Arctic Greening Cools, Not Warms

YellowknifeShrub expansion cools most tundra, a study finds.

Darker vegetation absorbs more sun, but shrubs also move water from soil to air as they grow, and researchers found that cooling wins across 70% of Canadian ecozones studied.

The unedited manuscript covers surface energy only; permafrost carbon, the Arctic’s dominant feedback, still runs the other way.

Sources: Nature