This heat has rapidly melted any snow remaining on the ground and has caused the thawing of the top layer of the permanently frozen soil. The water from the thaw is unable to percolate down through the frozen layers below. That causes even more thawing.
Robert Howarth talks with Dan Miller about natural gas (methane) and coal in terms what these fossil energies hold for our climate. Robert Howarth is Professor of Ecology & Environmental Biology at Cornell University. He is an expert on natural gas & methane and their impact on the climate. In this wide-ranging interview, Prof. Howarth…
A NASA / JPL study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that the potent greenhouse gas methane is leaking from the Permian Basin oilfield, located in Texas and New Mexico. Sensor-equipped aircraft probed the atmosphere over the region for a month, and identified 123 hot spots – leaking 55 tons (50 metric…
Experts of the field in studying one of the most puzzling regions in the Arctic for methane emissions, the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) reported last October about the largest readings since studies started there 15 years ago. The region is known to be particular important due to it’s size, and low water depth, with…
Soil layers of permafrost that scientists expected to remain frozen for at least 70 more years have already begun thawing. NOTES In the Canadian Arctic, layers of permafrost that scientists expected to remain frozen for at least 70 years have already begun thawing. The once-frozen surface is now sinking and dotted with melt ponds and…
With more and more people becoming environmentally minded, land management has quickly become a popular subject. However, it’s also one of the more complex areas that people can get into, especially if it’s more of a hobby instead of a profession. Having said that, there are a few key areas that people should be aware…
Rapid changes in the long-frozen soil are raising concerns about a surge of planet-warming greenhouse gases as the permafrost thaws. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16012019/permafrost-thaw-climate-change-temperature-data-arctic-antarctica-mountains-study SOURCES Permafrost is warming at a global scale https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-08240-4#Fig4 How Nitrogen Contributes to Permafrost Carbon Dynamics https://eos.org/research-spotlights/how-nitrogen-contributes-to-permafrost-carbon-dynamics Adding Depth to Our Understanding of Nitrogen Dynamics in Permafrost Soils https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018JG004518 Unexpected future boost of methane…
This week, #NASAExplorers head back in time…by going underground. In the Arctic, a frozen layer of soil – permafrost – trapped dead plants and animals for thousands of years. As the climate warms, that soil is beginning to thaw, releasing carbon dioxide and methane. Release via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ZbghndiwQ
Dr. Nikolaos Evangeliou on climate change and wildfires (Oslo, August 2018). Evangeliou works at NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research http://nilu.no “If larger fires would burn, they would actually have a substantial impact on melting,” Stohl said. And, there’s a greater chance of such fires, if more of Greenland’s permafrost melts and exposes peat…