In September, 2007, the Anaktuvuk River Fire burned more than 1,000 square kilometers of tundra on Alaska's North Slope, doubling the area burned in that region since record keeping began in 1950. A new analysis of sediment cores from the burned area revealed that this was the most destructive tundra fire at that site for at least 5,000 years. Models built on 60 years of climate and fire data found that even moderate increases in warm-season temperatures in the region dramatically increase the likelihood of such fires.
The study was published this October in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
After the Anaktuvuk fire, University of Illinois plant biology professor Feng Sheng Hu sought to answer a simple question: Was this seemingly historic fire an anomaly, or were large fires a regular occurrence in the region?
"If such fires occur every 200 years or every 500 years, it's a natural event," Hu said. "But another possibility is that these are truly unprecedented events caused by, say, greenhouse warming."
On a trip to Alaska in 2008, Hu chartered a helicopter to the region of the Anaktuvuk fire and collected sediment cores from two affected lakes. He and his colleagues analyzed the distribution of charcoal particles in these cores and used established techniques to determine the approximate ages of different sediment layers.
The team found no evidence of a fire of similar scale and intensity in sediments representing roughly 5,000 years at that locale.
As Arctic temperatures rise, tundra fires increase, researchers find
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
Popular Posts Last Week
-
Some 15 million people are affected by the crisis in the Sahel region, and one million of these are children that could die within months wi...
-
New York City's current and former mayors highlight the revitalization of lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary...
-
National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski explores the relationship between sea ice and polar bears. As continued global warm...
-
In New Orleans: Recovering From a Post-Katrina 'Brain Drain' : News : Breaking : Climate Central
-
Never before has a time in history been so significant to so many cultures, religions, scientists and governments. Beyond 2012 looks past th...
-
A shocking look behind the scenes of camel racing in the United Arab Emirates, where Asian children are enslaved as jockeys. Camel racing, o...
-
DHL Parcel heeft op het duurzame bedrijventerrein De Wildeman in Zaltbommel het grootste en groenste pakketsorteercentrum voor de Benelux in...
-
Het samenwerkingsverband Emissieloze Kas stelt in een challenge 45.000 euro beschikbaar voor innovatieve, praktische oplossing(en) voor het ...
-
Een nieuwe aanpak voor het verwijderen van asbestdaken. Daarmee komt het kabinet, nadat een eerder wettelijk verbod niet doorging. Asbest is...
-
NASA - NASA Study Finds Atlantic 'Conveyor Belt' Not Slowing
Popular Posts This Month
-
New York City's current and former mayors highlight the revitalization of lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary...
-
National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski explores the relationship between sea ice and polar bears. As continued global warm...
-
In New Orleans: Recovering From a Post-Katrina 'Brain Drain' : News : Breaking : Climate Central
-
Some 15 million people are affected by the crisis in the Sahel region, and one million of these are children that could die within months wi...
-
Never before has a time in history been so significant to so many cultures, religions, scientists and governments. Beyond 2012 looks past th...
-
Johann Hari: This Is the Hottest Year Ever, and the Climate Catastrophe Has Begun#sb=1162669,b=facebook#sb=1162669,b=facebook
-
Het samenwerkingsverband Emissieloze Kas stelt in een challenge 45.000 euro beschikbaar voor innovatieve, praktische oplossing(en) voor het ...
-
Fisherman files restraining order against BP - CNN.com
-
Water Is Life: Women Waterbearers of Life
Popular Posts All Time
-
National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski explores the relationship between sea ice and polar bears. As continued global warm...
-
New York City's current and former mayors highlight the revitalization of lower Manhattan in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary...
-
Leuk idee om de aandacht op een bedrijf te vestigen. Wire & Twine maakte een op zich mooi overzicht van 50 manieren waarmee ze u willen ...
-
In New Orleans: Recovering From a Post-Katrina 'Brain Drain' : News : Breaking : Climate Central
-
NS en Greenwheels lanceren samen de eerste twee Volkswagen e-Golfs. De elektrische deelauto’s zijn vanaf donderdag 13 september te vinden bi...
-
Hundreds of young people converged on the United Nations in New York today as the General Assembly kicked off a high-level meeting devoted t...
-
At IBM's THINK Forum in NYC, Joshua Cooper Ramo, Managing Director, Kissinger Associates comments on not letting the risks of a networke...
-
Persons with disabilities must enjoy full human rights and fundamental freedoms and enabling them to do so benefits society as a whole, Depu...
-
Bridget van Kralingen, General Manager, IBM North America discusses Making the World Work Better at the IBM THINK Forum
-
Never before has a time in history been so significant to so many cultures, religions, scientists and governments. Beyond 2012 looks past th...
No comments :
Post a Comment