Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth, remains awash in dull gray and white, but with a growing section of green that scientists say could "forever" alter the iconic landscape. Visible from space, the "greening" of the Antarctic Peninsula has spread dramatically since the mid-1980s, according to a study published Friday in Nature Geoscience. Based on satellite data, it notes plant life has increased more than tenfold over the last several decades, per the Guardian. It covered less than 0.4 square miles of the peninsula in 1986, but by 2021 it had reached almost 5 square miles, per CNN. Meanwhile, the spread of plant life is speeding up and will continue to do so, scientists say.
Though Antarctica is still largely made up of rock, ice, and snow, scientists say mosses, lichens, and grasses are gaining hold amid extreme heat events, consequences of human-fueled climate change. Parts of the continent recorded temperatures 70 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in March 2022 and 50 degrees above normal this past July, per CNN. As a result, the continent is becoming more vulnerable to invasive species, whose seeds and spores might be carried to the remote landscape on the boots of visitors "or via more 'traditional' routes associated with migrating birds and the wind," study author Thomas Roland, an environmental scientist at the University of Exeter, tells CNN.
The spread of vegetation accelerated by more than 30% between 2016 and 2021. Scientists say this trend is likely to continue with decreases in sea ice extent around the continent, bringing wetter conditions in which plants thrive. Furthermore, green space absorbs more solar radiation than surfaces covered in ice and snow. (More climate change stories.)
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