বুধবার, ৩ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

New book on Muslims in Brazil | ISA RC22 News and Events

The Construction of Muslim Identities in Contemporary Brazil
Cristina Maria de Castro
Lexington Books, 2013
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739149836
Review
In this fascinating original study, Cristina Maria de Castro presents an insightful overview of the little-known Muslim communities in Brazil and their at times precarious relationship with majority society in the years of the War on Terror and increasing Islamophobia. Extensive fieldwork has given her access to many of the discussions and debates in these communities. I found her analysis of how ?born? Muslim women (of Arab and South African origin) and converts negotiate their gender and religious identities vis-?-vis each other and the non-Muslim majority especially of great interest. The author?s comparative research on the Muslim communities of the Netherlands adds a valuable dimension to this study, bringing out more clearly the specificities of the Brazilian situation.
? Martin van Bruinessen, Department of Religious Studies, Utrecht University and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
About the author:

Cristina Maria de Castro is a Professor of Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil). In 2005 and 2007 she acted as a visiting researcher at the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, based in Leiden, The Netherlands. In 2007, Castro was approved in a highly competitive selection process to participate in a training program for new PhD researchers in the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning, CEBRAP, one of the most renowned research institutions in Brazil. Articles and book chapters on religion, gender and migration, with emphasis on Muslim minorities, have been published by her in Brazil, the USA and France.

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Source: http://www.isa-rc22.org/blog/?p=507

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SEC Embraces Social Media (WSJ)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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মঙ্গলবার, ২ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

Why Too Many iMessages Will Crash Your iPhone

iOS hacks are nothing new, but there are ways to crash the system without complicated exploits or intimate programming knowledge. By taking advantage of weaknesses in Apple's endemic iMessage system, some lads of ill repute have discovered a way to spam users until their phones lock up. iMessage is a text messaging service for users of Macs, iPhones and iPads, although this behavior only poses a threat to iOS devices.

Information comes by way of a number of software experts active in the iOS development and hacking scenes. Griefers (online users who act within the rules to harass others) can develop a simple script to flood an iMessage inbox with a constant stream of nonsense messages.

Usually, this behavior just creates an incredible nuisance, since it clogs a user's device with nonstop notifications and resulting noises. However, even iMessage has limits. Some messages include unusual characters (such as complicated emoticons) that require a special kind of text rendering.

Spamming messages with these characters can cause a device to lock up from apoplectic processing. Even restarting the device may not help right away, since the messages will continue to come at a fast and furious pace, and the device must still render whatever came while the device was turned off. Even if the device does not freeze, receiving a massive amount of spam messages can be a colossal waste of valuable data plan money.

"What?s happening is a simple flood," Grant Paul, an iOS developer, told TNW. "Apple doesn?t seem to limit how fast messages can be sent, so the attacker is able to send thousands of messages very quickly." [See also: Five Apple Security Myths and the Hard Truths]

Since the attack cannot permanently damage systems or steal any information, everyday users are unlikely to find themselves on the receiving end of unprovoked attacks. However, if you maintain a public profile or have recently angered someone, your tormentor may find that this is an easy way to pester you with little programming skill and almost no stakes.

Apple may address this problem and add some kind of anti-spam protections into iMessage, but until then, the most practical solution is to turn the program off altogether if you've been affected. If not, you probably don't have much to worry about, but keep an eye on who has your iMessage contact information.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Marshall Honorof?@marshallhonorof. Follow us @TechNewsDaily,?Facebook?or?Google+.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-too-many-imessages-crash-iphone-235210593.html

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Opposition: SAfrican troops must withdraw from CAR

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? South Africa's leading opposition party on Monday urged President Jacob Zuma to withdraw troops from Central African Republic, where 13 South African troops were killed in the recent rebellion.

There are suggestions that Zuma should be impeached for allegedly misleading parliament about the deployment of South African troops in Central African Republic.

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille's announcement that her party will present a motion in parliament Tuesday to demand the withdrawal of South African troops, comes amid increasingly angry debate over why the soldiers were deployed to Central African Republic at all, and suggestions they were sent to protect mining interests of South Africa's governing African National Congress. The ANC denies it has any business in the country rich in diamonds, uranium and other resources.

The South African soldiers were killed in a March 24 battle in which rebels took the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui. President Francois Bozize fled to neighboring Cameroon and has asked for asylum in the West African state of Benin.

