A new study in Alaska shows that as permafrost soils thaw, they rapidly release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, further exacerbating
global warming. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and two universities dug a tunnel in permafrost near Fairbanks and subjected the frozen soils to rising temperatures. The study showed that permafrost is highly biodegradable, with the carbon in the thawing soils rapidly being consumed by single-celled organisms. Those organisms then release carbon into the atmosphere. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, documented some of the fastest permafrost decomposition rates ever recorded. In effect, the researchers said, thawing means that permafrost — currently isolated from the carbon cycle — has the potential to become a major source of carbon emissions.
Thawing Permafrost Soils Rapidly Release CO2 Into Atmosphere
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long