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Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey said there are fewer large-diameter trees growing in Yosemite National Park than in years past, most likely due to climate change.  Warmer temperatures and smaller snow packs are creating conditions that are more difficult for large trees to flourish.

“Most of the water that becomes available in the Sierra Nevada comes from the snow pack,” said Jim Lutz, University of Washington researcher who co-wrote the study.  “Higher temperatures might increase populations of insects or make fungi more aggressive … which all could increasingly contribute to tree mortality.”

When smaller snow packs collect in April and May, trees have less water to sustain them over the dry summer.  Warmer temperatures also increase the severity of wildfires that kill off trees.

The study concluded that the number of large-diameter trees in Yosemite National Park decreased by 24 percent from 1932 to 1999.  Trees in the park’s sub-alpine areas were the most severely affected.

Story at Google News
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A 2003 study predicted that glaciers will disappear from Glacier National Park by 2030.  But because temperatures are warming even faster than just a few years ago, glaciers are now expected to disappear by 2020.

Glaciers are created when snow doesn’t completely melt in summer and over time is compacted into ice.  To be classified as a glacier, an ice field must be at least 25 acres, moving, and sculpting the landscape.

In 1900, there were about 150 glaciers in what is now Glacier National Park.  Today only 25 glaciers remain.

Although the quantity and size of glaciers have been decreasing over the past century, glaciers are now shrinking four times as fast as they were in the 1960s.  The reason is warmer climate.  Although Glacier National Park is colder than many other parts of the world, temperatures in the park have increased three times as fast as average global temperatures.

There may be some debate as to whether the warming climate is a natural cycle or the result of man-made pollutants.  But there is no debate that temperatures in Glacier National Park are getting warmer, the glaciers are getting smaller, and this is all happening even faster than previously predicted.

Story at USA News
Glacier National Park Photo Tour
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An international panel of scientists has warned that he world is facing an increasing risk of an “irreversible” climate shift because worst-case scenarios presented just a few years ago are now coming true.

Temperatures, sea levels, and acid levels in oceans and ice sheets were already moving “beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived,” scientists said in a new report.  These are the conclusions from a three-day conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, where two thousand researchers gathered to discuss climate change.

“Recent observations show that societies are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change, with poor nations and communities particularly at risk,” the report said.

Story at CNN