Mike, There's an excellent paper by Jason Fridley that describes some of the potential factors related to differential climate stress in mountainous terrain in the Great Smokies:
Fridley, J. D. 2009. Downscaling climate over complex terrain: high fine-scale spatial variation of near-ground temperatures in a montane forested landscape (Great Smoky Mountains, USA). Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 48: 1033-1049. http://plantecology.syr.edu/fridley/tab_pubs.htm Elizabeth Elizabeth Byers Project Ecologist, West Virginia Natural Heritage Program WVDNR, P.O. Box 67, Elkins WV 26241 Tel: 304-637-0245 Ext. 2062 Email: [email protected] part of the NatureServe network connecting science with conservation -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michael Calkins Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:42 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Warming temperatures at higher elevations Hi, Could somebody explain the reason behind why temperatures are increasing faster at higher elevations and latitudes compared to lower ones? All I can find on the subject is just information stating that it is occurring but not why. Thanks, Mike
