incre asin g mi Changes in snowfall cr Release ob Since the mid-twentieth century there has ia l of carbon a c been a decrease in snow cover periods t r iv across certain parts of Russia. The snow e dioxide and it h y t r cover period has become particularly u methane f g

n o i shorter in Western Siberia, Taymyr and t m r Climate g Yakutia. In 2020 Siberia experienced a n i Tundra release w d an extraordinary heatwave which lasted

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sea e of carbon and l is thawing several months, thawing permafrost ice is methane Change and sea ice. The highest ever melting recorded temperature above the Arctic circle was made in the Arctic and the Russian town of Verkhoyansk, warming Climate is a staggering 38°C. dark surfaces accelerates warming are exposed nd and is ou gr Russian amplified the warming of ocean Arctic warming

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*Data from the Roshydromet Assessment Report on Climate Change and its Consequences in the Russian Federation.

CASE STUDY CASE STUDY Arctic tundra biome Taiga biome Changes in the thaw rate Permafrost The Nenets reindeer herders The warming climate in Russia’s cover vast distances as part of northern territory is encouraging (borehole comparison) Permafrost formation begins when water is trapped and an annual cycle as they move a number of trends which have The Tiksi Stone Ridge borehole frozen in soil, sediment and rock pores. After at least with their reindeer herds from the the potential to alter the character 20m deep in the Russian Arctic tundra two consecutive years if the ground remains below zero winter pastures of the forest tundra and extent of the region’s (latitude 71.587 longitude 128.777) has degrees, it’s called permafrost. northwards towards the summer immense boreal forest. Most seen a 0.52°C temperature increase for Continuous permafrost is an unbroken sheet of frozen pastures adjacent to the Barents notably, forest fires now strike with 2008-2016. This is a dramatic warming material which extends under all surfaces and remains and Kara Seas. greater regularity: increasing tree of important frozen carbon storage. below zero degrees. The warming climate in the Arctic mortality and decreasing carbon sequestration in the biosphere. Average global temperatures have warmed by roughly region presents the Nenets with a Tundra Rising average temperatures also 1°C compared to pre-industrial times. However warming range of pressures linked to this has not been felt equally around the world – it has been seasonal migration. In particular, the facilitate other natural disturbances such as the northward movement particularly extreme in the high latitudes. thawing and gradual degradation of Arctic temperatures have increased at of pests and disease. Coastal permafrost impedes the progress of least twice as fast (current estimates say erosion of both the Nenets and their herds as 2-3 times as fast) when compared to the permafrost they move across the region with Reindeer herder’s mid-latitudes, largely due to melting land wife and Nenets © the surface layer becoming T h reindeer, Yamal, and sea ice. This phenomenon is known as o m unstable and difficult © Thomas Opel a Russia ‘Arctic amplification’. It has caused the top s

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p to traverse. The The Umaybyt 20 borehole 20m deep e ‘active layer’ of the ground (permafrost l migratory movement in the Russian taiga (latitude 61.429 soil that thaws in summer and is further impeded longitude 128.849 has seen a 0.25°C refreezes in winter) to deepen, by the ongoing temperature increase for 2008-2016. making more organic matter development available for biological of hydrocarbon decomposition. resources on the Taiga Yamal Peninsula which ensures the region is criss-

crossed with new WWF © naturepl.com Bryan and Cherry Alexander transport routes

and pipelines. © Thomas Opel ©

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The associated AHRC-funded research project brings together researchers from the UK WWF is the world’s leading independent conservation organisation. Our mission is to The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) is the home [email protected] (Universities of Birmingham and Manchester) and Russia (Higher School of Economics, create a world where people and wildlife can thrive together. To achieve our mission, we of geography. We provide a wide range of teaching www.rgs.org/schools St Petersburg) in order to explore the development of Soviet climate science post-1945, are finding ways to help transform the future for the world’s wildlife, rivers, forests and resources for all Key Stages, access to CPD, advice, @RGS_IBGschools with a particular focus on the debates concerning humankind’s influence on climate seas. Dr Caroline Coch, Polar Specialist at WWF-UK contributed to developing the support and an opportunity to join us through our #ChooseGeography systems and on Soviet contributions to related international initiatives. content of the poster. membership schemes.