Caption: If all the planet's snow were to melt away, Earth would on average be around eight-tenths of a degree Celsius warmer, according to Stephen Vavrus, an associate scientist at the Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Vavrus generated computer simulations of a snow-free world to assess snow's impact on several climatic variables such as temperature and atmospheric circulation. This map illustrates the effects across the globe.
Map by: Stephen Vavrus/Center for Climatic Research
Date: 2005
High-resolution 300 DPI JPEG