Wildlife are a key part of the Arctic greening story too. Animals such as this caribou photographed by @jtkerby on Qikiqtaruk - Herschel Island depend on tundra plants for food. As the tundra warms, habitats for wildlife could be altered and herbivores, in turn, could influence greening trends.
Field observations show that as summer temperatures warm, plants are responding. Snow is melting earlier and plants are coming into leaf sooner in spring. Tundra vegetation is spreading into new areas and where plants were already growing, they are now growing taller.
Arctic greening could be altering habitat for wildlife and influencing the timing of resources upon which animals depend. Recent observations suggest that species such as moose and beaver are moving northward and earlier springs might be disrupting breeding for some bird species and insect pollination.
Building a better understanding of Arctic greening will help us figure out the consequences for wildlife and the planet as a whole.
A week ago, @jtkerby and I and a team of 40 authors from 36 institutions in Europe and North America published a paper on Arctic greening. Our paper sets out a new perspective on what we do and do not know about Arctic greening. The main take-home message is that Arctic greening is much more complex than scientists previously thought! đź“·: @teamshrub, @gndaskalova, @jtkerby @insidenatgeo
To find out more about the paper check out the press release: ‪https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2020/01/31/global-science-team-on-red-alert-as-arctic-lands-grow-greener/‬ Or read the paper its self: ‪https://rdcu.be/b01NL‬
#Wildlife #Greening #TeamShrub #tundra #Arctic #fieldwork #scicomm #Qikiqtaruk #yukon #NatGeoExplorers #InsideNatGeo #UKinArctic @edinunigeosciences @edinburghuniversity @apecs.polar @royalscotgeosoc @nercscience @insidenatgeo
Meticulous on-the-ground observations provide critical insights into changes that satellites can miss. Both satellite and field observations are irreplaceable, and increasingly scientists are bringing the two together to understand Arctic change.
In this photo by @jtkerby, @gndaskalova and I are point framing. A grid of 100 points is placed above a marked plot that is revisited year after year. A pin is dropped 100 times and every leaf, stem and root for every plant touched by the pin is recorded. It takes hours to monitor a 1 m x 1 m plot the size of a coffee table. Point framing is tedious work.
Some love point framing (@gndaskalova) and some hate it! But the data that result and are compiled in the International Tundra Experiment database are the most comprehensive records we have of how tundra plants are responding to a warming climate. If we want to understand Arctic greening from space, then we need to continue these detailed records on the ground.
Last Friday, @jtkerby and I and a team of 40 authors from 36 institutions in Europe and North America published a paper on Arctic greening. Our paper sets out a new perspective on what we do and do not know about Arctic greening. The main take-home message is that Arctic greening is much more complex than scientists previously thought!
Each day this week, I will post a photo and a part of the overall scientific message from this research. Follow along to find out more about the greening Arctic and what changes in the Arctic will mean for the planet as a whole. đź“·: @jtkerby @insidenatgeo
To find out more about the paper check out the press release: ‪https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2020/01/31/global-science-team-on-red-alert-as-arctic-lands-grow-greener/‬ Or read the paper its self: ‪https://rdcu.be/b01NL‬
#Ecology #pointframing #Greening #TeamShrub #tundra #Arctic #fieldwork #scicomm #Qikiqtaruk #yukon #NatGeoExplorers #InsideNatGeo #UKinArctic @edinunigeosciences @edinburghuniversity @apecs.polar @royalscotgeosoc @nercscience @insidenatgeo
From drones to planes to satellites, seeing the tundra from above is giving new insights into how the Arctic is changing. Teams of researchers are working across the North to link field observations with satellite greening seen from space.
Drones allow researchers to capture the tundra from above in very high resolution. Vegetation changes can be mapped out across landscapes and linked to the greening or browning signals captured by satellites.
Last Friday, @jtkerby and I and a team of 40 authors from 36 institutions in Europe and North America published a paper on Arctic greening. Our paper sets out a new perspective on what we do and do not know about Arctic greening. The main take-home message is that Arctic greening is much more complex than scientists previously thought!
Each day this week, I will post a photo and a part of the overall scientific message from this research. Follow along to find out more about the greening Arctic and what changes in the Arctic will mean for the planet as a whole. đź“·: @teamshrub, @gndaskalova, @insidenatgeo
To find out more about the paper check out the press release: ‪https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2020/01/31/global-science-team-on-red-alert-as-arctic-lands-grow-greener/‬ Or read the paper its self: ‪https://rdcu.be/b01NL‬
#Drones #Greening #TeamShrub #tundra #Arctic #fieldwork #scicomm #Qikiqtaruk #yukon #NatGeoExplorers #InsideNatGeo #UKinArctic @edinunigeosciences @edinburghuniversity @apecs.polar @royalscotgeosoc @nercscience @insidenatgeo
Although most of the Arctic is greening, parts of the tundra are also “browning” with warming. When tundra landscapes are disturbed, plant cover can be lost, leading to declines in tundra greenness in satellite data.
In this drone-captured photo by @jtkerby, you can see verdant green tundra lit up by low angle Arctic sunlight on Qikiqtaruk - Herschel Island in the Canadian Arctic. Grey-brown sediment flows from permafrost thaw slumps and coastal erosion dispersing into the turquoise waters of the Beaufort sea.
In the Arctic, what thaws on land often ends up in the ocean altering the chemistry of the water. Thaw also influences the atmosphere. Another paper published this week in @nature.research by @queenofpeat and her colleagues finds that abrupt permafrost thaw could release double the carbon relative to gradual thaw, potentially accelerating climate warming for the planet more rapidly than scientists previously thought.
Last Friday, @jtkerby and I and a team of 40 authors from 36 institutions in Europe and North America published a paper on Arctic greening. Our paper sets out a new perspective on what we do and do not know about Arctic greening. The main take-home message is that Arctic greening is much more complex than scientists previously thought!
Each day this week, I will post a photo and a part of the overall scientific message from this research. Follow along to find out more about the greening Arctic and what changes in the Arctic will mean for the planet as a whole. đź“·: @jtkerby @insidenatgeo
To find out more about the paper check out the press release: https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2020/01/31/global-science-team-on-red-alert-as-arctic-lands-grow-greener/
Or read the paper its self: https://rdcu.be/b01NL
#Permafrost #Erosion #Greening #TeamShrub #tundra #Arctic #fieldwork #scicomm #Qikiqtaruk #yukon #NatGeoExplorers #InsideNatGeo #UKinArctic @edinunigeosciences @edinburghuniversity @apecs.polar @royalscotgeosoc @nercscience @insidenatgeo
