Arctic Going Green from Warming, Study Finds

Yahoo ^ | 4/3/13 | Tia Ghose, LiveScience

[NormsRevenge]

Large swaths of the Arctic tundra will be warm enough to support lush vegetation and trees by 2050, suggests a new study.

Higher temperatures will lessen snow cover, according to the study, which is detailed in the March 31 issue of the journal Nature Climate Change. That, in turn, will decrease the sunlight reflected back into the atmosphere and increase warming. About half the areas will see vegetation change, and areas currently populated by shrubs may find woody trees taking their place.

"Substitute the snowy surface with the darker surface of a coniferous tree, and the darker surface stores more heat," said study co-author Pieter Beck, a vegetative ecologist at the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts. "It's going to exacerbate warming."

Warming Arctic

The Arctic climate affects the world: Changes in sea ice affect ocean circulation, which, in turn, affects atmospheric circulation that then impacts the globe, said Bruce Forbes, a geographer at the Arctic Center at the University of Lapland in Finland, who was not involved in the study.

[Mr. Lucky]

Just what, exactly, is a “vegetative ecologist?

[N. Theknow]

Two things to remember about "science" and scientific jargon:

Summertime - the concern is Man-made Global Warming.

Wintertime - the concern is Man-made Climate Change.

And always remember to capitalize either one when expressing results of a "study" or begging for grant money.

[VRWCarea51]

Just what, exactly, is a “vegetative ecologist?

vegetative=Bull
ecologist=Shitter