Science Source
Attribution of polar warming to human influence
- States that several studies have noted a rise in Arctic temperatures over recent decades, but have not formally attributed the changes to human influence, owing to sparse observations and large natural variability
- Uses an up-to-date gridded data set of land surface temperatures and simulations from four coupled climate models to assess the causes of the observed polar temperature changes
- Finds that the observed changes in Arctic and Antarctic temperatures are not consistent with internal climate variability or natural climate drivers alone, and are directly attributable to human influence
- Concludes that human activities have already caused significant warming in both polar regions, with likely impacts on polar biology, indigenous communities, ice-sheet mass balance and global sea level
Related Content
Headline
![](/sites/default/files/styles/card_resource/public/headlines/glacier.jpg?itok=nOLjc6eS)
Jan 29, 2020 | BBC News
Journey to the 'doomsday glacier'
Headline
![](/sites/default/files/styles/card_resource/public/headlines/antarctic_min_max_20191119_620.png?itok=M_-Zt6FX)
Nov 22, 2019 | NOAA Climate.gov
Understanding climate: Antarctic sea ice extent
Headline
![](/sites/default/files/styles/card_resource/public/headlines/glacier_lakes.jpg?itok=3XE7drm2)
Mar 26, 2019 | The Guardian
Australian researchers find huge lakes beneath largest east Antarctic glacier
Science Source
| Geophysical Research Letters
Mass Loss of Totten and Moscow University Glaciers, East Antarctica, Using Regionally Optimized GRACE Mascons
Yara Mohajerani, Isabella Velicogna, Eric Rignot