Permafrost Thaw Would Have Runaway Effect on Carbon Release [View all]

[marmar]

This Creative Commons-licensed piece first appeared at Climate News Network.

LONDON—An international team of scientists has settled one puzzle of the Arctic permafrost and confirmed one long-standing fear: the vast amounts of carbon now preserved in the frozen soils could one day all get back into the atmosphere.

Since the Arctic is the fastest-warming place on the planet, such a release of greenhouse gas could only accelerate global warming and precipitate catastrophic climate change.

That the circumpolar regions of the northern hemisphere hold vast amounts of deep-frozen carbon is not in question.

The latest estimate is 17 billion tonnes, which is twice the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and perhaps 10 times the quantity put into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels since the start of the Industrial Revolution. ..............(more)

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/permafrost_thaws_runaway_effect_on_carbon_release_20150515