Harry Stern studies Arctic sea ice and climate using satellite data. Current interests include the changing sea ice habitat of polar bears and narwhals, and the history of Arctic exploration. He participated in the Around the Americas expedition, sailing through the eastern half of the Northwest Passage in 2009. He served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Geophysical Research–Oceans (2007-2010). He helped to launch the annual Polar Science Weekend at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center, and now runs the event. He has a B.S. in mathematics and M.S. in applied mathematics. He has been with the Polar Science Center since 1987 and with the University since 1980.
Harry Stern
In The News
Remote Sensors Bring Wildlife Tracking to New Level: Trove of data yields fresh insights—and challenges
BioScience talks to PSC’s Kristin Laidre for their coverage of combining remote sensing with animal tracking. Laidre and a field team of researchers tagged polar bears with telemetry devices, such as GPS collars, to collect data. Read the article to learn how Kristin and PSC’s Harry Stern used the remote-sensing data to study polar bear and sea ice trends.
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Conservation Biology Awards
The publication Conservation Biology announced its awards for 2016 and PSC’s Kristin Laidre is the lead author of the paper that earned the second highest altmetric score, Arctic Marine Mammal Population Status, Sea Ice Habitat Loss, and Conservation Recommendations for the 21st Century.
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Laidre led the collaborative effort which involved PSC colleagues Harry Stern and Eric Regehr (at present), along with other researchers from Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and other US institutions. Congratulations to Kristin and the team!
How to conserve polar bears — and maintain subsistence harvest — under climate change
The UW Today reports on the open-access study recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology by PSC’s Eric Regehr and a collaborative team, including Harry Stern. The team combined data collected on polar bear subpopulations with that of sea ice extent and identified ways to carry on subsistence harvesting with the least amount of negative impact already caused by habitat loss.
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Press Release: Harvesting wildlife affected by climate change?
PSC researchers Eric Regehr and Harry Stern contribute to a new polar bear study on the balance between conservation and subsistence needs. The British Ecological Society reports on the published findings.
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The New Northwest Passage
48° North covers the changing state of the Northwest Passage from a sailor’s point of view. The magazine also includes their brief conversation with PSC’s Harry Stern who provides some of the science behind the fluctuating Arctic sea ice.
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With Arctic freeze-up coming later, some belugas delay fall migration
The Alaska Dispatch News reports on the study published in Global Change Biology of beluga whale migration patterns influenced by changes of the annual Arctic freeze-up. PSC authors include Donna Hauser, Kristin Laidre, and Harry Stern. The article also makes a parallel comparison to a study of ice retreat, published in JGR Oceans, co-authored by PSC’s Rebecca Woodgate.
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Seattle climate scientists spread word on warming, skip politics
Are climate scientists able to talk about their research without politics today? The Seattle Times talks with PSC researchers Axel Schwieger, Mike Steele, and Harry Stern who try to inform the public of the science behind climate change.
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Arctic sea ice loss impacts beluga whale migration
The University of Washington news produced a video with the Polar Science Center highlighting a six-year study of Beluga whale populations. Donna Hauser, Kristin Laidre, and Harry Stern participated from PSC.
read more »Arctic sea ice changes affect beluga whale migration
Eurasia Review reports on the results of the lengthy study of beluga whale migration led by PSC and published in the journal Global Change Biology. The news post includes previous comments by some of the authors, Donna Hauser and Kate Stafford.
read more »Beluga Whales: Loss of Arctic sea ice due to climate change disrupts migration patterns
The news source International Business Times, out of the UK, reports on findings recently published in Global Change Biology of a decades-long research study involving Beluga whales. Donna Hauser, Kristin Laidre, Harry Stern and colleagues examined changes in autumn migration timing of Beluga whale populations since the 1990s.
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Polar bear populations to decrease 30 per cent by 2050
Geographical reports on the findings of an extensive study of polar bear populations published in Biology Letters. Read the online article with remarks from one of PSC’s contributors to the study, Kristin Laidre.
read more »Science Daily: Arctic sea ice loss impacts beluga whale migration
Science Daily, the popular science news website, posts coverage of the recently published study of the annual migration of some beluga whales altered by sea ice changes in the Arctic. The study and findings were published in Global Change Biology, authored by Donna Hauser, Kristin Laidre, Harry Stern and Kate Stafford, among others.
