Arctic's Hudson Bay Warming Rapidly, at Tipping Point
In one of the Arctic's "last holdouts," aquatic ecosystems are changing.
While local temperatures had remained relatively steady before the last two decades, they've risen since then at rates that are extremely high even for the Arctic. The increase has changed the mix of freshwater organisms that anchor local food chains in a way never before seen over centuries of historical record. (Related: "Summer Arctic Sea Ice Recovers From 2012, But Trend 'Decidedly' Down.")
"The Arctic is often described as Earth's 'canary in the coal mine' because it's the first area to show change. Shifts also happen very quickly there," said John Smol, a paleolimnologist at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, whose new research on the area was released today.
Smol added that, although data show Arctic warming dating back to
