<
https://www.sciencealert.com/striking-satellite-images-reveal-antarctica-is-10-times-greener-than-35-years-ago>
'Our satellites are dispassionate observers of Earth's climate change. From
their vantage point they watch as pack ice slowly loses its hold on polar
oceans, ice shelfs break apart, and previously frozen parts of the planet turn
green with vegetation.
Now, scientists have compiled 35 years of satellite data showing that
Antarctica is slowly, yet perceptibly, becoming greener.
NASA and the United States Geological Survey sent the first Landsat into space
in 1975. Since then, they've launched eight more Landsats, with Landsat 9 being
the most recent launch in 2021. Landsat data is a unique treasure trove of data
about Earth and the changes it goes through, including millions of images.
Landsats have watched as forest fires burn, as urban regions expand, as
glaciers melt, and as Earth goes through many other changes.
Recent research published in
Nature Geoscience used 35 years of Landsat data,
from Landsat 5 through Landsat 8, to measure the spread of vegetation into
Antarctica. It's titled "Sustained greening of the Antarctic Peninsula observed
from satellites." The research was co-led by Thomas Roland, an environmental
scientist University of Exeter, and by remote sensing expert Olly Bartlett of
the University of Hertfordshire.
"This study aimed to assess vegetation response to climate change on the AP
[Antarctic Peninsula] over the past 35 years by quantifying rates of change in
the spatial extent and 'direction' (greening versus browning), which have not
yet been quantified," the paper states.
The research shows that the amount of land covered in vegetation on the
Antarctic Peninsula has increased by more than 10 times since 1986. The area of
vegetated land rose from 0.86 sq. km. (0.33 sq. mi.) in 1986 to 11.95 sq. km
(4.61 sq. mi.) in 2021. The coverage is restricted to the warmer edges of the
peninsula, but it still indicates a shift in the region's ecology, driven by
our carbon emissions.'
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
