A study revealed that the shrinking ice and snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere is reflecting less sunlight back into space, contributing to global warming. Satellite data showed that Arctic sea ice, glaciers, winter snow, and Greenland's ice were reflecting less energy back to space from 1979 to 2008. This decrease in reflectivity exposes darker ground or water, which absorbs more heat, resulting in an increase in the amount of solar energy absorbed by the planet. Mark Flanner, the lead author of the study, stated that this reduction in the cooling effect is causing the planet to absorb more solar energy. He stated that the decrease in reflected solar energy due to warming is more significant than what is predicted by current climate models. The research, conducted by a team of US-based researchers and published in Nature Geoscience, suggests that the cryosphere is more sensitive to and influential in driving climate change than previously believed. The exposure of more ground and water to sunlight leads to increased heat absorption, which accelerates the melting of nearby snow and ice. The shrinking of Arctic sea ice in recent decades is primarily attributed to greenhouse gas emissions from human activities such as burning fossil fuels. Studies indicate that Arctic sea ice may disappear in summers later in this century, which would have negative impacts on indigenous hunting cultures, polar bears, and other wildlife, as well as contribute to global climate change. Flanner stated that drawing conclusions about future melting rates, such as Arctic sea ice, from the study's findings was impossible due to the limited 30 years of data. He emphasized that climate is influenced by many other factors besides ice shrinkage. These factors include the presence of clouds in a warmer world, which reflect sunlight, and increased water vapor that traps heat in the atmosphere. The study predicted that for every one degree Celsius rise in temperature, there would be a decrease in solar energy reflected out to space from the Northern Hemisphere's snow and ice by 0.3 to 1.1 watts per square meter. Temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere have increased by approximately 0.75 degrees Celsius in the last thirty years. The study did not examine the Southern Hemisphere, which has more ice in Antarctica but is colder and exhibits fewer indications of warming. "Globally, the Earth absorbs solar energy at an average rate of 240 watts per square meter annually. The planet would be darker and absorb an extra 3.3 watts if the cryosphere in the Northern Hemisphere were not present," Flanner explained.