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sue4e3

(731 posts)
Mon Sep 11, 2017, 01:35 PM Sep 2017

Cold Region 'Tipping Point' Now Inevitable

http://www.sciencenewsline.com/news/2017091114510064.html

The decline of cold regions called periglacial zones is now inevitable due to climate change, researchers say.


This photo shows intense soil frost churning in Kilpisjärvi, northwestern most Finland, at 800 metres above sea level. Credit: Juha Aalto
Periglacial zones, where there is often a layer of frozen ground known as permafrost, make up about a quarter of the Earth's land surface and are mostly found in the far north and south, and at high altitudes.

Scientists from the universities of Exeter and Helsinki and the Finnish Meteorological Institute examined natural processes caused by frost and snow which take place in these zones.

Their findings suggest that - even with optimistic estimates of future carbon emissions - areas covered by periglacial zones will reduce dramatically by 2050, and they will "almost disappear" by 2100.

This would have a major impact on landscapes and biodiversity, and could trigger climate "feedbacks" - processes that can amplify or diminish the effects of climate change.
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Cold Region 'Tipping Point' Now Inevitable (Original Post) sue4e3 Sep 2017 OP
So that's it then, huh? NickB79 Sep 2017 #1
Give a century take 25 years, that's about it. defacto7 Sep 2017 #2

NickB79

(19,114 posts)
1. So that's it then, huh?
Mon Sep 11, 2017, 03:28 PM
Sep 2017

Without massive carbon sequestration, all the planet's permafrost will be thawed by the end of this century. All that carbon released, hundreds of gigatons of it. Billions of humans, squeezed into smaller and smaller regions as the seas rise, the storms rip apart cities, and the farmlands either bake or flood.

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