Dead trees spell trouble for global environment

Scientists claim increase in 'ghost forests' most visible sign of crisis

PORT REPUBLIC, New Jersey - They're called "ghost forests" - dead trees along vast swaths of coastline invaded by rising seas, something scientists call one of the most visible markers of climate change.

The process has occurred naturally for thousands of years, but it has accelerated in recent decades as polar ice melts and raises sea levels, scientists say, pushing salt water farther inland and killing trees in what used to be thriving freshwater plains.