Report

Role of Land-Surface Changes in Arctic Summer Warming

  1. F. S. Chapin III1,*,
  2. M. Sturm5,
  3. M. C. Serreze6,
  4. J. P. McFadden7,
  5. J. R. Key8,
  6. A. H. Lloyd9,
  7. A. D. McGuire2,
  8. T. S. Rupp3,
  9. A. H. Lynch10,
  10. J. P. Schimel11,
  11. J. Beringer10,
  12. W. L. Chapman12,
  13. H. E. Epstein13,
  14. E. S. Euskirchen1,
  15. L. D. Hinzman4,
  16. G. Jia14,
  17. C.-L. Ping15,
  18. K. D. Tape1,
  19. C. D. C. Thompson1,
  20. D. A. Walker1,
  21. J. M. Welker16
  1. 1 Institute of Arctic Biology; University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
  2. 2 U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
  3. 3 Department of Forest Sciences; University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
  4. 4 Institute of Northern Engineering; University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
  5. 5 U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Alaska, Ft. Wainwright, AK 99703–0170, USA.
  6. 6 Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309–0216, USA.
  7. 7 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA.
  8. 8 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Environmental, Satellite, Data, and Information Service, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
  9. 9 Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05443, USA.
  10. 10 School of Geography and Environmental Science, Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3800, Australia.
  11. 11 Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106–9610, USA.
  12. 12 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
  13. 13 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904–4123, USA.
  14. 14 Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
  15. 15 Palmer Research Station, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Palmer, AK 99645, USA.
  16. 16 Environment and Natural Resources Institute, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA.
  1. ↵* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: terry.chapin{at}uaf.edu
Science  28 Oct 2005:
Vol. 310, Issue 5748, pp. 657-660
DOI: 10.1126/science.1117368

You are currently viewing the abstract.

View Full Text

Via your Institution

Log in through your institution

Log in through your institution

Free with registration

Abstract

A major challenge in predicting Earth's future climate state is to understand feedbacks that alter greenhouse-gas forcing. Here we synthesize field data from arctic Alaska, showing that terrestrial changes in summer albedo contribute substantially to recent high-latitude warming trends. Pronounced terrestrial summer warming in arctic Alaska correlates with a lengthening of the snow-free season that has increased atmospheric heating locally by about 3 watts per square meter per decade (similar in magnitude to the regional heating expected over multiple decades from a doubling of atmospheric CO2). The continuation of current trends in shrub and tree expansion could further amplify this atmospheric heating by two to seven times.

View Full Text

Article Tools

  • Email
  • Download Powerpoint
  • Print
  • Save to my folders
  • Alerts
  • Request Permissions
  • Citation tools

  • Role of Land-Surface Changes in Arctic Summer Warming

    By F. S. Chapin III, M. Sturm, M. C. Serreze, J. P. McFadden, J. R. Key, A. H. Lloyd, A. D. McGuire, T. S. Rupp, A. H. Lynch, J. P. Schimel, J. Beringer, W. L. Chapman, H. E. Epstein, E. S. Euskirchen, L. D. Hinzman, G. Jia, C.-L. Ping, K. D. Tape, C. D. C. Thompson, D. A. Walker, J. M. Welker

    Science : 657-660

    The longer snow-free season in Alaska increases energy absorption from the Sun, contributing as much to arctic warming as do rising greenhouse gas levels.

    Permalink: Copy
    CiteULike logo Connotea logo del.icio.us logo Digg logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo Reddit logo Twitter logo

Related Content

Similar Articles in:

Cited By...

Citing Articles in:

Related Jobs from ScienceCareers