Study sheds light on why a warmer world may equal a wetter Arctic

Study sheds light on why a warmer world may equal a wetter Arctic

5 years ago
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https://phys.org/news/2018-10-warmer-world-equal-wetter-arctic.html

"We used geologic evidence to determine that both of these processes likely contributed to an increase in humidity in western Greenland when the region warmed rapidly 8,000 years ago," says lead researcher Elizabeth Thomas, Ph.D., assistant professor of geology in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences. "As such, both processes could be at play again today, contributing to possible future increases in Arctic humidity, and ultimately, precipitation."

"We don't have long or detailed written records of Arctic precipitation, so we don't fully understand how precipitation might increase in response to warming," she says. It's an important area of study, she adds, because, "precipitation in the Arctic has complex interactions with climate, and it also impacts plant communities and affects how fast glaciers may shrink."