Thawing permafrost likely to boost global warming

September 02, 2008

Greenhouse gas emissions from previously frozen organic carbon in soil are seen as larger than previously believed

The thawing of permafrost in northern latitudes, which greatly increases microbial decomposition of carbon compounds in soil, will dominate other effects of warming in the region and could become a major force promoting the release of carbon dioxide and thus further warming, according to a new assessment in the September 2008 issue of BioScience. The study, by Edward A. G. Schuur of the University of Florida and an international team of coauthors, more than doubles previous estimates of the amount of carbon stored in the permafrost: the new figure is equivalent to twice the total amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The authors conclude that releases of the gas from melting permafrost could amount to roughly half those resulting from global land-use change during this century.

Schuur and his colleagues refine earlier assessments by considering complex processes that mix soil from different depths during melting and freezing of permafrost, which occur to some degree every year. They judge that over millennia, soil processes have buried and frozen over a trillion metric tons of organic compounds in the world's vast permafrost regions. The relatively rapid warming now under way is bringing the organic material back into the ecosystem, in part by turning over soil. Some effects of permafrost thawing can be seen in Alaska and Siberia as dramatic subsidence features called thermokarsts.

Schuur and his colleagues acknowledge many difficulties in estimating carbon dioxide emissions from permafrost regions, which hold more carbon in the Arctic and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere. Data are limited, and emissions are influenced by the amount of surface water, topography, wildfires, snow cover, and other factors. Thawing, although believed to be critical, is hard to model accurately.

Some warming-related trends in Arctic regions, such as the encroachment of trees into tundra, may cause absorption of carbon dioxide and thus partly counter the effects of thawing permafrost. But Schuur and colleagues' new assessment indicates that thawing is likely to dominate known countervailing trends.

American Institute of Biological Sciences

Permafrost: A guide to Frozen Ground in Transition
by Neil Davis (Author)

Overall, this is an outstanding introductory book on seasonally frozen ground and permafrost for a broad audience. It is also an excellent reference book for students, permafrost scientists and engineers, and professionals in earth and environmental sciences. It provides a valuable orientation to motivate students who are contemplating careers in permafrost studies. It also appeals to social scientists and environmentalists studying northern regions and the effects of permafrost on society as a whole. Furthermore, this volume is well printed and illustrated.

Neil Davis brings his unusual talent for communicating scientific concepts in an engaging and readable style to the topic of permafrost, the process of annual freezing and thawing that covers half of the land in the...

Permafrost Hydrology
by Ming-ko Woo (Author)

Permafrost Hydrology systematically elucidates the roles of seasonally and perennially frozen ground on the distribution, storage and flow of water. Cold regions of the World are subject to mounting development which significantly affects the physical environment. Climate change, natural or human-induced, reinforces the impacts. Knowledge of surface and ground water processes operating in permafrost terrain is fundamental to planning, management and conservation. This book is an indispensable reference for libraries and researchers, an information source for practitioners, and a valuable text for training the next generations of cold region scientists and engineers.

Natural Gas Hydrate in Oceanic and Permafrost Environments (Coastal Systems and Continental Margins (closed))
by M.D. Max (Editor)

This is the first book published on the emerging research field of naturally occurring gas hydrates (focusing on methane hydrate) that is not primarily a physical chemistry textbook. This book is designed as a broad introduction to the field of hydrate science, demonstrating the significance of the hydrate cycle to energy resource potential, seafloor stability, and global climate and climate change, along with other issues. The best known hydrate localities are described, as are research and laboratory methods and results. The book consists of chapters grouped in related themes that present up-to-date information on methane hydrate. Each of the contributing authors is expert in hydrate science and most have been carrying out research in hydrate for a considerable time. Audience: This...

Permafrost Ecosystems: Siberian Larch Forests (Ecological Studies)
by Akira Osawa (Editor), Olga A. Zyryanova (Editor), Yojiro Matsuura (Editor), Takuya Kajimoto (Editor), Ross W. Wein (Editor)

Drawing from a decade-long collaboration between Japan and Russia, this important volume presents the first major synthesis of current knowledge on the ecophysiology of the coniferous forests growing on permafrost at high latitudes. It presents ecological data for a region long inaccessible to most scientists, and raises important questions about the global carbon balance as these systems are affected by the changing climate. Making up around 20% of the entire boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, these ‘permafrost forest ecosystems’ are subject to particular constraints in terms of temperature, nutrient availability, and root space, creating exceptional ecosystem characteristics not known elsewhere. This authoritative text explores their diversity, structure, dynamics and...