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Research symposium for International Policy Institute (IPI) Arctic Fellows, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (Jackson School)
Harry Stern served as a respondent at the International Policy Institute (IPI) Arctic Fellows Research Symposium which took place on Friday, December 9 at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies on campus. The theme of the symposium was Arctic Indigenous Economies in Inuit Nunangat (Canada) and the Circumpolar World.
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Q&A: Harry Stern discusses historical maps, the Northwest Passage and the future of Arctic Ocean shipping
Harry Stern sits down with UW Today to discuss his research which involved accounts from early explorers to study the Arctic Ocean.
read more »How Capt. James Cook’s intricate 1778 records reveal global warming today in Arctic
The Seattle Times covered Harry Stern’s research study which tracked changes along the Arctic ice edge combining modern technology and historical records such as maps and logs from Captain James Cook’s 18th-century voyage.
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A Look Back to Arctic Climate in the 18th Century
APL-UW has produced a video with Harry Stern and his research of the Arctic ice edge that incorporated logs and maps of Captain James Cook’s polar expedition among other early explorers.
read more »A new look at Captain Cook shows just how much the Arctic has melted
Popular Science reported on Harry Stern’s research paper which analyzed observations recorded by the earliest explorers of the Northwest Passage in correlation to the current trend in sea ice.
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Polar maps: Captain Cook and the earliest historical charts of the ice edge in the Chukchi Sea
In search of the Northwest Passage, Captain James Cook was the first to actually probe and chart the ice edge north of Bering Strait. Polar Geography has published Harry Stern’s research of Cook’s exploration of the Arctic and how other expeditions fared in comparison, resulting in a history of sea-ice observations from Cook’s time to the present.
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Every single part of the Arctic is becoming worse for polar bears
The Washington Post reports on the changes in Arctic sea ice and its effect on the polar bear. The main source of the article is a recent study by PSC’s Harry Stern and Kristin Laidre, published in The Cryosphere.
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All polar bears across the Arctic face shorter sea ice season
UW Today highlights the latest article, by PSC’s Harry Stern and Kristin Laidre, published in The Cryosphere. Other media sources reporting the study are The Seattle Times, Science Daily, The Washington Post, Mashable, and Nature.com
read more »More bad news for polar bears: UW scientists find dire ice conditions
The Seattle Times reports on the Arctic-wide analysis of changes in sea ice that have the greatest impact on polar bears, conducted by the PSC’s Harry Stern and Kristin Laidre.
read more »Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook and the Northwest Passage
The Polar Science Center’s Harry Stern contributed the essay called Sea Ice in the Western Portal of the Northwest Passage from 1778 to the Twenty-First Century in this new book by the University of Washington Press.
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Arctic marine mammal review
A new article published in Conservation Biology and featured in Science by lead author Kristin Laidre is the first to provide a comprehensive look at the current status of all Arctic marine mammal species and offer conservation recommendations.
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Iced In: Conservation Magazine, 2011-12-04
Recent research by Kristin Laidre and Harry Stern on the impacts of climate change on Arctic narwhals is published in Polar Biology. See the article in Conservation Magazine.
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Selected Publications
Laidre, K. L., S. N. Atkinson, E. V. Regehr, H. L. Stern, E. W. Born, Ø. Wiig, N. J. Lunn, M. Dyck, P. Heagerty, and B. R.
Cohen. 2020. Transient benefits of climate change for a high‐Arctic polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulation. Global
Change Biology 26:6251‐6265. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15286Laidre K. L., H. Stern, E. W. Born, P. Heagerty, S, Atkinson, Ø. Wiig, N. J. Lunn, E. V. Regehr, R. McGovern, M. Dyck. 2018. Changes in winter and spring resource selection by polar bears Ursus maritimus in Baffin Bay over two decades of sea-ice loss. Endangered Species Research 36:1-14. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00886
Hauser, D.D.W., K.L. Laidre, H.L. Stern, R.S. Suydam, P.R. Richard. 2018. Indirect effects of sea ice loss on summer-fall habitat and behaviour for sympatric populations of an Arctic marine predator. Diversity and Distributions https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12722.
Stern H.L., A.J. Schweiger, M. Stark, J. Zhang, M. Steele, B. Hwang; Seasonal evolution of the sea-ice floe size distribution in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 6(1):48, doi:10.1525/elementa.305, 2018.
