ARCTIC Growing Season Trends in the Alaskan Climate Record

• Main Author: B. S. Sharratt
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1991
• Subjects: Arctic; Climate change; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.543.5057; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic45-2-124.pdf

ABSTRACT. Linkages between presumed global climate change and agricultural production will enable the development of management strategies to meet the needs of a diverse and future world agricultural enterprise. This study evaluated characteristic trends in the growing season length and dates of the last spring and first fall freezes at eight climate stations in Alaska between 1924 and 1989. Two minimum temperature criteria of 0 ’ and-3°C were used in assessing freeze dates. Half of the stations had no change in growing season length over the last 65 years, whereas the other four stations had a lengthening of the season. Tendencies for longer seasons were in part a result of earlier spring freezes. The growing season shortened at three stations during the period 1940-70, which corresponded with declining Northern Hemisphere temperatures. The presence of changes in the growing season over the last 65 years was apparent in Alaska temperature records. Key words: frost-free season, spring freeze, fall freeze, frost, climate change RÉSUMÉ. Les liens entre les changements climatiques auxquels on s’attend au niveau planétaire et la production agricole permettront d’élaborer des stratégies de gestion en vue de répondre aux besoins futurs d’une agriculture mondiale diversifiée. Cette étude a évalué les tendances caractéristiques de la durée de la saison de croissance ainsi que les tendances des dates des dernières gelées printanières et des premières gelées automnales à huit sta-tions climatiques de l’Alaska, entre 1924 et 1989. Deux critères de temperatures minimales de O O et de-3 “C ont été utilisés pour déterminer les dates