Permafrost melting a growing concern

janforgore the real problem with these kind of predictions is that we can't change it and the powers that be are not going to either no matter how many of these gloom and doom articles you post .every one knows we are heading for something bad even the"non-believers" so all articles like this do is upset you for the day .I know I do not have to read it .but that is what people who believe it is true do read stuff like this.I don't know, it seemed that it was not so heavy coming here for a while and it is because you were not posting stuff like this lately.I know why stuff like this has to be posted here by someone but it was just my opinion

Excerpt from article linked:

The amount of carbon locked away in frozen soils in the far Northern Hemisphere is double previous estimates and rapid melting could accelerate global warming, warns a new study.

Large areas of northern Russia, Canada, Nordic countries and Alaska have deep layers of frozen soil near the surface called permafrost.

Global warming has already triggered rapid melting of the permafrost in some areas, releasing carbon dioxide and methane.

As the world gets warmer, more of these gases are predicted to be released and could trigger a tipping point in which huge amounts of the gases flood the atmosphere, rapidly driving up temperatures, scientists say.

"Massive amounts of carbon stored in frozen soils at high latitudes are increasingly vulnerable to exposure to the atmosphere," says Dr Pep Canadell, executive director of CSIRO's Global Carbon Project.

"The research shows that the amount of carbon stored in soils surrounding the North Pole has been hugely underestimated."

The study is published in the latest issue of Global Biogeochemical Cycle.

Canadell says a four-year study of the latest research on permafrost, data from new drilling projects and the release of previously unpublished data from the Russian Academy of Sciences had led to a rethink of carbon levels.

"Projections show that almost all near-surface permafrost will disappear by the end of this century exposing large carbon stores to decomposition and release of greenhouse gases," he says.

Extra warming

Canadell says if only 10% of the permafrost melted, this could lead to the release of an additional 80 parts per million of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere. This would equate to about 0.7°C of global warming.

end of excerpt.
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80 parts more per million due to only 10% of permafrost melting will push us over the tipping point. THAT is why decreasing emissions of GHGs NOW is necessary, and decreasing them by only 4% by 2020 just isn't good enough.