Future of the Environment

The irreversible emissions of a permafrost ‘tipping point’

A segment of glacial ice slowly melts on the cold beach of a glacial lagoon in Iceland. permafrost thaw global warming carbon emissions

'What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. Image: Unsplash/Joseph Vary

Dr Christina Schädel
Assistant Research Professor, Center for Ecosystem Sciences and Society
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Circum-Arctic map of permafrost and ground-ice conditions. Washington, DC: U.S. Geological Survey in Cooperation with the Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources. Circum-Pacific Map Series CP-45, scale 1:10,000,000, 1 sheet.
Global permafrost map. Image: International Permafrost Association and Brown, J., O.J. Ferrians, Jr., J.A. Heginbottom, and E.S. Melnikov, eds. 1997.
permafrost climate change global warming thaw carbon trapping emissions neutral greenhouse gases
Permafrost including ancient bones (left image) and organic material (right image) in the Permafrost tunnel near Fox, Alaska. Image: C. Schädel
permafrost climate change global warming thaw carbon trapping emissions neutral greenhouse gases ice
Collapsing permafrost with large ice volume. Image: A. Balser
permafrost climate change global warming thaw carbon trapping emissions neutral greenhouse gases ice
A thermokarst landscape. Image: A. Balser
permafrost climate change global warming thaw carbon trapping emissions neutral greenhouse gases ice methane hydrates
An impending methane time bomb? Image: Carbon Brief
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Related topics:
Future of the EnvironmentClimate ChangeGlobal RisksArctic
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