ISNT ICE SUPPOSED TO BE WHITE? Why Greenland’s ‘dark snow’ should worry you ......... JASON Box knows ice. That’s why what’s happened this year concerns him so much. Box just returned from a trip to Greenland. Right now, the ice there is … black. Recent research shows that the Arctic is in the midst of dramatic change. A recent study has found that, as the Arctic warms, forests there are turning to flame at rates unprecedented in the last 10,000 years. This year, those fires produced volumes of smoke and soot that Box says drifted over to Greenland. Box says the real challenge is to rank what fraction of the soot he finds on the Greenland ice is from forest fires, and what is from other sources, like factories. Box says the decline of snow cover in other parts of the Arctic (like Canada) is also exposing more dirt to the air, which can then be more easily transported by the wind. Regardless of their ultimate darkening effect on Greenland, this year’s vast Arctic fires have become a major new source of greenhouse gas emissions from the thawing Arctic. Last year, NASA scientists found “amazing” levels of carbon dioxide and methane emanating from Alaskan permafrost. Read more here - news.au/travel/world-travel/why-greenlands-dark-snow-should-worry-you/story-e6frfqc9-1227063846222
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 09:40:02 +0000
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