Climate change and permafrost

Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years, and it underlies roughly a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere's land surface, storing vast quantities of organic carbon accumulated over millennia. As Arctic temperatures rise at roughly two to four times the global average rate, this frozen ground is thawing, decomposing that stored organic matter and releasing carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere—a feedback loop that could significantly accelerate warming beyond what human emissions alone would cause. Researchers are working to quantify how much carbon is actually vulnerable to release, how quickly different permafrost types will degrade, and how shifting vegetation—particularly the northward spread of shrubs across tundra—alters soil temperatures, hydrology, and net carbon balance. A central open question is whether some Arctic ecosystems might temporarily absorb more carbon through increased plant growth, and whether that uptake could offset any fraction of the emissions from thawing soils.

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Keywords

PermafrostArcticClimate ChangeCarbon FeedbackThawingMethane Emissions