Alaska Showing Massive, Complex Changes As Climate Breaks Down - AP

[hatrack]

Scientists on Monday painted a gloomy picture of the effects of global warming on the Arctic, warning of melting ocean ice, rising oceans, thawed permafrost and forests susceptible to bugs and fire. "A lot of the stories you read make it sound like there's uncertainty," said Jonathan Overpeck, a professor of geosciences at the University of Arizona. "There's not uncertainty."

The questions scientists continue to address, he said after his presentation at the Alaska Forum on the Environment, are how much of the warming is caused by humans and how drastic long-term effects will be.


EDIT

James Overland, a research scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for more than 30 years, said the loss of sea ice has meant some marine life has thrived and some has been hurt. "The marine ecosystem is shifting north dramatically," he said. Pollock are thriving in warmer water. Pink salmon are being found in great numbers farther north, "an incredible indicator of warming," he said. Crab and other bottom-dwellers who depend on ice overhead for part of the year are suffering.

Glenn Juday, professor of forest ecology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said tree growth has decreased at Interior Alaska sites that were promising for commercial harvest. Studies of temperatures at Talkeetna and Fairbanks indicate daily lows are not as low as they used to be. The warming lowers the water available to white spruce, black spruce and birch, Juday said. "The warmer it is, the less the trees grow," Juday said. Warming also makes them more susceptible to fire and insects. Vladimir Romanovsky, an associate professor of geophysics at UAF, reviewed effects of warming on permafrost, or ground continuously frozen for two years. Areas of thick permafrost in the far north remain stable but have warmed over 20 years one-half to 2 degrees at a depth of 20 meters, Romanovsky said.

EDIT

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060207/ap/d8fk1hmo0.html

[enough]

1. Paul Revere.

snip>

Deborah Williams, a conference organizer and former director of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, said Alaska is Ground Zero for observing the effects of global warming because so many natural phenomena are tied to ice and the repercussions of it melting.

"We are the Paul Revere of global warming," she said.

Overpeck reviewed NASA studies showing how Arctic ice has shrunk in size and depth. Climate models 25 years ago predicted a shrinking ice pack.

"What we didn't predict is that it would be so dramatic," Overpeck said.

snip>

much more.



Thank you Hatrack, again.

[hatrack]

2. Always happy to help.

Well, maybe "happy" isn't quite the adjective I'm fishing for . . .

[NNadir]

4. Hatrack is indeed a Paul Revere of the environment.

He is a patriot of the earth.

Thanks again, Hatrack.

[complain jane]

3. Thanks for this

Emailed it all over the place this morning.

[gordianot]

5. Guess they will have to grow Oak or White Pine, how sad.

If Alaska becomes a wasteland it should make it easier to deflect critics for oil drilling.:sarcasm:

[Gregorian]

6. Burning millions of barrels of oil every day isn't good for the planet?

Who would have ever thought? I'm shocked. Totally surprised. Now let's find out if cutting down the forests does damage. And maybe 6.5 billion people also isn't smart? Surprise, surprise.

[gordianot]

7. They need some credit.

Give them some time they will work on the 6.5 billion people. Just have not figured out who gets to choose.

[EVDebs]

8. A psudo-Libertarian/Republican state is actually socialistic

with their Permanent Fund annual payoff for silence on these issues.

The oil royalties should be paid out to ALL Americans, just as royalties on ALL oil leases in the Lower 48 should have a 'Permanent Fund'.

Actually, permanent is a poor choice of words since world oil vanishes in around 25 more years, and the AK portion in the Prudhoe Bay area is already drawn down by around 2/3rds the original amount...

[phantom power]

9. There's an easy way to resolve this conundrum...

When a Republican benefits from the state, that is "proper compensation, for... something or other." When a Republican sees somebody else benefitting from the state, that is "nanny-state socialism, at it's very worst!"

[bloom]

10. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme

if you're interested in more info...

http://www.amap.no/

[Robeysays]

11. it hasn't rained in the valley in 105 or 6 days.