Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Mike Carey, Research Fish Ecologist

By Natural Hazards Mission Area April 11, 2022

Video Transcript

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Detailed Description

Fish Ecologist Mike Carey studies the impacts beavers have on warming Alaskan permafrost landscapes.

As subarctic summers grow warmer and drier and winters less severe, Alaska’s tundra landscape is transforming. Plants and animals historically absent from the tundra are arriving and multiplying. One of these newcomers is the beaver, which is expanding its range north and west out of the boreal forest. Beavers’ ability to build dams and create wetlands is well-known in temperate regions. What USGS researchers want to understand is the impact beavers have on landscapes underlain by permafrost—the frozen ground that contains methane, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

Learn more about Mike Carey’s work.

Details

Length:

00:02:11

Sources/Usage

Public Domain.

Video is Public Domain.

Music: “The Northern Saga” by Luwaks, “Vapereon” by Luwaks, used with permission from Epidemic Sound.

Additional media courtesy of Lisa Hupp/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington, and Kameron Perensovich via Flickr (CC BY-SA 4.0). Additional media used with permission from Envato Elements.