{"id":110470,"date":"2024-10-04T23:42:55","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T16:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=110470"},"modified":"2024-10-04T23:42:55","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T16:42:55","slug":"antarctica-is-greening-at-dramatic-rate-as-climate-heats-antarctica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=110470","title":{"rendered":"Antarctica is \u2018greening\u2019 at dramatic rate as climate heats | Antarctica"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Plant cover across the Antarctic peninsula has soared more than tenfold over the last few decades, as the climate crisis heats up the icy continent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Analysis of satellite data found there was less than one sq kilometre of vegetation in 1986 but there was almost 12km2 of green cover by 2021. The spread of the plants, mostly mosses, has accelerated since 2016, the researchers found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The growth of vegetation on a continent dominated by ice and bare rock is a sign of the reach of global heating into the Antarctic, which is warming faster than the global average. The scientists warned that this spread could provide a foothold for alien invasive species into the pristine Antarctic ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Greening has also been reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41558-019-0688-1\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">in the Arctic<\/a>, and in 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/aug\/20\/rain-falls-peak-greenland-ice-cap-first-time-on-record-climate-crisis\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">rain, not snow, fell on the summit<\/a> of Greenland\u2019s huge ice cap for the first time on record.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"504a009d-3399-4137-ad03-ebf8aaaba11f\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1fujct4\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><svg width=\"18\" height=\"13\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 13\"><path d=\"M18 3.5v8l-1.5 1.5h-15l-1.5-1.5v-8l1.5-1.5h3.5l2-2h4l2 2h3.5l1.5 1.5zm-9 7.5c1.9 0 3.5-1.6 3.5-3.5s-1.6-3.5-3.5-3.5-3.5 1.6-3.5 3.5 1.6 3.5 3.5 3.5z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Green Island in Antarctica.<\/span> Photograph: Matt Amesbury<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cThe Antarctic landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life,\u201d said Dr Thomas Roland, at the University of Exeter, UK, and who co-led the study. \u201cBut that tiny fraction has grown dramatically \u2013 showing that even this vast and isolated wilderness is being affected by human-caused climate change.\u201d The peninsula is about 500,000km2 in total.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Roland warned that future heating, which will continue until carbon emissions are halted, could bring \u201cfundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region\u201d. The study is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41561-024-01564-5\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">published in the journal Nature Geoscience<\/a> and based on analysis of Landsat images.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Prof Andrew Shepherd, at Northumbria University, UK, and not part of the study team, said: \u201cThis is a very interesting study and tallies with what I found when I visited Larsen Inlet [on the peninsula] a couple of years ago. We landed on a beach that was buried beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf until the shelf collapsed in 1986-88. We found it to now have a river with green algae growing in it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">\u201cThis place had been hidden from the atmosphere for thousands of years and was colonised by plants within a couple of decades of it becoming ice free \u2013 it\u2019s astonishing really,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a barometer of climate change but also a tipping point for the region as life now has a foothold there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">The acceleration in the spread of the mosses from 2016 coincides with the start of a marked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/sep\/10\/two-incredible-extreme-events-antarctic-sea-ice-on-cusp-of-record-winter-low-for-second-year-running\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">decrease in sea ice extent<\/a> around Antarctica. Warmer open seas may be leading to wetter conditions that favour plant growth, the researchers said. Mosses can colonise bare rock and create the foundation of soils that, along with the milder conditions, could allow other plants to grow.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\" dcr-173mewl\"><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-10\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<aside aria-label=\"newsletter promotion\" class=\"dcr-av5vqf\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1xjndtj\">The planet&#8217;s most important stories. Get all the week&#8217;s environment news &#8211; the good, the bad and the essential<\/p>\n<p><gu-island name=\"SecureSignup\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;newsletterId&quot;:&quot;green-light&quot;,&quot;successDescription&quot;:&quot;The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential&quot;}\"\/><span class=\"dcr-1eusqlu\"><strong>Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/privacy-policy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/privacy\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"https:\/\/policies.google.com\/terms\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"dcr-1rjy2q9\">Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/span><\/aside>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-10\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-jzxpee\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">Dr Olly Bartlett, at the University of Hertfordshire and also co-leader of the new study, said: \u201cSoil in Antarctica is mostly poor or nonexistent, but this increase in plant life will add organic matter, and facilitate soil formation. This raises the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/jun\/17\/antarctica-insect-plant-invasion-house-flies-mosses-warmer-climate\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">risk of non-native and invasive species<\/a> arriving, possibly carried by eco-tourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">A study in 2017 showed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2017\/may\/18\/climate-change-is-turning-antarctica-green-say-reseatchers\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">rate of moss growth was increasing<\/a> but it did not assess the area covered. Another study, in 2022, showed that Antarctica\u2019s two native <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2022\/feb\/14\/flourishing-plants-show-warming-antarctica-undergoing-major-change-aoe\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">flowering plants were spreading<\/a> on Signy Island, to the north of the Antarctic peninsula.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1eu361v\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2020\/may\/20\/climate-change-turning-parts-antarctica-green-say-scientists-algae\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Green algae is also blooming<\/a> across the surface of the melting snow on the peninsula. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2019\/apr\/03\/south-pole-tree-fossils-indicate-impact-of-climate-change\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Trees were growing at the south pole<\/a> a few million years ago, when the planet last had as much CO<sub class=\"dcr-1eu361v\">2<\/sub> in the atmosphere as it does today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2024\/oct\/04\/antarctic-plant-cover-growing-at-dramatic-rate-as-climate-heats\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plant cover across the Antarctic peninsula has soared more than tenfold over the last few decades, as the climate crisis heats up the icy continent. Analysis of satellite data found &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=110470\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=110470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=110470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=110470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=110470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}