Open AccessNorthern high‐latitude ecosystems respond to climate change
Author(s) -
Bunn Andrew G.,
Goetz Scott J.,
Kimball John S.,
Zhang Ke
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2007eo340001
Subject(s) - permafrost , hydrosphere , biosphere , cryosphere , environmental science , greenhouse gas , climate change , biomass (ecology) , vegetation (pathology) , latitude , atmosphere (unit) , ecosystem , earth science , physical geography , carbon cycle , greenhouse effect , productivity , biosphere model , climatology , atmospheric sciences , global warming , ecology , geology , geography , meteorology , oceanography , sea ice , medicine , macroeconomics , geodesy , pathology , economics , biology
The northern high latitudes are an area of particular importance to global climate change. As a system dependent on freezing conditions, the top of the planet contains vast amounts of carbon in biomass, soils, and permafrost that have the potential to interact with the atmosphere through the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and cryosphere. If released en masse, this carbon would greatly exacerbate the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Over the past 2 years, a growing body of research has provided evidence of substantial but idiosyncratic environmental changes, with some surprising aspects, across the region. This article reviews some recent findings and presents a new analysis of northern vegetation photosynthetic and productivity trends tracked from Earthobserving satellites.