The paper looks at how atmospheric warming is affecting Arctic rivers flowing through permafrost terrain; research has determined that, as the region is sharply warming up, its rivers are not moving as scientists have expected.
A University of British Columbia Okanagan researcher has found that Arctic river channels are changing course due to climate change, but not in the way they first thought.
Scientists have long believed that rapid warming in the Arctic would cause river channels to move faster, but this new study has found the opposite may be true. “The western Arctic is one of the areas in the world experiencing the sharpest atmospheric warming due to climate change,” he says. “Many northern scientists predicted the rivers would be destabilized by atmospheric warming. The understanding was that as permafrost thaws, riverbanks are weakened, and therefore northern rivers are less stable and expected to shift their channel positions at a faster pace.
“We tested the hypothesis that large sinuous rivers in permafrost terrain are moving faster under a warming climate, and we found exactly the opposite,” says Dr. Ilepi. “Yes, permafrost is degrading, but the influence of other environmental changes, such as greening of the Arctic, counteracts its effects. Higher temperatures and more moisture in the Arctic mean the region is greening up. Shrubs are expanding, growing thicker and taller on areas that were previously only sparsely vegetated.
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