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Canada struggles with melting permafrost as climate warms
Posted by Scientific American: Christa Marshall on July 8th, 2014
Scientific American: In 2006, reduced thickness of ice roads forced the Diavik Diamond Mine in Northern Canada to fly in fuel rather than try to transport cargo across melted pathways, at an extra cost of $11.25 million.
The mountain pine beetle outbreak in British Columbia--fueled by higher winter temperatures that allow insects to survive--expanded in recent years to be 10 times greater than any previously recorded outbreak in the province. Mortality rates of sockeye salmon, meanwhile, have increased because of...
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Greenland may contribute less than Antarctica to sea level rise
Posted by Scientific American: Christa Marshall on January 26th, 2013
Scientific American: Portions of the Greenland ice sheet melted a "moderate" amount thousands of years ago during an extremely warm period, raising new questions about its likely behavior in the future amid rising temperatures, according to a new study from a team of international scientists.
The conclusions about the Eemian interglacial period, 130,000 to 115,000 years ago, enlighten an ongoing debate over a deceptively simple question: To what degree will Greenland add to rising seas in a warming world, and to what...