The Greening of the Arctic

Climate Change, Anthropocene, & Associated Issues

Date posted: 03/12/13

Temperatures in the north are starting to resemble those much further south. A new study suggests it's time to get ready for the arctic to bloom. Last week we reported on an extensive new study showing that today's global temperatures are warmer than any point in at least the last 4,000 years. Now, a separate study published in Nature Climate Change is demonstrating the dramatic impact this is having on the north's growing season. After analyzing satellite and ground-based data, the researchers found that temperature and vegetation growth at northern latitudes now resemble those typically found four to six degrees of latitude further south - a distance of about 250 to 430 miles (400 to 700 km). The researchers, an international team consisting of university and NASA scientists, focused their attention on the region from about 45 degrees north latitude to the Arctic Ocean.