Two Degrees Matters
Sousanes PJ, Hill K, Swanson DK. 2022. Two Degrees Matters. Frontiers for Young Minds. 9(610018)
Article explaining why an increase of just a few degrees matters in Alaska national parks that are defined by snow and ice and what you can do to help keep the temperatures down, targeted at a youth audience. Abstract: How do you tell if someone is not well? You take their temperature. If it’s too warm it generally indicates that something is not quite right. We care about how the weather and climate is changing in Alaska’s national parks, so we continuously take their temperature. We have dozens of weather stations in remote locations in the northern Alaska parks that run continuously powered by the sun. Over the past several years we found that the air and ground temperatures have been warmer than normal. Plants, animals, and people get used to living in their environment. They thrive within an expected temperature range. Things get out of whack when the environment that they are accustomed to changes. In northern Alaska, warming of just a few degrees can causes ice to melt and permafrost to thaw. Once the ground thaws the landscape changes.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Sousanes, Pamela; Hill, Ken; Swanson, David
- Units
- ARCN , CAKN
- Keywords
- Alaska, ARCN, CAKN, climate, monitoring, temperature