Media report on study that links climate change, record snowfall in Alaskan mountains
Reuters , Daily Mail , The Straits Times and Business Day reported on a new study conducted by researchers from Dartmouth College, the University of Maine and the University of New Hampshire. The study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, found snowfalls atop an Alaskan mountain range have doubled since the start of the industrial age, evidence that climate change can trigger major increases in regional precipitation, Reuters reported. The study shows modern snowfall levels in the Alaska Range at the highest in at least 1,200 years, averaging some 18 feet per year from around 8 feet per year from 1600–1840. The research was based on an analysis of two ice core samples collected at 13,000 feet from Mount Hunter in Alaska’s Denali National Park. The study suggests that warming tropical oceans have driven the increased snowfall by strengthening the northward flow of warm, moist air, the Reuters article states.