The mussels are getting closer to the North Pole, a sign of warming,

Note of econology: news to be taken with a certain humor! Even if the subject is far from funny ...

Mussels have been spotted just 1.300 km from the North Pole, which is another indication of global warming, scientists said Friday.

Blue mussels usually prefer warmer waters off France or the east coast of the United States. But swarms were found off the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard last month, in ice-covered waters most of the year. “The climate is changing rapidly,” said Geir Johnsen, professor at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology. Molluscs are "a very good indicator of global warming". "It looks like the mussels we found are two or three years old," he told Reuters.

Their presence has not been recorded off these islands since the Viking Age 1.000 years ago, another period of warming. United Nations scientists say the Arctic is warming faster than any other region due to emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from fossil fuels. Melting snow and ice uncovers darker ground or water that absorbs more heat, accelerating warming more than areas further south. In
By comparison, the ice in Antarctica is thicker and resists warming.

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In Canada, the Inuit first saw robins, hitherto unknown in their region, and hitherto solid patches of ice gave way under the feet of hunters. In Scandinavia, birch trees began to grow further north, in once frozen areas where only reindeer grazed.

source: Reuters, 18 / 09 / 04

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