Arctic to get Greener!

In a paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists have revealed that the Arctic is about to get greener in the coming decades. The scientists have revealed new models projecting that wooded areas in the Arctic could increase by as much as 50 percent till 2050 due to global warming. It is quite ironical but this increase in green cover will lead to further increase in global warming.

The study has been conducted by Richard Pearson, lead author on the paper and a research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation. The research team—which includes scientists from the Museum, AT&T Labs-Research, Woods Hole Research Center, Colgate University, Cornell University, and the University of York—used climate scenarios for the 2050s to predict how this trend is likely to continue in the future. 

The modelled change in the tree cover for 2050
Source: Richard Pearson's paper in Nature Climate Change

Pearson said, "These impacts would extend far beyond the Arctic region. For example, some species of birds seasonally migrate from lower latitudes and rely on finding particular polar habitats, such as open space for ground-nesting."

The greener belt would lead to increase in global warming which is contrasting to the popular belief that tree cover leads to reduction in global warming effects. This is because of the albedo effect, which means that a part of the total solar radiation received by Earth is reflected back to the outer space by the snow cover of the Arctic and the clouds. Now with the increasing greenery of the Arctic, the snow will melt, thus leading to higher radiation reaching the Earth's surface and warming it up. This will lead to further increase in the Earth's temperature which will in turn lead to melting of more ice cover. 

If it occurs in the postulated way, it will prove to be very harmful for the humankind.