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Thawing permafrost may be a “huge factor” in global warming

22.02.2013

Thawing permafrost may be a bigger factor in global warming than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have found that when melting permafrost exposes ancient carbon to sunlight, it turns into carbon dioxide 40 percent faster compared to carbon that remains in the dark.

“This means permafrost carbon is potentially a huge factor that will help determine how fast the Earth warms,” said George Kling, a University of Michigan ecologist who co-authored the report.

“We can’t say how fast this Arctic carbon will feed back into the global carbon cycle and accelerate climate warming on Earth, (but) the fact that it will be exposed to light means that it will happen faster than we previously thought,” said Kling in a statement.

The team reported its findings in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A 2011 study estimated that global warming could release enough permafrost carbon to raise global temperatures by 3˚C.

Photo (c) Piero / Flickr