Climate now shifting on a continental scale, huge study says [View All]

[GliderGuider]

Climate now shifting on a continental scale, huge study says

A landmark climate study released Wednesday reports that global warming is changing the life cycles of thousands of animals and plants — as well as hundreds of physical systems — worldwide.

It documents rapid glacier melts in North America, South America and Europe; trees and plants sprouting leaves much earlier in the spring in Europe, Asia and North America; permafrost melting in Asia; and changes in bird migration patterns across Europe, North America and Australia, all in response to rising global temperatures.

Though previous studies have looked at single phenomena or smaller areas, the latest analysis examines data on a continental scale, says lead author Cynthia Rosenzweig, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.

The study found that 95% of the observed physical changes, and 90% of the biological changes, are consistent with warming temperatures.

Some of the physical changes:

•Melting glaciers on all continents, notably in Alaska, Peru and the Alps.

•Earlier breakup and thinning of river and lake ice in Mongolia.

•Declining mountain snowpack in western North America.

Some of the observed effects on living things include:

•Movements of species to higher latitudes and altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere.

•Population of emperor penguins declining 50% on Antarctic Peninsula.

•Advance of spring arrival of long-distance migratory birds in Europe