There are also calls for Zuma to report Central African rebel leader Michel Djotodia to the International Criminal Court at The Hague for using child soldiers. The South African National Defense Force Union, a trade union of soldiers, said Monday the South African government is legally bound ask the ICC to indict Djotodia and his Seleka rebels over child soldiers.

South African soldiers who fought in Central African Republic said they were appalled to find out they had killed some youngsters among the rebels.

"It was only after the firing had stopped that we saw we had killed kids," said one paratrooper, among the 27 wounded who were flown home for treatment, quoted by The Sunday Times of Johannesburg. "We did not come here for this ... to kill kids. It makes you sick. They were crying for help ... calling for (their) moms."

Zuma told parliament's defense committee that the South African soldiers were training CAR troops and would help with disarming and demobilization under a peace agreement that fell apart. But the trade union says the elite paratroopers and Special Forces deployed in Central African Republic are an unlikely choice to do military training.

Business Day newspaper asked in an editorial "Did President Jacob Zuma mislead Parliament about their deployment? And if he did, is that an impeachable offense?"

It noted that Bozize had come to South Africa and met Zuma just days before his overthrow, presumably to plead for further military assistance or report his days were numbered. "There are red lights flashing. ... For South Africans, the question is whether Mr. Zuma knew after Mr. Bozize's visit that the situation was critical. If he did, why did he not withdraw the troops or reinforce them?" the newspaper asked.

Zuma authorized the deployment of 400 soldiers but only 200 were sent in January. Since the battle ? defense officials say the 200 soldiers fought some 3,000 rebels, killing hundreds before a truce was reached ? Zuma said that instead of withdrawing troops he was considering sending reinforcements.

It appears a strange suggestion given that the bilateral agreement was signed with an ousted president and that rebel leader Djotodia, whom the South African soldiers fought, has declared himself president and said he intends to stay in power until elections scheduled in 2016.

Opposition leader Zille said "The conclusion is inescapable that the South African troops were deployed to defend the faltering and dictatorial Bozize regime." Bozize seized power in a coup in 2003 and was elected in dubious 2005 elections that excluded the man he had ousted.

Zille said the mission "was reportedly undertaken against expert military advice." And that its aim was "allegedly to protect the business interests of a politically connected elite, both in South Africa and the Central African Republic."

"If this is so, President Zuma's position both as president of the republic and commander in chief of the armed forces, becomes untenable," she told a news conference. "We believe that our troops should be withdrawn immediately. To this end, the DA will table an urgent parliamentary resolution ... to compel the president to bring our soldiers back home."

The Mail and Guardian newspaper reported extensively on the alleged business interests, saying South Africa's former defense minister signed a cooperation agreement with the CAR covering defense, minerals and energy in 2006. As a result, a company was set up with shareholders including an ANC veteran of the liberation war and the Chancellor House Trust that serves as a fundraiser for the ANC, it said. The company, a joint venture with the CAR government, was to serve as a national diamond exporter, buying diamonds from the country's small-scale miners, The Mail and Guardian reported.

A statement Monday from ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said, "The ANC rejects with contempt the damaging and malicious claim by The Mail and Guardian that South African soldiers were sent to the Central African Republic to protect ANC business interests." It added that "the ANC as an organization does not have business interests in CAR."

The ANC threatened to sue the newspaper.

Zuma is to attend a conference Wednesday in Chad with leaders from Central Africa to discuss the crisis in the Central African Republic.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/opposition-safrican-troops-must-withdraw-car-120508956.html

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Chemtrails Busting 1 ? Foundation ? Just Wondering ? Alternative ...

The next few blogs will be ostensibly about how to remove chemtrails from your local sky, but in actuality we?ll be talking about the use and manifestation of practical magic.? Every word in these blogs is simply my opinion based upon my honed inner knowingness.? You might have a different opinion, and that is fine.Some of what I have to say may appear to be confusing or contradictory.? A few basic understandings or ground rules will help the reader navigate this blog series.First Basic Understanding:? Words are inadequate to transmit real information.? In the beginning was not the Word, but the multi-dimensional Vibration.?? For more on the limitation of words to transmit real information see my blog entitled: ?Escaping the Spoken Trap?.? I?m forced to use words when blogging, but try to perceive beneath the words and realize the essence of what is being said rather than getting bogged down wondering whether I?m making sense, or being consistent or not.? Realize that I?m trying to describe things that lie beyond the scope of worded language, and so if you tightly focus on the preciseness of the words or phrases I?m using, you?ll miss what is being transmitted.

