Are There Consequences to a Warming Arctic?
Could a rapidly warming Arctic create crazy storms? (Fox41 Blog) In an article written by Stephanie Paige Ogburn in Scientific American , a question was poised: Does a warming Arctic affect mid-latitude weather? Sandy-like events are receiving a lot of media attention, and many are wondering if there is a link to climate change. "R apid warming in the Arctic is changing the way the jet stream behaves. Since the jet stream is a driving force behind weather over the temperate part of the Earth, also known as the mid-latitudes, many people would be affected by this switch." Jennifer Francis , a climate scientist at Rutgers, has been working on this hypothesis that a warming Arctic has a link to crazy weather events. Though she admits the signal is somewhat weak at this point, the body of evidence is gathering. "Arctic sea ice extent continues to plunge below average each summer. Measurements have shown that the winds that blow west to east and drive the jet ...
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