Today In 'At This Point, Sure' – Turns Out Earth's Seasons Are Out Of Sync

Different seasons on either side of roadAfter 2020, scientists noticed something unexpected to most of us – the Earth seemed to be spinning faster, a trend experts expect to continue for “decades” before the planet slows again. And now, a recent peek from space has suggested our seasons are out of sync, too. A paper published in Nature last week showed decades of satellite imagery tracking phenology, or the seasonal cycle of Earth’s ecosystems. It showed ”‘hotspots’ of seasonal asynchrony around the world,” or global clusters of out-of-sync seasons, the study’s lead author, Dr Drew Teraski Hart, told The Conversation.Where are the seasons out of sync?The researchers said that after applying a new method of analysis to 20 years of satellite imagery, they found a more accurate picture of when and where seasonal changes actually happened on Earth.For instance, spring seems to start later in areas of high altitude and altitude, though this was “expected”. But more “surprising” changes happen in the planet’s five Mediterranean climates (California, Central Chile, the Mediterranean Basin, the Cape Region of South Africa, and Southwestern and South Australia) and tropical mountains, the team suggested. In these areas, there was a “double peak” season, which had previously been noted in California. That meant the forest growth cycle peaked about two months later than you’d expect. Areas close by to these “hotspots” didn’t see the same changes. They had completely different rainfall patterns, suggesting seasonal asynchrony clustered in certain spots known for their amazing biodiversity. An interactive map is available here.Why might the seasons be out of sync in some areas?The researchers aren’t sure, but Dr Hart said the fact that many of these “hospots” happen in areas of extraordinary biodiversity “may not be a coincidence”. That’s because staggered growth seasons in nearby areas could cause plants to break off into different species over time, because their reproductive cycles are out of sync. Dr Hart says that while the satellite images don’t definitively prove the different seasonal activity across the world, their results do mirror plant and animal behaviours on the ground. Their data also supported the theory that “climatically similar sites exhibit greater phenological asynchrony within the tropics,” which could have impacts on everything from the coffee-growing season in Colombia to our ability to measure climate change.Related...So THAT's Why Leaves Turned Brown So Early This YearWhy Haven't Humans Walked On The Moon For 51 Years?Ripe Blackberries Spotted As Early As June In Heatwave-Heavy Year

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