I do try to use words carefully, and often my choice of words has underlying meanings.? Some of my more-logical readers might do well to consider the more esoteric portions of this and future blogs as poetry rather than dissertations.

Second Basic Understanding:? Things are true or false depending upon your view, perspective or level.? Let me give a mundane example.? At one level keeping written, value-based goals, breaking those goals into tasks and then daily planning and accounting are important and, if applied judiciously, will lead to a successful life.? At another level, that process would be considered insanity as your only desire would be to live with your heart wide open as you spontaneously enjoy each new moment as it arises.

So, if you perceive a contradiction in these blogs, that contradiction may be due to you?re looking at the material from a different level, view or perspective.? Another example, from one perspective there is definitely good and evil, and battles to be won and lost.? From another level or perspective there is only Life and natural law based upon Love.

I don?t mean to belabor this point, but words are tricky buggers and I?m anticipating that if there are misunderstandings, they will arise from a perspective difference.? So here?s another example of how this type of misunderstanding can arise.? I may talk about how powerful each human is and how love is the strongest force in the universe, and then later on I may issue a warning to ?Be careful?.? Can you see the apparent contradiction?? After all, why should the most powerful beings in the universe have to ?Be careful??? From one perspective that warning is prudent, from another pure idiocy.

In summary, try to perceive the essence of my communications rather than get enmeshed in semantics.

Third Basic Understanding:? Please come to this work without preconceptions.? I have not read or watched every chemtrail book, video, movie or expose.? This and future blog articles here are not a compilation of data from various sources looking for consensus or agreement.? Rather this material is my own unique perspective based upon decades of esoteric experiences as I stood for the Good.

Occasionally as I?m writing about something, I?ll travel down an apparent side road or visit some other issue.? Please be patient as there is always a reason for these side trips.

Finally, I do hope you?ll read the material with a open but questioning attitude and please feel free to discard anything that doesn?t make sense to you

Definitions:? In this material there is a difference between man and Man.? As used in this blog series, man refers to a male human, while Man refers to a Child of God whether male or female.? Finally, I refer to the baddies ? those that want to keep humanity chained down and subjugated as either the challengers or the darkness.

The Sun

We are told that we come from the Earth and that we will return to it when we die ? Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.? But, this is flat-out false for you.? The physical vehicles you incarnate (or merge) into have been subject to this rule recently, but your spirit lives on eternally.? You are not going to dissolve into dust ever.

Back in ancient times they could easily perceive that more aware and powerful humans radiated a delicious life-giving energy.? These people could make flowers bloom, encourage plant growth, and easily tame wild animals (reportedly some of this is happening now with Chinese children).? In addition at that time all people knew that life depended upon the sun.? Besides the sun gave delicious warmth and light, so it was natural the ancient societies would admire the sun.

At a very deep level the sun inspires us.? But it does more than that ? the sun actually provides us with various energies and information.? So, if some beings or entities were hostile to humanity it would be vital that they interfere with our connection to the sun and thus we have our current society where we are encouraged to view the sun as a problem and advised to wear dark sunglasses and slather cancerous sun creams on our skin whenever we go outside, and even then we?re advised to limit our sun exposure.Of course, we should always use common sense, but wouldn?t it be more reasonable to simply make sure we stay hydrated by drinking copious amounts of water while we?re outside and perhaps applying something wholesome and simple like olive oil on our skin to keep it moist?? Or does that just make way too much sense?

Picture

The Purposes of Chemtrails:Back in 1986 and 1987 there were two events that fundamentally changed humanity on this planet (via epigenetics).? The first event was ?Hands Across America? and the second event was the ?Harmonic Convergence?.? Those two events finally manifested, in a very real and tangible way, the feeling in enough people that we could all come together.? Even more startling to those who were awake, human beings after these events were different than before, and these differences while quiet, were tangible.? As an example, perceptual abilities through our senses (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) were enhanced.It?s no coincidence that the practice of laying chemtrails began around that time.

