Top 10 Results of Global Warming

Global warming. We all know it has something to do with melting caps and rising sea levels in the future. However, there are many other effects happening this very minute.

Top 10 Results:

10. Aggravated Allergies. If you have allergies or know someone who does, you have probably noticed them getting worse. Global warming may have something to do with it. Warming trends have enabled plants to bloom earlier and produce more pollen. This causes allergy season to last longer.

9. Animals Moving to Higher Ground. Many of the smaller animals, such as chipmunks, mice and squirrels have moved to greater elevations due to changes in their habitat caused by global warming. In current news, you hear of changes to habitats threatening the polar bears. Their sea ice is melting away at record pace.

8. Artic in Bloom. Plants in the Arctic remain trapped under ice most of the year. Currently, these plants are out and growing earlier due to ice melting earlier in the spring. Research has found higher levels of chlorophyll (responsible for capturing the light energy needed for photosynthesis) in modern soils than in ancient soils, showing a biological boom in the Arctic in recent decades.

7. Disappearing Lakes. In the past few decades, 125 lakes in the Artic have disappeared. Research suggests that warming trends are thawing out the permafrost underneath the lakes and the lake water is seeping through this defrosted soil. Normally, this soil will always stay frozen. Ecosystems dependent upon these lakes also lose their homes.

6. Thawing Out. This was touched upon in Number 7. Global warming seems to be thawing out the layer of permanently frozen soil below the ground's surface. This causes the ground to shrink and become uneven. Sinkholes and damage to structures such as highways and houses could develop. Melting permafrost on mountains could cause rockslides and mudslides. And do not forget about the melting of glaciers.

5. Survival of the Fittest. Since plants are blooming earlier in the year, animals migrating at their usual time might miss all the food. Animals are going to have to reset their internal clocks and migrate earlier to survive. Hopefully, this information will genetically pass to their offspring, changing the genetic profile of their entire population.

4. Speedier Satellites. Usually, air molecules creating drag slow down satellites in space. Engineers periodically boost them back into their proper orbits. With global warming, more carbon dioxide is reaching space, causing air to settle. This causes less density in the atmosphere and creates less drag. Therefore, satellites are not encountering drag and are moving faster in their orbits.

3. Rebounding Mountains. Glaciers atop mountains used their weight to push mountains towards the earth. Now, these melting glaciers are causing mountain ranges to spring up, enabling growth spurts. Global warming is speeding up the process and mountains are rebounding at a faster pace.

2. Damaged Ruins. Many ancient ruins may be damaged due to rising seas and more extreme weather. A 600-year-old site, Sukhothai, which was once the capital of a Thai kingdom, was damaged due to floods attributed to global warming.

1. Heating Up Forest Fires. More wildfires are burning more area for longer periods. Scientists believe warmer temperatures and earlier snowmelt is the cause. The earlier snow melts, the more forest areas are exposed for longer periods of becoming ignited.

Resources:

http://www.livescience.com/environment/top10_global_warming_results.html

http://www.livescience.com/environment/top10_global_warming_results-10.html

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