16 February 2011
Thawing permafrost will accelerate global warming in decades to come, says new study
Thawing permafrost will accelerate global warming in decades to come, says new study
![](http://nsidc.org/news/images/20110214_permafrost_schaefer_thumb.png)
researchers drill a permafrost core
Kevin Schaefer's research team drills permafrost cores on Alaska's North Slope. New findings by the researchers indicate permafrost in Earth's frozen regions is readying to release vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere, increasing carbon dioxide levels.—Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC/University of Colorado at Boulder
Kevin Schaefer's research team drills permafrost cores on Alaska's North Slope. New findings by the researchers indicate permafrost in Earth's frozen regions is readying to release vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere, increasing carbon dioxide levels.
—Credit: Kevin Schaefer, NSIDC/University of Colorado at Boulder
This is a press release from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), which is part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
One- to two-thirds of Earth’s permafrost will disappear by 2200, unleashing vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere, says a study by researchers at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
“The amount of carbon released is equivalent to half the amount of carbon that has been released into the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial age,” said NSIDC scientist Kevin Schaefer. “That is a lot of carbon.”
The carbon from permanently frozen ground—known as permafrost —will make its impact, not only on the climate, but also on international strategies to reduce climate change Schaefer said. “If we want to hit a target carbon concentration, then we have to reduce fossil fuel emissions that much lower than previously calculated to account for this additional carbon from the permafrost,” Schaefer said. “Otherwise we will end up with a warmer Earth than we want.”
more:
http://nsidc.org/news/press/20110216_permafrost.htmlvia:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/18/946666/-OMG,-Permafrost-Melting-FastIrreversibly-says-NSIDC,-Huge-CO2-Source-