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Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Arctic Getting "Wetter" Due to Human-Driven Warming


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The Yukon River cuts through the snowy landscape of the Canadian Arctic in a 2001 photograph. The river carries freshwater runoff into the Bering Sea.

New analyses of data from the past 50 years show that precipitation has increased in the Arctic because of human-induced global warming. A wetter Arctic could dramatically freshen ocean water in the North, possibly disrupting the so-called ocean conveyor belt and triggering a cool spell in North America and Europe.

Photograph by Francis Zwiers