The melting of permafrost
The melting of permafrost, the year-round frozen ground in polar regions, has led this house to collapse in the Alaskan fishing village of Shismaref. When permafrost melts it releases methane trapped underground into the atmosphere, posing a grave threat to the global climate system. (Courtesy of U.S. Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming)

Permafrost Methane

First published on YouTube Sep 9, 2012: Because of global warming, permafrost — the frozen ground that covers the top of the world — has been thawing rapidly over the last three decades. But there is cause for concern beyond the far north, because the carbon released from thawing permafrost could raise global temperatures even higher.

The Changing Planet series explores the impact that climate change is having on our planet, and is provided by the National Science Foundation http://science360.gov/series/Changing+Planet/ NBC Learn http://www.nbclearn.com/changingplanet

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