A four-year investigation into the climate change in the Arctic concluded that the traditional Inuit culture will cease to exist because of the depletion of summer sea ice. These same factors, as determined by the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), will drive marine mammals such as polar bears, walrus, and seals toward extinction by the middle of the century. Warming trends in the Arctic and nearby regions, such as Alaska, are leading to melting permafrost, thinning sea ice and other disruptions as climate change accelerates.