The challengers that want to keep us chained down are logical and methodical.? Chemtrails are placed in the sky because that is deemed the best place for them.? While there are many additional benefits (from the challenger?s point of view) to chemtrails, their primary initial purpose was to interfere and reduce our perceptual abilities so we could not perceive terrestrial and extra-terrestrial UFO fleets as they flew about in our skies.

The chemtrail haze assists in the creation of a three-dimensional perceptual distorting field.? UFO?s flying through the field are made invisible via a kind of cloaking system ? but they need the chemtrail haze in the atmosphere for the cloaking system to work.

That?s why the challengers endeavor to cover the entire sky along routes traveled by the UFOs with a chemtrail haze.? And that?s also why most of the UFO sightings are in faraway rural areas as the chemtrail coverage is not laid down as heavily there, and if the wind picks up in an unpredictable manner, people will start to see and film UFOs.? Of course there are famous cases of mass sightings of UFO?s ? for example, in Mexico City in 1991 ? which coincidentally is very high in elevation with a rarified atmosphere.

Over the years the chemtrail haze has had to be laid down even thicker just to keep pace with our ever-increasing and mutating perceptual abilities.? Now, with the new generation of kids coming up, there is an entirely new ballgame.? That is why the media and governments are so heavily ladling fear onto the parents as they drug and vaccinate their kids (even to the point of taking away the kids if the parents stand firm against vaccination).? It?s also why the challengers want a war with Iran because those clear blue skies are currently off-limits to UFOs (as they would be seen immediately).

One day the challengers know that the chemtrail program will fail massively as they cannot keep up with our newly blossoming genetics.? We should expect that after a massive failure or two (or perhaps just before a massive failure of the chemtrail haze to work) when hundreds or thousands of people see and film a UFO fleet above their city, that the governments will disclose the alien presence (because they?ll be forced to).

Unfortunately, even after disclosure they will still lay the chemtrails.? That?s because with time and experimentation the chemtrail program was expanded beyond its initial scope as other ?benefits? were noted by the challengers.? These included:? 1) A few toxic chemicals added to the chemtrail mix generally sickened the population and made it more docile,? 2) The chemtrail haze disconnects us from the sun and helps reduce our spiritual and perceptual awareness,? 3) Also, unrecognized initially but the chemtrail haze interferes with humans receiving a special kind of nourishment from the deep blue sky,? 4) Prior to disclosure when chemtrails are laid, this action itself frightens and agitates those who are becoming aware, and gives these people a feeling of desperation and helplessness reducing their vibration, and? 5) The laying of chemtrails has resulted in enhancement of some of the abilities of HAARP.? Research on all of this is ongoing.

An Initial Step

I know the vast majority of my readers want to do all that they can to help clear the sky of chemtrails.? The next blog will expand on one aspect of this matter in some detail.

Realize however that it is important to be patient and only move forward when you know inside that it is the appropriate time for you to do so.? The last thing Humanity needs now is a bunch of well-intentioned but essentially unarmed humans rushing around hurting themselves and potentially getting into trouble as they try to stir up a fight with the challengers.

Don?t believe for a second though that you are limited to only making insignificant contributions.? The truth is you can massively help the Good by contributing happy energy and sweet feelings in your life ? so spread humor, good wishes and beauty to everyone you meet!? Be a source of good!? Your simple, happy, helpful, encouraging actions energize the entire human web, nourish our expanding and flowering genetics, provide abundant energy to our side, help transform our planet to a paradise, and will help us show the challengers the door.

Let me introduce you to the human energetic web and your fellow radiant humans (if you aren?t already aware of them).? This is easy to do because all people that have achieved a higher level of spiritual realization and pure power radiate with goodness and sweetness.? You can sense them even over great distances of time and space.


The easiest way to do this is to relax.? Ideally, lay on the grassy ground on a sunny day (as shown in the photo) and totally relax.? The ground, the grass and the sun will give you a boost in your efforts.? Of course if it is raining or the grass is wet, then lay down on your carpet or floor.? Get comfortable and take a few sweet deep breaths.? And then expand your energy along the Earth?s surface as you ask, ?Where is the nearest radiant person to me??? Years ago when I did this I noticed one person in one direction that was maybe 5 miles away and then off in another direction there was another person that was about 8 miles away.? These days when I do this exercise there are happy and at least slightly-radiant people in every direction, and fairly close by!Another suggestion is to touch the people you are conversing with (when it is appropriate and in a respectful manner).? This is the simplest way to reinforce the human web and make it (and all of us) stronger.Long Live the Good!

