Climate change is causing the Arctic to become GREENER
Ecologists are on 'red alert' as warmer temperatures caused by causes the Arctic to become greener. The Arctic is normally a vast and barren expanse of frozen land but higher temperatures are now allowing foliage to thrive. Trees and plants are being found in areas that were once perennially frozen, according to a new study. Scroll down for video The worrying phenomenon - branded 'Arctic greening' - is being studied by researchers using drones and satellites. A group of 40 scientists from 36 institutions, led by two National Geographic Explorers, are behind the huge project. As Arctic summer temperatures warm, snow is melting earlier and plants are coming into leaf sooner in spring. Tundra vegetation is spreading into new areas and in the areas where plants have always survived, they are now flourishing. Study lead author Dr Isla Myers-Smith, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, said: 'New technologies including sensors on drones, planes and satellites, are enabling scientists to track emerging patterns of greening found within satellite pixels that cover the size of football fields.' Changes in vegetation alter how carbon is captured and released into the atmosphere. Small changes to this balance could significantly impact efforts to keep warming below 1.5C a key target of the Paris Agreement. But researchers in Europe and North America also found Arctic greening, which can be seen from space, is caused by various factors. Ground warming is important, researchers found, but so are changes to the timing of snow melt and the wetness of landscapes. The new study was published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The team behind it say it is vital for understanding global climate change because tundra plants act as a barrier between the warming atmosphere and huge stocks of carbon stored in frozen ground. Co-lead author Dr Jeffrey Kerby, who was a Neukom Fellow at Dartmouth College while conducting the research, said: 'Besides collecting new imagery, advances in how we process and analyse these data - even imagery that is decades old - are revolutionising how we understand the past, present, and future of the Arctic.' Alex Moen, Vice President of Explorer Programmes at the National Geographic Society, added: 'We look forward to the impact that this work will have on our collective understanding of the Arctic for generations to come.'