Hauser DDW, Laidre KL, Stern HL, Suydam RS, Richard PR. Indirect effects of sea ice loss on summer‐fall habitat and behaviour for sympatric populations of an Arctic marine predator. Divers Distrib. 2018;24:791–799. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12722
Stern, H., A. Schweiger, J. Zhang, and M. Steele, On reconciling disparate studies of the sea-ice floe size distribution, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 6:49, doi:10.1525/
elementa.304 , 2018.Pomerleau, C., Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., Ferguson, S.H. et al. (2017) Reconstructing variability in West Greenland ocean biogeochemistry and bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) food web structure using amino acid isotope ratios. Polar Biol 40: 2225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2136-x
Regehr, E., R. Wilson, K. Rode, M. Runge, and H. Stern. 2017. Harvesting wildlife affected by climate change: a modeling and management framework for polar bears. Journal of Applied Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12864
Hauser, D.D W., Laidre K. L., Stern H.L., Moore S.E., Suydam, R. S., and Richard, P.R.: Habitat selection by two beluga whale populations in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, PLoS ONE 12(2), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172755, 2017.
Hauser, D. D. W., Laidre, K. L., Stafford, K. M., Stern, H. L., Suydam, R. S. and Richard, P. R. (2016), Decadal shifts in autumn migration timing by Pacific Arctic beluga whales are related to delayed annual sea ice formation. Glob Change Biol. doi:10.1111/gcb.13564
Regehr, E.V., Laidre, K.L., Akçakaya, H.R., Amstrup, S.C., Atwood, T.C., Lunn, N.J., Obbard, M., Stern, H., Thiemann, G.W., Wiig, Ø. (2016), Conservation status of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to projected sea-ice declines. Biol. Lett. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0556.
Heide‐Jørgensen, M. P., Hansen, R. G., Fossette, S. , Nielsen, N. H., Borchers, D. L., Stern, H. and Witting, L. (2017), Rebuilding beluga stocks in West Greenland. Anim Conserv, 20: 282-293. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12315
Stern, Harry L., Polar maps: Captain Cook and the earliest historical charts of the ice edge in the Chukchi Sea. Polar Geography, 39 (4), 220-227, doi.org/10.1080/1088937X.2016.1236845, 2016.
Stern, H. L. and Laidre, K. L., Sea-ice indicators of polar bear habitat, The Cryosphere, 10, 2027-2041, doi:10.5194/tc-10-2027-2016, 2016.
Zhang, J., H. Stern, B. Hwang, A. Schweiger, M. Steele, and M. Stark, Modeling the seasonal evolution of the Arctic sea ice floe size distribution, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 4, doi:10.12952/journal.elementa.000126, 2016.
Zhang, J., A. Schweiger, M. Steele, and H. Stern, Sea ice floe size distribution in the marginal ice zone: Theory and numerical experiments, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 120, doi:10.1002/2015JC010770, 2015.
Laidre, K. L., Stern, H., Kovacs, K. M., Lowry, L., Moore, S. E., Regehr, E. V., Ferguson, S. H., Wiig, Ø., Boveng, P., Angliss, R. P., Born, E. W., Litovka, D., Quakenbush, L., Lydersen, C., Vongraven, D. and Ugarte, F. (2015), Arctic marine mammal population status, sea ice habitat loss, and conservation recommendations for the 21st century. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12474
Yu, Y., H. Stern, C. Fowler, F. Fetterer, J. Maslanik, 2014, Interannual Variability of Arctic Landfast Ice between 1976 and 2007, J. Climate, 27, pp. 227-243, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00178.1.
Laidre, K.L., E.W. Born, P. Heagerty, Ø. Wiig, H. Stern, R. Dietz, J. Aars, and M. Andersen, 2014, Impacts of multi-decadal sea ice loss on habitat selection of female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland, Polar Biology, submitted.
Dietz, R., E.W. Born, R. Stewart, M.P. Heide-Jørgensen, H. Stern, F. Rigét, L. Toudal, C. Lanthier, M. Villum Jensen, and J. Tielmann, 2013, Movements of walruses (Odobenus Rosmarus) between Central West Greenland and Southeast Baffin Island, 2005-2008, North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) Scientific Publication Series, Volume 9.
Geilhufe, M., D.B. Percival, and H.L. Stern, 2013, Two-dimensional wavelet variance estimation with application to sea ice SAR images, Computers & Geosciences, 54, 351-360.
