Nearing the limits of life on Earth
It took Jackie Goordial over 1000 Petri dishes before she was ready to accept what she was seeing. Or not seeing. Goordial, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at...
View ArticleStudy of tundra soil demonstrates vulnerability of ecosystem to climate warming
Findings from one of the first comprehensive field studies by a collaborative team of researchers demonstrate the active layer microbiome of tundra soil was significantly altered after only 1.5 years...
View ArticleDegrading ice wedges reshape Arctic landscape
Ice wedges, a common subsurface feature in permafrost landscapes, appear to be rapidly melting throughout the Arctic, according to a new study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience.
View ArticleStudy improves permafrost models, reduces uncertainties
Uncertainties are a fact of life for those who model climate change and the factors that amplify or moderate its effects. One important dynamic in climate change studies is the extent of permafrost...
View ArticleBiomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release
Scientists who study climate and ecosystems in the Arctic have weighed in on future changes in the region affecting soils, streams and wildfire, which will be releasing greater amounts of carbon...
View ArticleLong-term data set reveals influx of carbon in river system over 40-year period
A new study from the University of Alberta has uncovered a 39 per cent increase in dissolved organic carbon flowing from the Mackenzie River into the Arctic Ocean, linked to accelerating permafrost...
View ArticleCarbon dioxide biggest player in thawing permafrost
Carbon dioxide emissions from dry and oxygen-rich environments are likely to play a much greater role in controlling future rates of climate change caused by permafrost thaw than rates of methane...
View ArticlePermafrost thawing below shallow Arctic lakes
New research shows permafrost below shallow Arctic lakes is thawing as a result of changing winter climate.
View ArticleAs Alaska warms, methane emissions appear stable, study finds
Analysis of nearly three decades of air samples from Alaska's North Slope shows little change in long-term methane emissions despite significant Arctic warming over that time period, according to new...
View ArticleStudy measures methane release from Arctic permafrost
A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led research project has provided the first modern evidence of a landscape-level permafrost carbon feedback, in which thawing permafrost releases ancient carbon as...
View ArticleNew permafrost map shows regions vulnerable to thaw, carbon release
A new mapping project has identified regions worldwide that are most susceptible to dramatic permafrost thaw formations, known as thermokarst, and the resulting release of greenhouse gases.
View ArticleWhen permafrost melts, what happens to all that stored carbon?
The Arctic's frozen ground contains large stores of organic carbon that have been locked in the permafrost for thousands of years. As global temperatures rise, that permafrost is starting to melt,...
View ArticleScientists investigate what breaks down permafrost carbon
A Florida State University researcher is delving into the complexities of exactly how permafrost thawing in the Earth's most northern regions is cycling back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and...
View ArticleHuge permafrost thaw can be limited by ambitious climate targets
Global warming will thaw about 20% more permafrost than previously thought, scientists have warned—potentially releasing significant amounts of greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere.
View ArticleAlaska tundra source of early-winter carbon emissions (Update)
Warmer temperatures and thawing soils may be driving an increase in emissions of carbon dioxide from Alaskan tundra to the atmosphere, particularly during the early winter, according to a new study...
View ArticleCarbon uptake in Tibetan Plateau soil may offset melting permafrost carbon...
(Phys.org)—An international team of researchers has found that carbon uptake in the Tibetan Plateau may actually offset the carbon that is released as permafrost melts. In their paper published in the...
View ArticleChina, Japan extract combustible ice from seafloor
Commercial development of the globe's huge reserves of a frozen fossil fuel known as "combustible ice" has moved closer to reality after Japan and China successfully extracted the material from the...
View ArticleStudy suggests melting of Arctic permafrost may release massive amounts of...
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from Sweden, Denmark and Finland has conducted field experiments that offering evidence that suggests permafrost melting in the Arctic could release major amounts of...
View ArticleDomes of frozen methane may be warning signs for new blow-outs
Several methane domes, some 500m wide, have been mapped on the Arctic Ocean floor. They may be signs of soon-to-happen methane expulsions that have previously created massive craters in a near-by area.
View ArticleDefrosting the world's freezer—thawing permafrost
Snowy peaks rise up in one direction; boggy tundra spreads across the other. Fuzzy heads of long-stemmed plants sway in the wind, interspersed with bog blueberries. This is Alaska's Eight Mile Lake,...
View ArticleMonitoring changes in wetland extent can help predict the rate of climate change
Monitoring changes to the amount of wetlands in regions where permafrost is thawing should be at the forefront of efforts to predict future rates of climate change, new research shows.
View ArticleThawing permafrost releases old greenhouse gas
The thawing permafrost soils in the Arctic regions might contribute to the greenhouse effect in two respects: On the one hand, rising temperatures lead to higher microbial methane production close to...
View ArticleTundra loses carbon with rapid permafrost thaw
Frozen in permafrost soil, northern latitudes store almost twice as much carbon as is currently in the atmosphere. Rapid Arctic warming is expected to expose previously frozen soil carbon to microbial...
View ArticleSunlight and the right microbes convert Arctic carbon into carbon dioxide
Nearly half of the organic carbon stored in soil around the world is contained in Arctic permafrost, which has experienced rapid melting, and that organic material could be converted to greenhouse...
View ArticleGroundwater and tundra fires may work together to thaw permafrost
Groundwater may play an unrecognized role in thawing Arctic permafrost following wildfires, according to new research.
View ArticleResearchers successfully use distributed acoustic sensing for seismic monitoring
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown for the first time that dark fiber - the vast network of unused fiber-optic cables installed...
View ArticleWhy thawing permafrost matters
In Bethel, Alaska, walls are splitting, houses are collapsing, and the main road looks like a kiddy rollercoaster. In the coastal town of Kongiganak, sinking cemeteries prevent Alaskans from burying...
View ArticlePermafrost in continuous motion
ETH researchers have identified a rock glacier in canton Valais that is degrading and moving very quickly. Fortunately, it does not present an immediate threat to people and infrastructure.
View ArticleChanging landscape means some Arctic ponds may potentially be a significant...
A new Canadian study has found that carbon released by some ponds in the High Arctic could potentially be a hidden source of greenhouse gas emissions.
View ArticleScientists find massive reserves of mercury hidden in permafrost
Researchers have discovered permafrost in the northern hemisphere stores massive amounts of natural mercury, a finding with significant implications for human health and ecosystems worldwide.
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