Arctic permafrost is now a source of greenhouse gases: New Scientist

By Andrew Blackman April 15, 2024
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Still image of the largest permafrost crater in the world—the Batagaika crater in Russia’s Sakha Republic taken in July 2023. The one-kilometer “long gash” is the product of permafrost melting (Image Source: Reuters)

Areas of permanently frozen ground in the Arctic are now emitting more carbon into the atmosphere than they absorb, adding to global warming, New Scientist reports. The revelation is based on the first Arctic-wide estimate of the three most important greenhouse gases.

* Permafrost, which contains twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, now covers about 7% less of the northern hemisphere than it did 50 years again. The thawing will continue even if global warming targets are met–albeit at a slower rate.

* “You put some frozen food in the freezer, It’s OK,” said Justine Ramage, part of a team at the Nordregio research institute in Stockholm that made the discovery. “The activity [caused by microbes] starts increasing, and when it’s not positive for [the] climate, it will have a strong impact.”

* Unlike previous research, Ramage and her team compiled ground-level observations on emissions from 200 sites across Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska and Canada. The estimates are only approximate, since greenhouse gas monitors is still patchy in remote Artic area.

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