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Global_warming Stock Photos and Images
RMM5W62J–Tree Mortality . “Very slowly through time, the forest is getting thinner.” Tree mortality across the western U.S. has doubled over the last few decades.
RMM5R3EB–Heavy Rainstorms . A major rainstorm in late June led to flooding in Denali National Park and road repairs between Wonder Lake and Kantishna. In national parks where rivers run wild and untamed, these heavy rainstorms can cause floods that threaten park infrastructure and visitor safety. (Yosemite, Mount Rainier, and Rocky Mountain are just a few of the parks where major floods have rearranged both landscapes and infrastructure.) Since heavy rainstorms are now more severe and are occurring more often, park staff will be increasingly challenged with keeping visitors safe.
RMM5R6R1–Permafrost Thaw . Have you ever seen a lake disappear? Permafrost is thawing across the Arctic, causing northern lands to sink or change shape. In Gates of the Arctic National Park, a bank of this lake thawed, allowing the Okokmilaga River to cut through and drain it to sea. Although it's the short-term impacts that are most noticeable to us, scientists are particularly concerned about what will happen as the frozen ground releases carbon dioxide and methane that were formerly stored under the surface.
RMM5R2R4–Earlier Spring Warmth . Our nation’s capital is a regular destination for tourists year-round, but the Cherry Blossom Festival in spring is especially popular. We might not normally pay that much attention to the exact dates of spring blooming in our daily lives, but researchers have found that on average, spring is arriving earlier now than in the mid-1900s.
RMM5W6TY–Wildfire . Summer is here, which means fire season has also arrived. Wildfire is a natural and necessary process that ensures forest health, but excessive wildfire can damage ecosystems and impact human lives and property. Over the last century, climate has been the most important factor controlling burned acreage, with hot dry summers (especially when preceded by wet winters) being particularly prone to wildfire. With global climate change bringing increased temperatures, what does the future hold for wildfire on public lands?
RMM5R3FW–Hotter Temperatures . National parks across the country are experiencing warmer temperature; Denali and other Alaska parks have faced warming at double the average U.S. rate. Denali National Park will continue to serve as a living laboratory so we can understand how warming temperatures impact park resources (like glaciers) and to show how our decisions affect the environment as each of us decides whether or not to #ActOnClimate. Read more about Alaska impacts in the National Climate Assessment. Denali - the tallest mountain in North America - rises in the distance behind a caribou.
RMM5W500–Southwestern Drought . “Like the deserts miss the rain...?” Over the next century, we expect all national parks to see an increase in temperature; in fact, we’re already seeing that now. But what about precipitation? Parks in the desert southwest, like Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument pictured here, have already seen a reduction in rainfall, while other parks are expected to get more. In short, dry places will probably get drier and wet places wetter.
RMM5R652–Mountain Pine Beetles . A drive along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is always beautiful, but park visitors are often surprised at the number of dead trees they see in the forest. These dead trees are the handiwork of mountain pine beetles. Our warmer climate has helped these beetle populations explode; warmer winters mean fewer die from the cold, and warmer summers mean they reproduce faster. Combined with other human impacts (such as a history of fire suppression that created even-aged stands of mature trees), we’ve set up Rocky Mountain forests to be a buffet for these bee
RMM5R8FP–Shifting Vegetation . This time of year, the sun never sets in Noatak National Preserve, a park protecting the Noatak River and its surrounding forest and tundra in northwest Alaska. Researchers have observed the forest in Noatak expanding northward into tundra; elsewhere, like in Yosemite National Park, forests have moved upslope into higher mountains. As the climate continues to warm, we’re studying these high-latitude and high-elevation ecosystems with particular interest. How different might these ecosystems look in another 50 years, and which plants and wildlife will successfully adapt?
RMM5R88D–Sea Level Rise . Park managers at coastal parks such as Assateague Island National Seashore have begun to #ActOnClimate by changing the way they respond to major storms. With over 7 inches of global sea level rise since 1900 (and today’s rise occurring even faster), the potential for storm surges and flooding is higher than ever.
RMM5R7XP–Saguaro loss . Notice any changes in this scenic view of Saguaro National Park between 1935 and 2010? It can be easy to fall into the trap of ascribing any landscape change to climate change, but the story of saguaros is much more complex. Many of the mature saguaros in the 1935
RMM5R5FJ–Lyell Glacier in Yosemite . We're saying goodbye to an old friend in Yosemite National Park. The Lyell Glacier - second largest in the Sierra Nevada - has thinned rapidly over just the last few years. Note the newly exposed bedrock on the east (left) side; it's estimated the glacier may now be only 15-20 feet thick. Currently the glacier is losing on average about three feet of thickness each year. How much longer until it's gone? For more
Search Results for Global_warming Stock Photos and Images (13)
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