In Alaska, permafrost melts and takes the ground with it
Alaska’s permafrost is melting and changing the landscape.
In some places here, melting permafrost makes the ground cave in, creating a ribbon or pocket of collapsed land called thermokarst. Scientists at Toolik are studying this to see how often they find it and what impacts it has on surrounding environments.
They are also looking at the relationship between thermokarst and climate change. Warmer temperatures will lead to more of it.
Why you should care about the permafrost in lands far away: When it melts, greenhouse gases previously locked up in the frozen soil, including carbion dioxide and methane, get released. If all the permafrost in the Arctic melted, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would double, according to scientists here, leading to a radical transformation of sea levels and local climates.
And while the permafrost won’t all melt anytime soon, even a little melting sets in motion other changes that can further contribute to warming.
I took these photos yesterday at a thermokarst area near the Toolik River.
– Jennifer Weiss
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
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