UMass Amherst to Study Changes in Arctic Rain/Snow Regimes

Team of scientists in winter clothing with snowbile in front of snow-covered arctic scene with mountain in background

Scientists know that the Arctic is warming faster than any other region, and this is associated with greatly reduced extent and seasonal persistence of sea-ice. Now a team of geoscientists has launched studies to investigate “a new hydrological regime” there, which means more rain than snow, especially in fall and spring, and possible increases in flash flooding, and earth moving over frozen ground on steep slopes with the risk of catastrophic slope failure.Climate scientists Raymond Bradley, Distinguished Professor and director of the Climate System Research Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Michael Retelle at Bates College, Lewiston, Maine, say they suspect that recent conditions in the Arctic are unique in the last 1,000 years. Read More...