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MarkFurther.com

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ZenGardner.com

Source: http://www.zengardner.com/chemtrails-busting-1-foundation/

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সোমবার, ১ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

Japan survey finds business sentiment improving

(AP) ? Japanese manufacturers are more upbeat about business conditions than they were late last year, but less so than expected, a central bank survey found.

The Bank of Japan's "tankan" index for the March quarter rose to minus 8 from minus 12 for large manufacturers, a smaller improvement than analysts had anticipated before Monday's release. A reading below zero means pessimists outnumber optimists, and the tankan forecast for large manufacturers for the June survey was minus 1.

Large firms said they plan to reduce capital spending in the fiscal year that begins Monday by 2 percent, suggesting manufacturers may be unconvinced lax demand is on the rebound, despite aggressive stimulus measures by the government and central bank.

Large nonmanufacturing companies were more positive, at positive 6, up from 4 in December. Smaller nonmanufacturers were less optimistic, at minus 8, up from minus 11 in the previous survey.

The central bank will hold its first policy meeting under a new governor, former Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, later this week. The weak business outlook could spur fresh moves to ease monetary conditions, possibly by increasing BOJ asset purchases or extending the range of maturities for the government bonds it buys.

"It is a near certainty that at least one of the two Board meetings in April will result in some form of additional monetary easing," Capital Economics said in a commentary issued before the tankan's release.

While increased government spending and monetary easing appear to be giving the economy a boost after years of stagnation, economists say longer-term reforms are needed to counter weakening demand due to Japan's aging and shrinking population and excess capacity.

Kuroda has pledged to do whatever he can as central bank governor to help achieve a 2 percent inflation goal demanded by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and end the long bout of deflation, or declining prices, that has discouraged companies from investing more in the domestic economy.

The tankan survey of 10,698 companies, 98.9 percent of which responded, showed the outlook for smaller manufacturers edging slightly lower, to minus 19 from minus 18.

While public works spending will also raise demand and create jobs, the government's longer term strategy for economic revival after more than two decades of stagnation hinges on convincing both companies and consumers to spend more to boost domestic demand.

Japan has relied heavily on export manufacturing to drive growth. But the economy has suffered thanks to weak global demand due to the financial crisis. Many manufacturers have shifted production to less-costly overseas locations to help blunt the impact of the strong Japanese yen, reducing the potential positive impact on exports from the yen's weakening over the past half-year. Meanwhile, the weaker yen has raised costs in yen for imported energy and commodities.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-31-Japan-Economy/id-513b7e23d7bb45aabacff3fbe45c30be

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New models predict drastically greener Arctic in coming decades

New models predict drastically greener Arctic in coming decades [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 31-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kendra Snyder
ksnyder@amnh.org
212-496-3419
American Museum of Natural History

Boom in trees, shrubs expected to lead to net increase in climate warming

New research predicts that rising temperatures will lead to a massive "greening," or increase in plant cover, in the Arctic. In a paper published on March 31 in Nature Climate Change, scientists reveal new models projecting that wooded areas in the Arctic could increase by as much as 50 percent over the next few decades. The researchers also show that this dramatic greening will accelerate climate warming at a rate greater than previously expected.

"Such widespread redistribution of Arctic vegetation would have impacts that reverberate through the global ecosystem," said Richard Pearson, lead author on the paper and a research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.

Plant growth in Arctic ecosystems has increased over the past few decades, a trend that coincides with increases in temperatures, which are rising at about twice the global rate. The research teamwhich includes scientists from the Museum, AT&T Labs-Research, Woods Hole Research Center, Colgate University, Cornell University, and the University of Yorkused climate scenarios for the 2050s to explore how this trend is likely to continue in the future. The scientists developed models that statistically predict the types of plants that could grow under certain temperatures and precipitation. Although it comes with some uncertainty, this type of modeling is a robust way to study the Arctic because the harsh climate limits the range of plants that can grow, making this system simpler to model compared to other regions such as the tropics.

