The fifth Kodiak Area Marine Science Symposium was this week. The conference brings together scientists from around the archipelago and Alaska every three years to present their research. The event started April 23 and wrapped April 25 with films about coastal life.
This year’s symposium was organized by Alaska Sea Grant, which funds scientific research in coastal and marine resources. Julie Matweyou is the marine advisory program agent in Kodiak.
“We’ve organized a number of presentations – two full days of plenary talks, a number of evening activities lined up,” she said.
Presentations included climate change’s effects in respect to fisheries, monitoring invasive species like crayfish and green crabs, ocean acidification, tours of the R/V Oscar Dyson, and even evaluations of mariculture.
This year’s keynote speaker was Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
“We can compare what’s happening in Kodiak/Kodiak Island Area to the larger part of our state,” he said.
Average temperatures in the northernmost regions of Alaska have seen average temperatures rise by nearly 6 degrees Fahrenheit, while Kodiak’s average temperatures have only risen by about 3 F in the last 50 years.
Thoman said that Kodiak is not facing the same drastic warming as the arctic, but extreme weather events like the 2018 “blob” in the North Pacific Ocean will become more normal in the next half century.
Thoman also shared the history of recording climate data in Kodiak going back to the 1870s, and a preview of the island’s potential future climate, with graphs showing a general warming trend.
