Global Warming Sparks Increased Plant Production in Arctic Lakes

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Global Warming Sparks Increased Plant Production in Arctic Lakes
24 October 2005
By Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Managing Editor

Biological activity in some Arctic lakes has ratcheted up dramatically over the past 150 years as a result of global warming, according to a new study.

In six lakes, researchers dug deep into the sediment to measure the amount "chlorophyll-a," the main pigment involved in photosynthesis. When plants convert sunlight to energy, they make chlorophyll-a.

The amount of chlorophyll-a is two to five times higher in recent times compared to ancient sediment, said Neal Michelutti of the University of Alberta.

"These recent increases really stand out because the chlorophyll-a concentrations have showed very little variability over the past several thousand years," Michelutti told LiveScience. "All of these increases have occurred within the last 150 years."

The results mean there is more biological activity, more production, in the lakes now compared to the past.

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