Woods Hole Research Center Scientist Featured on NASA's Earth Observatory

April 20, 2006

Scott Goetz, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, and his work in Boreal North America are featured in the April 18, 2006, edition NASA’s Earth Observatory, an online publication.

The profile highlights his recent research results suggesting that 'greening' has begun to decline in the high latitude forested areas of North America. The work, which represents an important advance by incorporating the full extent of the latest satellite observational record to document unique vegetation responses to climatic warming, and then projecting those trends forward in time, is now being extended to circumpolar forests. The research was highlighted in fall issues of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and in Geophysical Research Letters.

According to Goetz, “We believe this is some of the first evidence that high latitude forests may be in decline following an initial growth spurt associated with warming. The reasons for this decline are not certain, but related work points to increased drying as a likely cause. The observed warming and drying are consistent with climate model predictions for the region.”

The Woods Hole Research Center is dedicated to science, education, and public policy for a habitable Earth, seeking to conserve and sustain forests, soils, water, and energy by demonstrating their value to human health and economic prosperity. The Center sponsors initiatives in the Amazon, the Arctic, Africa, Russia, and North America, including the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and Cape Cod. Center programs focus on the carbon cycle, forest function, landcover/land use, water cycles and chemicals in the environment, as well as policy.

©Woods Hole Research Center, 2007