Rapid changes in the long-frozen soil are raising concerns about a surge of planet-warming greenhouse gases as the permafrost thaws.
Vast areas of permafrost around the world warmed significantly over the past decade, intensifying concerns about accelerated releases of heat-trapping methane and carbon dioxide as microbes decompose the thawing organic soils.
The warming trend is documented in a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications. Detailed data from a You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. show that, on average, permafrost regions around the world—in the Arctic, Antarctic and the high mountains—warmed by a half degree Fahrenheit between 2007 and 2016.
The most dramatic warming was found in the Siberian Arctic, where temperatures in the deep permafrost increased by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Along with increased greenhouse gas emissions, the disintegration of permafrost is causing big problems for communities in the Arctic by damaging roads and other infrastructure as the land destabilizes and erodes. The permafrost meltdown also You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. with massive discharges of silt and sediments into rivers and coastal areas.
The You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., from what the authors describe as the first globally consistent assessment of permafrost temperature change, add to an exanding body of global warming evidence, including studies published in just the past week showing that the world's You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. have been warming at an accelerating rating and You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. has been losing six times more ice mass yearly than it was four decades ago.
"We can now say with certainty that permafrost is warming at the global scale," said Hugues Lantuit of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Ocean Research, a co-author of the new study.
Rate 'Suggests Substantial Change Underway'
Most permafrost areas have been frozen since the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. They trap vast amounts of carbon in layers of frozen organic soil up to a mile thick.
By some estimates, the Arctic permafrost contains enough carbon to nearly double the amount of CO2 currently in the Earth's atmosphere. A rapid meltdown would be disastrous because it could release a lot of CO2—in addition to You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., a powerful short-lived climate pollutant—to the atmosphere, where it would cause additional warming, said Ted Schuur, a permafrost expert at Northern Arizona University.
"This rate of warming suggests substantial change underway," Schuur said. "This is important and often overlooked news. We often don't think about what we can't see deep under the ground."
Schuur said the study indicates that even areas with very old and cold permafrost, including parts of Greenland, may be more vulnerable than previously thought, with signs of thaw changes, like areas of sinking land, visible at the surface.
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
Vast areas of permafrost around the world warmed significantly over the past decade, intensifying concerns about accelerated releases of heat-trapping methane and carbon dioxide as microbes decompose the thawing organic soils.
The warming trend is documented in a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications. Detailed data from a You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. show that, on average, permafrost regions around the world—in the Arctic, Antarctic and the high mountains—warmed by a half degree Fahrenheit between 2007 and 2016.
The most dramatic warming was found in the Siberian Arctic, where temperatures in the deep permafrost increased by 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Along with increased greenhouse gas emissions, the disintegration of permafrost is causing big problems for communities in the Arctic by damaging roads and other infrastructure as the land destabilizes and erodes. The permafrost meltdown also You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. with massive discharges of silt and sediments into rivers and coastal areas.
The You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., from what the authors describe as the first globally consistent assessment of permafrost temperature change, add to an exanding body of global warming evidence, including studies published in just the past week showing that the world's You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. have been warming at an accelerating rating and You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. has been losing six times more ice mass yearly than it was four decades ago.
"We can now say with certainty that permafrost is warming at the global scale," said Hugues Lantuit of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Ocean Research, a co-author of the new study.
Rate 'Suggests Substantial Change Underway'
Most permafrost areas have been frozen since the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago. They trap vast amounts of carbon in layers of frozen organic soil up to a mile thick.
By some estimates, the Arctic permafrost contains enough carbon to nearly double the amount of CO2 currently in the Earth's atmosphere. A rapid meltdown would be disastrous because it could release a lot of CO2—in addition to You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now., a powerful short-lived climate pollutant—to the atmosphere, where it would cause additional warming, said Ted Schuur, a permafrost expert at Northern Arizona University.
"This rate of warming suggests substantial change underway," Schuur said. "This is important and often overlooked news. We often don't think about what we can't see deep under the ground."
Schuur said the study indicates that even areas with very old and cold permafrost, including parts of Greenland, may be more vulnerable than previously thought, with signs of thaw changes, like areas of sinking land, visible at the surface.
You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
