PNNL

Abstract

In the Arctic, drones and tethered balloons can make crucial atmospheric measurement to provide a unique perspective on an environment particularly vulnerable to climate change. Climate is rapidly changing all over the globe, but nowhere is that change faster than in the Arctic. The evidence from recent years is clear: Reductions in sea ice (Kwok and Unstersteiner, 2011) and permafrost (Romanovsky et al., 2002), in addition to modification of the terriestrial ecosystem through melting permafrost and shifting vegetation zones (burek et al., 2008; Sturm, et al., 2001), all point to a rapidly evolving.