lived side by side with.
Thus, wildlife species feel the negative effect of climate change in many ways, from elevated extinction risks for rare species to the transition of previously widespread and abundant species to the endangered category. Climate change has also introduced new avian diseases that put numerous bird species, like Hawaiian honeycreepers, at significant risk (Owen, Hawley, and Huyvaert 183). Diffendorfer, Thogmartin, and Drum also pointed out the declining Monarch butterfly populations across the USA caused by climate change (327). The species recently included in the ESA because of climate change are elkhorn and staghorn corals, polar bear, rufa red knot, bearded seal, and ringed seal (Silvy 450). This evidence suggests that climate change affects the entire flora and fauna of North America, creating unprecedented risks and challenges for large categories of species.
The most troubling aspect of climate change’s impact on evolving wildlife is the uncertainty and unpredictability of its effects in the long run (Mahoney and Geist 134). Some species appear to benefit from the change, including yellow-bellied marmots (experiencing a 10% body weight gain and declining mortality) and imported red fire ants (posing a deadly threat to northern bobwhite) (Silvy 450). However, one thing is clear: the problems of rare species will only exacerbate, posing additional threats and challenges for their survival amid non-typical environmental conditions.
Effect on the Aquatic Systems and Sea Levels
The troubling statistics say that over 90% of the increased energy released in the process of climate change is absorbed by the oceans, thus causing a considerable ocean temperature increase. Over the past century (1901-2015), the upper ocean layers’ temperature increased by 0.80C, disrupting the abundance of marine life and triggering the spread of new marine diseases (Silvy 454). Sun et al. referred to the Arctic Sea ice loss as the primary factor for Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) weakening and the formation of the “North Atlantic warming hole” (7838). Thus, the effect of climate change on sea levels and marine water warming is higher than that on land.
Another pressing problem for marine systems associated with climate change is the reducing water salinity because of the Arctic cap’s melting and release into the oceans. The freshening of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre will be responsible for the salinity change until 2050 (Sun et al. 7838). The global warming-induced changes also involve rapid ocean acidification, with the increase in CO2 dissolution into the oceans causing a 30% rise in surface ocean acidity (Silvy 454). These alterations are likely to affect predator-prey relationships, distort food chains, and destroy many of the ecosystem’s functions. Besides, marine microorganisms (e.g., algae, crustaceans, urchins) lose their ability to generate calcium carbonate (CaCO2) in acidic water, which is vital for the strength of their exoskeletons (Silvy 454). The deterioration of marine life’s vitality and health is thus expected to put it at risk of extinction, increasing its vulnerability to predators and hindering its reproductive potential.
One of the most widespread effects of global warming on the aquatic systems is coral bleaching. This process ruins the symbiosis of corals with polyps and green zooxanthellae algae, causing the corals to lose their color and become white (Silvy 454). In this way, the corals remain stripped of their growth nutrients and become vulnerable to environmental damage and disease. The rising magnitude of coral destruction thus triggers an alarming chain of other detrimental changes in the marine communities that use corals as their natural habitats. These changes are expected to cause severe effects on the diversity of fish and other wildlife, relying on the keystone species in their habitats (Courtney, Kindeberg, and Andersson).
Adverse Weather Patterns and Natural Disasters
The most dangerous aspect of climate change is its ability to trigger complex processes, leaving no ecosystem untouched. For instance, the Arctic thaw has triggered a wide range of climatic and weather pattern changes worldwide, North America included. Since the Arctic warms quicker than the rest of the planet, the difference between its average temperatures and the temperature in other regions tends to flatten. This trend profoundly impacts the polar jet stream – a fast west-to-east atmospheric river that serves as a natural barrier between the cold north air and warmer south air (Fletcher 87). As a result of these atmospheric river changes, weather conditions worsen across the North American continent, causing extreme weather events and natural disasters.
One of the non-evident but pronounced effects of the polar jet stream is the increase in wildfires across North America. This airstream was found to cause extreme wildfire events in North America between 400 and 700N latitude, based on the analysis of wildfire events from 2002-to 2016 (Jain and Flannigan 6247). The impact of the polar jet stream on wildfire is more pronounced in the western areas of the continents than in eastern regions in May-August. Canada’s boreal forest has witnessed more frequent wildfires recently, which is an evident response to the increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere (Overpeck and Udall 11858). Thus, the complex chain of interactions between climate change-induced processes is becoming more dangerous for North America’s forests.
