Finding 2:
Arctic warming and its consequences have worldwide implications
- Melting of highly reflective Arctic snow and ice reveals darker land and ocean surfaces, increasing absorption of the sun's heat and further warming the planet.
- Increases in glacial melt and river runoff add more freshwater to the ocean, raising global sea level and possibly slowing the ocean circulation that brings heat from the tropics to the poles, affecting global and regional climate.
- Warming is very likely to alter the release and uptake of greenhouse gases from soils, vegetation, and coastal oceans.
- Impacts of Arctic climate change will have implications for biodiversity around the world because migratory species depend on breeding and feeding grounds in the Arctic.