Home · Science · Oct 4 archive
Heat-trapping gas once frozen in Arctic ground is slowly leaking and warming the planet
Confirmed
In Short: Scientists warn that thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing methane and carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming.
Scientists are sounding the alarm over the rapid thawing of permafrost in the Arctic, which is releasing significant amounts of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming.
The Arctic is experiencing a rate of warming four times faster than the rest of the world, causing the permafrost to thaw at unprecedented speeds. For millennia, this frozen ground has stored dead plants and animals, but as the permafrost melts, these organic materials are decomposing into methane and carbon dioxide.
James Schaeffer, a 7-year-old boy from Kotzebue, Alaska, recently played on a road where thawing permafrost had caused the ground to warp, illustrating the visible impacts of this environmental change.
The process of permafrost thawing not only releases greenhouse gases but also destabilizes the land, leading to ground collapse and methane leaks. These methane bubbles, formed from decomposing organic matter once trapped in the permafrost, are a potent contributor to global warming.
The accelerating thaw of permafrost is complicating efforts to address climate change, as the release of these gases further intensifies the warming effect on the planet.
What's confirmed
- Scientists warn that thawing permafrost in the Arctic is releasing large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide, adding to global warming.
- The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world, causing the frozen ground to thaw at a record rate.
- For thousands of years that frozen ground stored dead plants and animals, but the accelerating thaw is allowing them to decay into methane and carbon dioxide.
- FILE - James Schaeffer, 7, plays on a road where thawing permafrost has caused the ground to warp in Kotzebue, Alaska, Sept.
- This process releases greenhouse gases from decomposing plants and animals that were once trapped in the permafrost.
- The thawing permafrost is also destabilizing the land, leading to ground collapse and methane leaks, further complicating climate change efforts.
- They're bubbles of methane, a potent heat-trapping gas made from decomposing plants and animals that had once been stuck in Alaska's frigid permafrost.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.