A Northerner does not have to search very hard to find signs that our climate is changing. The 1990s were the warmest decade of the past millennium, and the results of that unaccustomed warmth are all around us.

Permafrost is melting, coastlines are crumbling, and the ice is breaking up earlier on many rivers. Melting snowfields are revealing everything from ancient caribou feces to prehistoric artifacts. Southern species such as mule deer have been showing up North of 60 for some time.

Whether we like it or not, it is becoming clear that Northerners are on the front lines for learning about climate change. The predictions are that global warming will affect the northern part of the globe more than southern regions, so Yukoners will be the advance guard for learning about life in a warmer world.

The build-up of greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide is credited with trapping the earth's heat and causing this global increase in temperatures. Levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other gasses are expected to continue increasing for some time, so this warming trend will most likely continue.

In February, 2000 the Northern Climate ExChange was set up to act as a clearinghouse for information on climate change in the North. The centre, located at Yukon College, is funded by the federal and Yukon governments and the college.

One of the centre's roles is to help advance knowledge on the impacts of climate change in the North, and a huge amount of research is already underway on this matter. Since the 1970s more than 160 studies related to climate change have been conducted in the Yukon and other regions of the North.

The potential impacts of climate change in the Yukon are profound. In addition to warmer temperatures, climate models are predicting that there will be more snow in winter, more severe storms and more variation in the weather as well.

A warmer world could mean fewer wetlands and more landslides created by thawing permafrost. Warmer waters could mean good news for some species like lake trout, but major problems for cold-water species such as salmon.

If we could pick and choose, some of these changes might sound just great. Many Yukoners would happily say goodbye to long bouts of -40 degree weather, and what gardener would not welcome having a longer growing season.

But unfortunately climate change is a package deal, and an enormously complicated one at that. A longer growing season also means a longer fire season. Also, the plants and animals living here are adapted to the climate that we have now, and a warmer climate could be less than ideal for them.

Some species can adapt to change more readily than others do. Also climate change may favour certain species at the expense of others. For example, moose might fare better in a warmer world than caribou.

Humans will also have to adapt to these changes, and facilitating this process is another focus for the Northern Climate ExChange. Aynslie Ogden, the project research officer with the centre, says that "adaptation means reducing our vulnerability."

For example, building practices can be changed to anticipate problems with melting permafrost. Foresters can determine which species of trees will grow best north of 60 under warmer conditions, and use those species when replanting.

On-going research continues to change predictions on what climate change could mean in the North, and the boreal forest is a case in point. At first it was assumed that warmer conditions would be good for the forest, encouraging tree growth. But Alaskan researchers have found that rising temperatures and falling precipitation in the interior of that state are already stressing white spruce trees there and slowing their growth.

In May the centre hosted a workshop to help identify areas in which more research is needed. Scientists are already well aware of the North's role as a living laboratory for climate change and are studying the impacts of global warming on everything from the spread of parasites to the melting of glaciers.

Much of the research taking place in the Wolf Creek Research Basin, for example, is relevant to climate change. For example, one-metre plots of vegetation are being monitored to see whether changes are taking place.

Few naysayers are still arguing that climate change is theoretical. The U.S. government recently released the results of a multiyear highly technical study that concluded that rising temperatures will result in major changes in all regions of the country.

Ogden thinks that Northerners in general are quite aware of climate change. "It is very much a northern issue at this time, and we are one step ahead in some ways."

"More people here rely on the land for a living, so it hits closer to home. People living in cities are not affected as directly."

For more information on climate change in the North, contact the Northern Climate ExChange by phone at 668-8735 or by through the website at www.taiga.net/nce.