New commentary by researchers reveals dramatic shift in the Arctic winter in Svalbard, a region already warming six to seven times more than the global average
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A new commentary published in Nature Communications has revealed a concerning shift in the Arctic winter in Svalbard. During a fieldwork campaign in the country back in February, researchers encountered exceptionally high temperatures, widespread snowmelt and blooming vegetation.
Svalbard is no stranger to the impacts of climate change. Currently, the nation is warming at six to seven times the global average, with winter temperatures rising at nearly double the annual average. The researchers’ findings highlight how winter warming in the Arctic is no longer the exception, but is increasingly the rule of a profoundly warm climate system.
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‘Standing in pools of water at the snout of the glacier, or on bare, green tundra, was shocking and surreal,’ said commentary lead and Reader in Environmental Science at Queen Mary University of London, Dr James Bradley. ‘The thick snowpack covering the landscape vanished within days. The gear I packed felt like a relic from another climate.’
The team, prepared for extreme cold with thermal layers, thick gloves and insulated down, were surprised to find they could work bare-handed in the rain on the glacier with little protection, as the climate was unusually warm.
This firsthand experience highlights the alarming speed of change within the Arctic, with the crossing of the 0 °C melting threshold having a transformative impact on the physical environment, dynamics of local ecosystems, and the methodology of scientific research in the Arctic during winter.
What impacts does winter warming have in the Arctic?
Winter warming can have catastrophic impacts within the Arctic, disrupting processes from microbial carbon cycling to the survival of Arctic wildlife. Meltwater pooling above frozen ground can form vast, temporary lakes, reducing snow cover and exposing the bare ground surface. In turn, this can lead to widespread blooms of biological activity.
The unexpected conditions experienced by researchers – such as thin, slushy slow – also forced them to reconsider the very equipment they were using. For example, snowmobiles were unable to take them to research sites due to the type of snow present. Such conditions also present new safety concerns, including rescue efforts and the ability for researchers to head to base in the event of encountering polar bears while on site.
To prevent a certain future of warming – and all the negative implications to scientific research – the recent commentary calls for urgent action. This includes increased investment in wintertime Arctic monitoring, as observations and experimentation can both establish baselines and project future impacts. In addition, the authors of the commentary stress that policymaking should shift from reactive to anticipatory strategies, ensuring that any issues do not worsen and become irreversible.
‘We are still unaware of the consequences that these recurring events are bringing to Arctic ecosystems, especially during the winter period, where conditions are more complex and data is scarce,’ said Donato Giovannelli, a geomicrobiologist at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy and one of the senior authors on the paper.
‘We might have been too cautious with our messages. Irreversible changes to the Arctic climate are happening in front of our own eyes.’
