Increased Arctic Planet Growth Increases High Latitude Warming

Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is known to boost vegetation cover at high latitudes — and this could accelerate Arctic warming year-round.

Grasses and shrubs have a warming effect because plant-covered areas reflect less sunlight than barren surfaces do. Baek-Min Kim at the Korea Polar Research Institute in Incheon, South Korea, Sang-Yoon Jun at the Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems in Seoul and their colleagues used a climate model to study the impact of doubled CO2 concentrations and increased high-latitude plant growth on Arctic temperatures.

They found that increased vegetation in summer warms the surface and this heat moves to the Arctic, where it causes additional ocean warming and sea-ice melting in winter and spring. The exposed ocean then releases more heat, leading to a further boost in Arctic warming and promoting even more plant growth the following season, the team says.

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