Permafrost Thaw Sends Carbon Directly Back Into Atmosphere
Friday, October 30, 2015 - 01:50
in Earth & Climate
Samples of permafrost soil are providing new ways to anticipate what may happen if northern regions of the world warm and begin to thaw. Florida State University doctoral student Travis Drake and Florida State University Assistant Professor Robert Spencer write in a new paper that permafrost organic material is so biodegradable that as soon as it thaws, the carbon is almost immediately consumed by single-cell organisms called microbes and then released back into the air as carbon dioxide, feeding the global climate cycle. Their findings are laid out in an article published today by the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. read more