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TL;DR: A couple dudes at UVA want grant money after looking at a some pictures from 1966. “We’re starting to find a browning of the tundra in the last few year
by unit91 10y ago
TL;DR: A couple dudes at UVA want grant money after looking at a some pictures from 1966.
“We’re starting to find a browning of the tundra in the last few years,” [Epstein] said. “The progression of growth may be reversing. We’re not sure yet why, but it’s clear that vegetation dynamics are more complex across tundra than previously thought. We still have a lot of work to do to understand Arctic changes and how this affects and is affected by changes to the global climate.”
Also, there's this strange statement:
As the shrubbery increases its distribution, it creates its own warming effect by absorbing heat, rather than reflecting heat as snow does, leading to additional warming and perpetuating the effect.
What am I supposed to take away from this? Start a campaign for tundra deforestation? That can't be right. It must be that more research is needed.
ETA:
Well, from the replies, it looks like I communicated my point poorly. I wasn't arguing the merits of the case for (or against) AGW, rather I was saying these researchers are really stretching it, it my opinion. They don't have much more (at least as reported here) than "look, these pictures show very different vegetation patterns", and from there we (they) need more research (dollars). I think this is just an academic form of a submarine article: VERY preliminary speculation reported as news by a university with a vested interest in securing funding.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago> What am I supposed to take away from this? - New historical satellite imagery is available - The general trend in Siberian tundra has been greening - Not monotonically
- Thrymr 10y ago> Start a campaign for tundra deforestation? That can't be right. They are not talking about deforestation, but growth on previously barren ground: "We now know that a lot of greening has been going on there, too, with tall shrubs and woody vegetation. The vegetation has been getting both taller and expanding in space and range."
- Arnt 10y agoDeforestation wouldn't help, you'd need something reflecting, like snow. Like long winters and short summers.
- vwcx 10y agoPerhaps I am reading into your tone in a way you don't intend, but why reduce these climate scientists to "a couple dudes" looking at "some pictures"?
- nobodyorother 10y ago> What am I supposed to take away from this? Start a campaign for tundra deforestation? They're just calling out the positive feedback loop where "things that aren't white like snow absorb more heat than white snow would." The obvious solution is to cover the entire world in powdered soap or talcum powder, since we're pretty much out of snow and glaciers.
- 24gttghh 10y agoWould something reflective on the Earth's surface even help cool the planet when the reflected energy just gets trapped anyways by CO2 in the atmosphere? I can understand localized albedo effects, but not their overall effect on climate.
- Jtsummers 10y agoAll that heat wouldn't be trapped by CO2. You'd also experience reduced energy load in the developed world, as buildings with black roofs are objectively harder to keep cool than those with white roofs. Which would have a positive impact on CO2 levels (positive from our perspective, meaning reduced).
- splawn 10y agoTL;DR: an ideolog expresses their willfully ignorant opinion about climate change with weasel words and irrelevant "questioning".