Laidre, K., Heide-Jorgensen, H. Stern, and P. Richard, 2012, Unusual narwahl sea ice entrapments and delayed autumn freeze-up trends, Polar Biology, 35, 149-154, doi: 10.007/s00300-001-1036-8
Schweiger, A., R. Lindsay, J. Zhang, M. Steele, H. Stern, R. Kwok, Uncertainty in modeled arctic sea ice volume, J. Geophys. Res., 116, C00D06, doi:10.1029/2011JC007084, 2011.
Heide-Jorgensen, M.P., M. Iversen, N.H. Nielsen, C. Lockyer, H. Stern, and M.H. Ribergaard, 2011, Harbour porpoise respond to climate change, Ecology and Evolution, accepted.
Dietz, R., E.W. Born, R. Stewart, M.P. Heide-Jorgensen, H. Stern, F. Riget, L. Toudal, C. Lanthier, M. Villum Jensen, and J. Tielmann, 2011, Movements of walruses (Odobenus Rosmarus) between Central West Greenland and Southeast Baffin Island 2005-2008, submitted to NAMMCO Special Walrus Issue.
Stern, H.. Record Number of Yachts Traverse Northwest Passage in Summer 2009, Polar Times, 3(15), 2010.
Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., K.L. Laidre, D. Borchers, T.A. Marques, H. Stern, and M. Simon, 2010, The effect of sea-ice loss on beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland’, Polar Research, doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2009.00142.x, 2010.
Stern, H. L. and R. W. Lindsay, 2009: Spatial Scaling of Arctic Sea Ice Deformation. J. Geophys. Res., 114, C10017, doi:10.1029/2009JC005380.
Lindsay, R. W., J. Zhang, A. Schweiger, M. Steele, and H. Stern, Arctic sea ice retreat in 2007 follows thinning trend, J. Climate, 22, 165-176, doi:10.1175/2008JCLI2521.1, 2009.
Stern, H.L., and R.W. Lindsay,’ Spatial scaling of Arctic sea ice deformation’, J. Geophys. Res., 114, doi:10.1029/2009JC005380, 2009.
Stern, H.L., R.E. Moritz, E. Lettvin, D. Schatz, and L. Russell (2008), Polar Science Weekend: A University / Science Center Collaboration, Eos Trans. AGU, 89(53), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract ED33A-0620.
Rampal, P., J. Weiss, D. Marsan, R. Lindsay, and H. Stern, 2008, Scaling properties of sea ice deformation from buoy dispersion analysis, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C03002, doi:10.1029/2007JC004143.
Joughin, I., I. Howat, M. Fahnestock, B. Smith, W. Krabill, R. Alley, H. Stern, and M. Truffer, 2008, Continued Evolution of Jakobshavn Isbrae Following its Rapid Speedup, J. Geophys. Res., 113, F04006, doi:10.1029/2008JF001023.
Rampal, P., Weiss, D. Marsan, R. Lindsay, and H. Stern, 2008, Scaling properties of sea ice deformation from buoy dispersion analysis, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C03002, doi: 10.1029/2007JC004143.
Lindsay, R.W., J. Zhang, A. Schweiger, and M.A. Steele, Seasonal predictions of ice extent in the Arctic Ocean, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C02023, doi:10.1029/2007JC004259, 2008.
Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., H. Stern, and K. Laidre,’ Dynamics of the ice edge in Davis Strait’, Journal of Marine Systems, 67, 170-178, 2007
Stern, H.L., 2005, North Pole, in Encyclopedia of the Arctic, Mark Nuttall, editor, Routledge, New York.
Stern, H.L., 2005, Arctic Circle, in Encyclopedia of the Arctic, Mark Nuttall, editor, Routledge, New York.
Perovich, D., E. L. Andreas, J. A. Curry, H. Eiken, C. W. Fairall, T. C. Grenfell, P. S. Guest, J. Intrieri, D. Kadko, R. W. Lindsay, M. G. McPhee, J. Morison, R. E. Moritz, C. A. Paulson, W. S. Pegau, P. O. G. Persson, R. Pinkel, J. A. Richter-Menge, T. Stanton, H. Stern, M. Sturm, W. B. Tucker III, and T. Uttal. “Year on ice gives climate insights.” EOS, Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union, 80 (41), 481-486, 1999.
Steele, M., J. Zhang, D.A. Rothrock, and H. Stern: The force balance of sea ice in a numerical model of the Arctic Ocean,, J. Geophys. Res., 102(C9), 21061–21079, doi:10.1029/97JC01454, 1997.