Researchers say, elevated temperatures and a
longer growing season mean some of Earth’s chilliest regions are looking
increasingly green.
As reported and base from the new study, at
present the plant life at northern latitudes often looks like the vegetation
researchers would have observed up to 430 miles (700 kilometers) farther south
in 1982.
“It’s like Winnipeg, Manitoba, moving to
Minneapolis-Saint Paul in only 30 years,” study researcher Compton Tucker of
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement.
A team of university and NASA scientists
including Tucker looked at 30 years’ worth of satellite and land surface data
on vegetation growth from 45 degrees north latitude to the Arctic Ocean. The
researchers suggest that, in this region, large patches of lush vegetation now
stretch over an area about the size of the continental United States and
resemble what was found 4 to 6 latitude degrees to the south in 1982.
“Higher northern latitudes are getting warmer,
Arctic sea ice and the duration of snow cover are diminishing, the growing
season is getting longer and plants are growing more,” climate scientist Ranga
Myneni of Boston University said in a statement, adding that the changes are
leading to great disruptions for the region’s ecosystems.
In the precedent several decades the Arctic
has been warming more rapidly than the rest of any part of earth. An amplified
greenhouse effect is largely to blame for the changes in plant life, says
Myneni. In this succession, high concentrations of heat-trapping gasses drive
up temperatures in the ocean and atmosphere. This warming trims down Arctic sea
ice and snow cover, reason for the oceans and land surfaces in the region to be
exposed this is also because the ice and snow are more reflective than darker
surfaces. These surfaces soak up more heat from the sun’s rays, so further
heating of the air and further reduction of sea ice and snow emerge as a
consequence. Myneni warns that the cycle could get worse.
“The greenhouse effect could be further
amplified in the future as soils in the north thaw, releasing potentially
significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane,” Myneni said.
Because of the rising temperatures Arctic and
boreal regions could see the equivalent of a 20-degree latitude shift by the
end of this century, the team found this out using climate models. The
amplified greenhouse effect could have other consequences, like more forest
fires, pest infestations and droughts, which cut vegetation growth, researchers
say.
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