Antarctica is becoming increasingly greener – and at a rapid pace. This means serious changes for the sensitive ecosystem.
Munich – A large part of Antarctica is covered with ice. The ice layer largely determines the weather and climate conditions over the continent and the Southern Ocean. Even in the Antarctic summer, temperatures only rise above freezing in a few areas. But climate change is now noticeable here too.
Antarctica is getting greener – researchers are “shocked”
Current research indicates that the Antarctic Peninsula is becoming increasingly greener. “This is the start of a dramatic change,” Olly Bartlett, author of the study and researcher at the University of Hertfordshire, told the journal Nature.
The study, which at Nature Geoscience published shows that green cover increased more than tenfold between 1986 and 2021. In 1986, the vegetation cover was 0.863 square kilometers, in 2021 it was already 11,947 square kilometers. “These numbers shocked us,” said Thomas Roland, co-author of the study and geographer at the University of Exeter. “It’s just the speed of change in an extremely isolated, extremely vulnerable area that alarms us.”
The change in vegetation appears to be primarily a reaction to global warming and “points to future far-reaching changes” in the ecosystem. The researchers even fear a collapse of the delicate ecosystem.
“Dramatically enlarged”: Antarctica is suddenly green – researchers are alarmed
Only a small part of the Antarctic Peninsula is populated by plants, mainly mosses. “But this tiny part has increased dramatically – showing that even this vast and isolated ‘wilderness’ is affected by anthropogenic climate change,” said Roland from MDR quoted. If the plants spread across the previously ice-covered landscape, Antarctica could be invaded by invasive species, endangering the sensitive ecosystem.
Researchers repeatedly warn of melting ice caps at the South Pole. Recently, the collapse of the polar vortex triggered an unusual weather phenomenon in Antarctica. According to the environmental organization Greenpeace, the Antarctic Peninsula is warming by an average of 3.7 degrees per century. For comparison: the global average is 0.6 degrees per century. In February 2020, a temperature of 18.3 degrees was measured in Antarctica for the first time. (kas)
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