A new paper shows that air temperature is the “smoking gun” behind climate change in the Arctic, according to John Walsh, chief scientist for the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center.
Several UAF researchers are co-authors on the paper, which says that “increasing air temperatures and precipitation are drivers of major changes in various components of the Arctic system.”
Jason Box of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen is lead author of the paper. “The Arctic system is trending away from its 20th century state and into an unprecedented state, with implications not only within but beyond the Arctic,” he said.
The study is the first to combine observations of physical climate indicators, such as snow cover, with biological impacts, such as a mismatch in the timing of flowers blooming and pollinators working.
Read more at University of Alaska Fairbanks
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