The weather volatility also increases in North America, with intense floods and downpours shifting to extended droughts. Weather disasters cost the U.S. economy over $306 billion in 2017 alone; many of those natural disasters were caused by the melting of the Arctic ice (Fletcher 85). Thus, it is evident that climate change affects the precipitation patterns across the USA, with Northeast areas experiencing an increase in rainfall while the southeast suffers from a rainfall decline. The magnitude and frequency of extreme weather effects have also been rising, with droughts and downpours occurring more often. For instance, the rate of massive rainfall increased by 71% from 1958 to 2012 in the northeastern USA, causing crop destruction and exacerbating the effect of the following drought days (Silvy 451).
Another problem affecting North America due to climate change is greater exposure to droughts, with the most pronounced effect felt in the western U.S. states. As Overpeck and Udall pointed out, the discussion of droughts in this region is mostly concerned with the lack of precipitation, which is not the case in the 21st century (11856). Droughts also contribute to reduced plant growth and wildlife habitat destruction. For example, a large-scale drought in the southwestern USA destroyed much of the pinyon pine growth area, which evolved into less water-reliant juniper woodland and shrubland. That change deprived many birds and wildlife species of their natural habitat (Silvy 451). Thus, the growing aridity is associated with the steady rise in the global temperatures, which cause hotter climate extremes and create conditions for soil drying.
Speaking about the USA, one should note the adverse processes triggered by excessive burning of fossil fuels throughout the Industrial Revolution in the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. The reduction of flows and warmer temperatures throughout the year affects the Columbia River and the Sierra Nevada in California (Overpeck and Udall 11857). However, not only southwestern states are affected; the latest evidence suggests similar processes in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Missouri river basin. Therefore, the anthropogenic effect on the rivers’ flow and climate change will increase the likelihood of extensive droughts in the near future in many parts of North America.
The North American Agri-Food System
The increase in extreme weather events like droughts and flooding inevitably pressures the population of North America to change their agricultural practices. Weather volatility affects crop selection, the timing of planting and harvest collection, as well as the choice of suitable planting locations (Silvy 456). These effects are individual for every region, and not all changes are detrimental; some crops are expected to benefit from climate change because of warmer temperatures and longer warm seasons. Irrigated agriculture expands further Midwest in North America in response to global warming. However, the yields are still in danger because of the expansion of dry weather extremes to the East Coast of North America and further to the north in Canada (Overpeck and Udall 11857).
As climate change progresses, agriculture is projected to move northward, with more northern areas becoming suitable for planting crops. At the same time, a large number of southern areas will lose their agricultural suitability due to the rising land aridity (Silvy 456). However, while many new areas get exploited by agricultural activities, Raven and Wagner focus on the devastating effect of expanding agriculture on insect biodiversity (1). Increased agricultural activities are currently causing massive destruction of pollinators and predators of crop pests, which are likely to cause prolonged effects on North America’s insect species.
Conclusion
As one can see from the presented evidence, North America is one of the most heavily affected continents regarding the magnitude of climate change today. The intensity of industrial activities across the continent throughout the 20th century explains the scale and speed of global warming and environmental deterioration. Thus, the fruits of the industrial progress in Canada and the USA come in the form of droughts, changing weather patterns, evolving agriculture, and thousands of species put on the verge of extinction. The fastest pace of climate change is observed in the Arctic region of the continent – Alaska –trapped in the self-accelerating cycle of permafrost melting and carbon dioxide release. The Arctic is disproportionately affected by climate change because the thawing of permafrost triggers unpredictable local processes, such as insects’ activation, biomass decomposition, etc.
The alarming speed of ice melting in the Arctic region triggers large-scale effects on ocean acidification, rising sea levels, flooding, and greater temperature extremes. Some regions of North America reap the benefits of global warming in the form of prolonged agricultural seasons. In contrast, others become unsuitable for agriculture because of heatwaves, reduced water flows, and prolonged droughts. The regions most affected by flooding are in the southwest and southeast parts of North America, while the Great Plains and other inland agricultural sites suffer from increasing aridity.
Therefore, as the analysis of climate change patterns reveals, the North American continent is on the verge of profound environmental changes resulting from global warming. It will exacerbate if the population of North America does not adopt a practical climate adaptation approach, which is a low-risk model avoiding further climate change exacerbation. Otherwise, the magnitude of environmental changes is expected to rise, driving the local flora and fauna northward, drowning many cities underwater, and turning large areas into deserts.
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