Humanity's deadly addiction to fossil fuels continues pushing carbon emissions higher each year. And, as the climate heats up, what we used to call 'permafrost' might not remain permanent for long, as this article tell us...
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Nearly a quarter of the Earth's land surface is permanently frozen. These areas, known as permafrost, are found in northern polar regions and at high altitudes. But the permafrost is now starting to thaw — with potentially disastrous consequences for the climate.
Permafrost is a layer of soil, rock, or sediment that remains at a temperature of 0°C or below all year round. While it gets little public attention, permafrost nevertheless covers 22% of the Earth's land surface. It's mostly found at northern latitudes — in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Russia — and at altitudes above the tree line.
We asked Michael Lehning, head of EPFL's Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, for his insights on what the thawing permafrost means for our climate:
The main concern is that, in polar regions, permafrost holds vast stores of CO₂ and methane — two powerful greenhouse gases. If these gases were to be released, the implications for the climate would be catastrophic. But that's not all. Polar permafrost also contains bacteria and microbes that have been frozen for thousands of years and that could potentially reawaken.
Permafrost is estimated to contain twice as much CO₂ and methane as is currently in the atmosphere. If this large store were to be released, that would significantly speed up global warming.
That said, we don't yet fully understand the dynamics at play, especially when it comes to natural compensation mechanisms. For instance, we know that some of the additional CO₂ would be fixed by new plant growth — but we don't know how much. As things currently stand, we believe that permafrost melt will generally amplify the effects of climate change.
Early climate models predicted that we wouldn't reach the current stage of permafrost melt until 2090! That shows just how hard it is to forecast permafrost dynamics.
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FULL ARTICLE -- https://phys.org/news/2023-12-permafrost-beneath-feet.html
#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis
Bread and Circuses /
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2023-12-22 16:00:42
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2023-12-22 16:00:42Event JSON
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"content": "Humanity's deadly addiction to fossil fuels continues pushing carbon emissions higher each year. And, as the climate heats up, what we used to call 'permafrost' might not remain permanent for long, as this article tell us...\n__________________________\n\nNearly a quarter of the Earth's land surface is permanently frozen. These areas, known as permafrost, are found in northern polar regions and at high altitudes. But the permafrost is now starting to thaw — with potentially disastrous consequences for the climate. \n\nPermafrost is a layer of soil, rock, or sediment that remains at a temperature of 0°C or below all year round. While it gets little public attention, permafrost nevertheless covers 22% of the Earth's land surface. It's mostly found at northern latitudes — in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Russia — and at altitudes above the tree line. \n\nWe asked Michael Lehning, head of EPFL's Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, for his insights on what the thawing permafrost means for our climate:\n\nThe main concern is that, in polar regions, permafrost holds vast stores of CO₂ and methane — two powerful greenhouse gases. If these gases were to be released, the implications for the climate would be catastrophic. But that's not all. Polar permafrost also contains bacteria and microbes that have been frozen for thousands of years and that could potentially reawaken.\n\nPermafrost is estimated to contain twice as much CO₂ and methane as is currently in the atmosphere. If this large store were to be released, that would significantly speed up global warming.\n\nThat said, we don't yet fully understand the dynamics at play, especially when it comes to natural compensation mechanisms. For instance, we know that some of the additional CO₂ would be fixed by new plant growth — but we don't know how much. As things currently stand, we believe that permafrost melt will generally amplify the effects of climate change.\n\nEarly climate models predicted that we wouldn't reach the current stage of permafrost melt until 2090! That shows just how hard it is to forecast permafrost dynamics. \n__________________________\n\nFULL ARTICLE -- https://phys.org/news/2023-12-permafrost-beneath-feet.html\n\n#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis",
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