Wetter Arctic Has the Potential to Speed Climate Change

A new study done on the Arctic suggesting that, increased precipitation and river discharge in the Arctic has the potential to speed climate change.

Results of the study led by Xiangdong Zhang, a scientist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center and his co-authors including IARC colleague Igor Polyakov was carried in the journal Nature Climate Change.

"As the Earth's climate continues to change, the high-latitude North is becoming even wetter than before," Zhang says. "In particular, air moisture, precipitation and river discharge have increased, leading to a stronger water cycle. These recent changes may intensify climate system interactions and further advance climate change."

In order to proceed with the study, the researchers analyzed the water cycles in the Ob Lena and Yenesei River drainages in the Eurasian Arctic during the last six decades. On doing so, they noticed that atmospheric moisture increased in the areas by an average of 2.6 percent per decade and, consequently, river discharge increased at a rate of nearly 2 percent per decade. 

This increase indicated that 39 cubic miles more fresh water is being dumped into the Arctic Ocean per year when compared to the 1940's.

This study is significant as it suggests that air moisture and precipitation, and the resulting increase in river discharge into the Arctic Ocean, can lower salinity and cause warmer surface temperatures, as well as create weaker water circulation in the Atlantic Ocean.

The paper, "Enhanced poleward moisture transport and amplified northern high-latitude wetting trend," suggests that increased water cycle depends on changes on atmosphere.