Thawing Permafrost Soils Rapidly Release CO2 Into Atmosphere

A new study in Alaska shows that as permafrost soils thaw, they rapidly release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, further exacerbating
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Researchers collected samples of permafrost from underground tunnels.
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.