"Our pursuit of innovation-while incredibly beneficial for food production, disease prevention, and technological advancement-is also producing changes in our atmosphere with broad and uncertain consequences. Skiers are feeling the weight of these changes particularly quickly. Winters are becoming more variable, bringing either relentless snowfall or complete drought, and many mountains are now experiencing winter rain that would have been unprecedented just 30 years ago."
"Greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions are atmospheric components that impact the environment in different ways. Greenhouse gases refer specifically to gases that trap heat within Earth's atmosphere. These gases form a blanket around the planet, and how they interact with photons emitted from the sun determines the extent of warming. Many non-greenhouse-gas aerosols reflect incoming sunlight back into the atmosphere which produces a cooling effect."
Human emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols alter atmospheric composition and influence surface temperatures. Greenhouse gases trap heat by absorbing and re-emitting infrared radiation, forming a warming blanket around Earth. Many non-greenhouse aerosols reflect sunlight, producing cooling, while some aerosols interact differently. Elevated concentrations of CO2, CH4, N2O, and water vapor from industrial activities have increased since the Industrial Revolution, intensifying warming. Winters are becoming more variable, with extremes of heavy snowfall or drought and increased winter rain at elevations that historically remained snowbound, disrupting ski seasons and mountain hydrology.
Read at SnowBrains
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]