Warming effect of melting ice fields stronger, report finds
Friday, January 21, 2011 - 01:00
in Earth & Climate
A study of the 'albedo effect' – the reflection of radiation from sunlight back to space by Arctic ice and glaciers – shows that shrinkage has led to higher heat absorption than previously estimated.The dramatic shrinking of Arctic Sea ice and the Northern Hemisphere's glaciers and snowfields has reduced the radiation of sunlight back into space more than scientists previously predicted, according to a new study in the journal Nature Geoscience .