Alexandria, VA – The Arctic is getting warmer and wetter. As temperatures rise and sea ice melts, scientists suspect that system feedback cycles may further speed up the warming process. Now, a new study out of the University of Colorado at Boulder is showing how shifting patterns of humidity may bring about changes in the Arctic atmosphere.
The new study compiled data from the 1950s through the present to examine the subtle changes in the Arctic atmosphere over time. The team then incorporated the data into six new weather models. How will these models affect our perceptions of the changing Arctic? Read the whole story online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/arctic-humidity-rise.
Read this story and more in the October issue of EARTH Magazine. Join a young geologist out in the new American boomtown; travel back in time through Colorado Springs; and get pumped for renewable energy, all in this month's issue of EARTH.
Keep up to date with the latest happenings in Earth, energy and environment news with EARTH magazine online at http://www.earthmagazine.org/. Published by the American Geosciences Institute, EARTH is your source for the science behind the headlines.
The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society's use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.