The Arctic Is Shifting to a New Climate Because of Global Warming

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by pnewell

The effects of global warming in the Arctic are so severe that the region is shifting to a different climate, one characterized less by ice and snow and more by open water and rain, scientists said Monday.

Already, they said, sea ice in the Arctic has declined so much that even an extremely cold year would not result in as much ice as was typical decades ago. Two other characteristics of the region’s climate, seasonal air temperatures and the number of days of rain instead of snow, are shifting in the same way, the researchers said.

The Arctic is among the parts of the world most influenced by climate change, with sharply rising temperatures, thawing permafrost and other effects in addition to shrinking sea ice. The study, by Laura Landrum and Marika M. Holland of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., is an effort to put what is occurring in the region in context.

“Everybody knows the Arctic is changing,” said Dr. Landrum, a climate scientist and the lead author of the study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change. “We really wanted to quantify if this is a new climate.”

Fake_William_Shatner on September 15th, 2020 at 15:20 UTC »

At what point to we make this a national security issue?

Do we wait for people to be fighting for food and access to domed cities?

We have a lack of serious leadership -- and it's missing all over the world. Right now, huge sums of money are being spent to find a way to treat COVID -- and it will be successful and there will be major breakthroughs, because it is being treated with urgency. In this case; get the economies going.

So, it's possible to solve problems. Why aren't we with Global Warming? I want my children's children to see nature and not pay tickets to see reservations.

pikindaguy on September 15th, 2020 at 14:30 UTC »

This is the scariest part for sure, we can potentially have tech down the line that can pull carbon out of the air and become 0 emission eventually through any combination of solar/wind/nuclear/something new but the melting ice caps just doesn't seem like it's reversible which may make all other efforts fruitless.

NotYourSnowBunny on September 15th, 2020 at 14:29 UTC »

Anyone have a way through that pesky paywall?

I think it'll be interesting to see which plants come back if Antarctica turns tropical, though I doubt I'll live to see it, and pollution may kill it before it begins.

Edit: So while I appreciate people giving me the heads up for the .com., it doesn't work on mobile. Can someone just copy and paste the text? It would appear that most of you got through the paywall.