Study reveals rapid acceleration of Antarctica's transformation into green landscape
A study highlights the dramatic greening of Antarctica, revealing that the trend has accelerated significantly over recent years.
Antarctica is undergoing a dramatic transformation, with a recent study revealing that the rate at which the continent is turning green has accelerated by over 30% in recent years compared to the last three decades.
Researchers, including a team from the University of Exeter in the UK, discovered that vegetation cover on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold, rising from under one square kilometer to nearly 12 square kilometers between 1986 and 2021. They utilized satellite data to assess the rate of greening in response to climate change.
The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, notes that this acceleration in vegetation growth from 2016 to 2021 corresponds with a significant decrease in sea-ice extent in Antarctica during the same timeframe.
The findings indicate a widespread trend of greening across the Antarctic Peninsula, which is occurring at an increasing rate. Antarctica has been shown to warm faster than the global average, leading to more frequent extreme heat events.
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