Students are seeing the ground cover in the Arctic is vastly different than the rest of the world. Covered in snow/ice, there is evidence to suggest the sea ice extent is changing. But why?
Using different colored surfaces to represent the snow/ice and ocean, students saw first hand how when the albedo changes from high to low, we get more sea ice to melt!
Using different colored surfaces to represent the snow/ice and ocean, students saw first hand how when the albedo changes from high to low, we get more sea ice to melt!
We're also seeing how if more of the ocean is exposed, this leads to a greater opportunity for shortwave energy to be absorbed and re-emitted with longwave energy. And then throw in that there's more greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, and it seems like a vicious cycle.
We turned to local experts who are working to gather data on the Arctic at CU Boulder.
We turned to local experts who are working to gather data on the Arctic at CU Boulder.
We've officially defined a feedback loop now, and are seeing how changing the albedo of the arctic, along with added greenhouse gases, is amplifying the warming of the Arctic!
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