Lower methane emissions when permafrost disappears

Thawing permafrost in the Arctic does not always have to lead to increased emissions of the greenhouse gas methane. When thawed soil dries up, emissions can decline instead. A new study at the University of Gothenburg demonstrates ...

Satellites pinpoint communities at risk of permafrost thaw

Thawing permafrost in the Arctic is already unleashing methane and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, exacerbating global temperature rise. As well adding to the climate crisis, this ground, which has been frozen for thousands ...

Seismology: A promising tool for monitoring permafrost

The warming and thawing of permafrost in response to rising temperatures are increasingly destabilizing rock slopes, causing more occurrences of rockfall in recent years. This trend is expected to continue, raising concerns ...

Permafrost thaw could release bacteria and viruses

When considering the implications of thawing permafrost, our initial worries are likely to turn to the major issue of methane being released into the atmosphere and exacerbating global warming or issues for local communities ...

Permafrost: a ticking carbon time bomb

Sheltered by snow-spattered mountains, the Stordalen mire is a flat, marshy plateau, pockmarked with muddy puddles. A whiff of rotten eggs wafts through the fresh air.

How much carbon will peatlands lose as permafrost thaws?

Just as your freezer keeps food from going bad, Arctic permafrost protects frozen organic material from decay. As the climate warms, however, previously frozen landscapes such as peatlands are beginning to thaw. But how much ...

Bacteria release climate-damaging carbon from thawing permafrost

A new study based on scientific sampling of a rusty carbon sink at a permafrost peatland at Sweden has revealed that iron minerals fail to trap organic carbon, a vast source of CO2 and methane not included in global warming ...

Abrupt permafrost thaw alters microbial structure and function

Permafrost thaw could emit substantial carbon (C) into the atmosphere, and possibly trigger a positive feedback to climate warming. As the engine of biogeochemical cycling, soil microorganisms exert a critical role in mediating ...

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