Erosion along Alaska’s Arctic coast; collapsed permafrost. Captions and Photo source: Benjamin Jones / USGS
Excerpts;
More than 80,000 Canadians have been forced to leave their homes this week, in the largest evacuation of its kind in the country’s history as Alberta is in a state of emergency.
The effects may extend far beyond Canada and Alaska, because of the frozen organic matter under the forest permafrost. Wildfires can strip away the protective vegetative blanket and release all that stockpiled carbon into the atmosphere…
In other words, more wildfires can mean more greenhouse gases, accelerating the very climate change that may have helped kick off the fires in the first place — not to mention changing the equation for rest of the globe…
Read Full Article, New Scientist
Thawing Permafrost: Huge Factor in Global Warming; USGS (02-19-2013)
Thawing permafrost is emitting more climate-heating carbon faster than previously realised. Scientists have now learned that when the ancient carbon locked in the ice thaws and is exposed to sunlight, it turns into carbon dioxide 40 percent faster…
