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Advancing boreal forest could further heat the already warming climate

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Conifer forests encroaching on Arctic tundra threaten to further accelerate warming in the far North. Ecologists and climatologists are concerned because the emerging forest data suggest that the albedo, or reflectivity, of large regions across the Arctic could change. Most sunlight hitting snow and ice bounces back into space. But convert a white landscape to open sea water or boreal forest, and the surface suddenly becomes a great collector of solar energy.

Issue Topic: 
Climate Change

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