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The permafrost thaw, a climate time bomb

2021-08-02T16:06:38.768Z


TREASURES AND PLAGUES OF PERMAFROST (2/6) - The warming of large areas of frozen ground risks releasing very large quantities of methane and carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gases which in turn will accelerate climate change ...


How quickly will permafrost (or permafrost, in French) thaw under the effect of global warming?

The stake is direct for the local communities, because the thaw of the ground causes major disturbances, such as subsidence of ground destroying roads and dwellings.

But the question is also crucial for the entire planet: huge amounts of carbon trapped in these soils will return to the atmosphere and risk further accelerating the current warming.

Read also:

Permafrost explained in four infographics

A gigantic climate time bomb: these millions of square kilometers of permanently frozen ground contain 1400 to 1600 billion tons of organic carbon, twice as much as what the atmosphere contains today!

By freezing, soils trap organic matter in plants, animals and bacteria, preventing it from degrading for tens or even hundreds of thousands of years.

But in Siberia, Canada or Alaska, the thaw is already underway with temperatures

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Source: lefigaro

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