Arctic Warming having Wideranging Effects

The arctic warming is having widespread effects not only in the arctic but all across the planet impacting birds, plants and seasons.  The Arctic has been the fastest warming climate on Earth over the last decade and just last week researchers stated the Arctic is the warmest it has been in 2000 years.

The Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past," Eric Post, an associate professor of biology at Penn State University, said in a statement.  Post led a research team that studied the Arctic during the International Polar Year, which ended in 2008. Their findings are reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

"Species on land and at sea are suffering adverse consequences of human behavior at latitudes thousands of miles away," Post said. "It seems no matter where you look, on the ground, in the air, or in the water, we're seeing signs of rapid change."

Sea ice cover has shrunk by a staggering 45,000 kilometers a year over the past 20 to 30 years, causing a rapid decline in the gulls, walruses, seals, and polar bears which rely upon it.   Warming temperatures are allowing shrubs and trees to expand their range and also are damaging native vegetation.  One winter warming episode led to vegetation damage so extensive that plant product was cut by 26% over an area of at least 1,400 square kilometers.