Frozen in Time: Permafrost and Engineering Problems
by Siemon W. Muller (Author)

Frozen in Time: Permafrost and Engineering Problems is a previously unpublished work by Siemon W. Muller (1900-1970), author of the first English-language book about perennially frozen ground. Professor Muller stopped working on the nearly completed manuscript in the early 1960s, and for reasons unknown set it aside about the time of the First International Conference on Permafrost in 1963. It remained frozen for several decades, until it was eventually discovered in his files. Upon careful reading, the manuscript was found to offer an advanced and unusually comprehensive treatment of permafrost science and associated engineering problems. Editors French and Nelson guided this landmark manuscript through the last phase of revision, provided context through an interpretive introduction,...

Permafrost Foundations: State of the Practice
by Edwin S. Clarke (Editor)

As building expands in the northern latitudes, it is critical to get information about soil conditions and geotechnical and structural issues in the hands of those dealing with the many challenges of building on frozen soils. Permafrost Foundations: State of the Practice presents the most current techniques used to design and construct foundations on permafrost. Failure to understand the complexity of technical issues involved in building under these extreme conditions can start with the settlement or jacking of the soils, and result in conditions ranging from sloping buildings to swayback roofs to complete structural collapse. This monograph includes eight chapters, which present the authors experiences in both the design and remedial actions required for the continued successful...

Cryospheric Systems: Glaciers And Permafrost
by C. Harris (Author), J. B. Murton (Author)

The introduction of the term periglacial by Lozinski in 1909 to describe the cold-climate conditions in the zone adjacent to, but beyond, the Pleistocene glaciers encouraged the separate development of geocryological and glaciological research. Geological and geomorphological processes at the interface between glaciers and permafrost have, as a result, been given less attention than they warrant, and the influence of one on the other has in many respects been neglected. This book includes a collection of papers that emphasize glacier-permafrost interactions. Papers consider permafrost and its influence on glacitectonic processes, glacial meltwater systems and ground-ice development in proglacial and ice-marginal environments. In addition, recent research findings are reported on...

Permafrost Response on Economic Development, Environmental Security and Natural Resources (Nato Science Partnership Subseries: 2 (closed))
by Elfi Van Overloop (Adapter), Vladimir D. Gorokhov (Adapter), R. Paepe (Adapter), Vladimir P. Melnikov (Adapter)

The permafrost regions of the planet are remote, barren and isolated; as far as the decision makers are concerned, these inhospitable regions are simply "out of sight, out of mind", having no immediate effect on the global environment and habitat. Those who are pioneering the study of the permafrost, however, know better, as they confront the sustainable development of these peculiarly resource-rich regions. It rapidly became evident that social survival was not merely a matter of technology, and sustainable development involved more than just bringing in adequate machinery. Operating in permafrost regions necessitates a thorough understanding of all aspects of their ecology. This state-of-the-art book on permafrost discusses the topic in terms of geology, biology,...

Permafrost Soils (Soil Biology)
by Rosa Margesin (Editor)

Vast areas of the soil ecosystem are permanently frozen or are unfrozen for only a few weeks in summer. Permafrost soils are of global interest since a significant increase in temperature is predicted for polar regions. This volume summarizes recent knowledge on various aspects of permafrost and permafrost-affected soils, including typical properties of these soils, the distribution and biodiversity of permafrost microorganisms, examples for microbial activity in frozen soils and genomic and proteomic insights into cold adaptation of permafrost bacteria. The impact of global warming on microbial communities, carbon dynamics, geomorphology and frozen-ground engineering are further discussed. Other chapters describe the feasibility and limitations of methods for removing contaminants in...

Permafrost: Webster's Timeline History, 1935 - 2007
by Icon Group International (Author)

Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Permafrost," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Permafrost in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Permafrost when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences...