In the United States and all across the world non-biological seasonal shifts are occurring due to the warming trend. Many of the budding signs in spring are arriving earlier, summers are warmer, winters are shorter, and the leaves are falling sooner in fall (8).
In southern New England the yearly precipitation rate has increased by more than 25% since the past century. Snowfall in northern New England has decreased by 15% since 1953. New England snow lies on the ground for seven days less each year than it did 50 years back (3). Snow-melt in the Western U.S. Is occurring four weeks earlier than it did in the mid 20th century (8).
Today 30% of the Earth's surface is affected by drought, compared to 10 to 15% 35 years ago. Scientists are mostly blaming this change on the increase in temperatures.
During the past 40 years snowfall has decreased by 30% in Australia, causing the winter season to be shorter
Another change in the season is that the lakes in Pennsylvania on average freeze about 10 days later than they did 50 years ago and thaw around 9 days sooner.
In Europe the vegetative growing season of trees, shrubs, and herbs has risen by 11 days since 1960.
The oak trees in England are leafing two weeks earlier than they did 40 years ago, another piece of evidence that season lengths are changing (3).
You might be wondering does it really matter if the ice melts sooner of the flowers bloom early? Well, it does. Changes in phenology (the relation between climate and periodic biological phenomena) in one species has major impacts throughout the ecosystem. For example, when the warm spring weather causes the plants to bloom earlier, it upsets the life cycle of insects that rely upon them for food. This occurs further up the food chain with other species. If a species does not adapt, the chain is broken, and this is when the number of species starts to disappear (8).
6 comments:
Wow! This is really interesting. I never thought about the implications for disappearing species. I usually just feel disappointed that there's no snow around here. Great way to tie everything together.
I am really glad that you included the importance of the flowers blooming at the same time each year. While I was reading your entire blog, that specific question was one of the questions I was thinking about. I did not realize that the bloom time of flowers affected other life cycles. This was a really well written blog.
I like this blog alot, relating mostly to changes in weather; specifically snowfall. Did you find at all in your research if the snowfall is set to decrease in the next few years? Do you feel that snowfall will keep decreasing due to climate change?
I read that the tropics region is expanding and creating more desertous land in places like the U.S. Southwest, do you think they will keep expanding and one day Buffalo will be a desert?
Hannah, considering that snowfall has decreased since 1953 in New England I think it will continue to decrease.
Sarah, I think if Buffalo were to become a desert it would take a very long time, and in my opinion it is very unlikely to become a desert.
Do you think that adapting to the enviroment is something that organisms are going to have to do by eveolution or do you think that we need to prevent evolution by saving the Earth.
(I think we should try to reduce the effects of global warming but I was wondering if that we should from a scientific view point, just let the world take its course and those that make it do, and those that do not, do not. This would be sort of Darmin like).
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