Plant growth is expected to increase in the arctic over the coming decades. The trend of increased plant growth is following the pattern of climate change in the region. The arctic is warming twice as fast global temperatures. Scientist at Cornell University have predicted that there could be a variety of tree life in the arctic which would contribute to global warming. If the polar ice caps shrunk and were replaced by a tree line sun would no longer be reflected back into space, instead heat would be absorbed contributing to an increase in temperature. This process of more plant growth contributing to a rise in temperature is called the albedo effect.
NOS Themes:
Science is collaborative- Many scientist from various universities pooled their data to create a model.
Science is based on evidence- Scientist can already see a substantial increase in plant growth.
Science is debatable- Their are many people who would argue with global warming as being an actual problem.
Link:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130331165603.htm
How interesting Krisna! I didn't realize how much trees played a part in global warming. I did some further research and it showed that as of right now, there are barely any trees in the arctic, but by about 2050, at the rate plants are growing, it is predicted that trees with be one of the most abundant if not the most abundant vegetation in the arctic.
ReplyDeleteOne question I have for you is:
Do you think the albedo effect could happen in the near future and to what extent would we be affected by it?
Here is an article for further research:
http://whrc.org/news/pressroom/PR-2013-Pearson_et_al_Arctic_vegetation.html