The models reveal the potential for massive redistribution of vegetation across the Arctic under future climate, with about half of all vegetation switching to a different class and a massive increase in tree cover. What might this look like? In Siberia, for instance, trees could grow hundreds of miles north of the present tree line.

"These impacts would extend far beyond the Arctic region," Pearson said. "For example, some species of birds seasonally migrate from lower latitudes and rely on finding particular polar habitats, such as open space for ground-nesting."

In addition, the researchers investigated the multiple climate change feedbacks that greening would produce. They found that a phenomenon called the albedo effect, based on the reflectivity of the Earth's surface, would have the greatest impact on the Arctic's climate. When the sun hits snow, most of the radiation is reflected back to space. But when it hits an area that's "dark," or covered in trees or shrubs, more sunlight is absorbed in the area and temperature increases. This has a positive feedback to climate warming: the more vegetation there is, the more warming will occur.

"By incorporating observed relationships between plants and albedo, we show that vegetation distribution shifts will result in an overall positive feedback to climate that is likely to cause greater warming than has previously been predicted," said co-author Scott Goetz, of the Woods Hole Research Center.

###

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation, grants IPY 0732948, IPY 0732954, and Expeditions 0832782. Other authors involved in this study include Steven Phillips (AT&T Labs-Research), Michael Loranty (Woods Hole Research Center and Colgate University), Pieter Beck (Woods Hole Research Center), Theodoros Damoulas (Cornell University), and Sarah Knight (American Museum of Natural History and University of York).



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


New models predict drastically greener Arctic in coming decades [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 31-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Kendra Snyder
ksnyder@amnh.org
212-496-3419
American Museum of Natural History

Boom in trees, shrubs expected to lead to net increase in climate warming

New research predicts that rising temperatures will lead to a massive "greening," or increase in plant cover, in the Arctic. In a paper published on March 31 in Nature Climate Change, scientists reveal new models projecting that wooded areas in the Arctic could increase by as much as 50 percent over the next few decades. The researchers also show that this dramatic greening will accelerate climate warming at a rate greater than previously expected.

"Such widespread redistribution of Arctic vegetation would have impacts that reverberate through the global ecosystem," said Richard Pearson, lead author on the paper and a research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation.

Plant growth in Arctic ecosystems has increased over the past few decades, a trend that coincides with increases in temperatures, which are rising at about twice the global rate. The research teamwhich includes scientists from the Museum, AT&T Labs-Research, Woods Hole Research Center, Colgate University, Cornell University, and the University of Yorkused climate scenarios for the 2050s to explore how this trend is likely to continue in the future. The scientists developed models that statistically predict the types of plants that could grow under certain temperatures and precipitation. Although it comes with some uncertainty, this type of modeling is a robust way to study the Arctic because the harsh climate limits the range of plants that can grow, making this system simpler to model compared to other regions such as the tropics.

The models reveal the potential for massive redistribution of vegetation across the Arctic under future climate, with about half of all vegetation switching to a different class and a massive increase in tree cover. What might this look like? In Siberia, for instance, trees could grow hundreds of miles north of the present tree line.

"These impacts would extend far beyond the Arctic region," Pearson said. "For example, some species of birds seasonally migrate from lower latitudes and rely on finding particular polar habitats, such as open space for ground-nesting."

In addition, the researchers investigated the multiple climate change feedbacks that greening would produce. They found that a phenomenon called the albedo effect, based on the reflectivity of the Earth's surface, would have the greatest impact on the Arctic's climate. When the sun hits snow, most of the radiation is reflected back to space. But when it hits an area that's "dark," or covered in trees or shrubs, more sunlight is absorbed in the area and temperature increases. This has a positive feedback to climate warming: the more vegetation there is, the more warming will occur.

"By incorporating observed relationships between plants and albedo, we show that vegetation distribution shifts will result in an overall positive feedback to climate that is likely to cause greater warming than has previously been predicted," said co-author Scott Goetz, of the Woods Hole Research Center.

###

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation, grants IPY 0732948, IPY 0732954, and Expeditions 0832782. Other authors involved in this study include Steven Phillips (AT&T Labs-Research), Michael Loranty (Woods Hole Research Center and Colgate University), Pieter Beck (Woods Hole Research Center), Theodoros Damoulas (Cornell University), and Sarah Knight (American Museum of Natural History and University of York).



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/amon-nmp032813.php

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