How to study a swiftly melting climate disaster
Andrew Haverdink, a tall grad student in a rain bib and rubber boots, wrenched a double-handed drill from the frozen soil that underlies much of Alaska’s Denali National Park and then unclipped the hollow barrel from the end of the bit. He knelt in front of a blue tarp, lined the barrel up with a…
Résumé
Permafrost: Earth’s frozen carbon vault
Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years, covering 15% of the Northern Hemisphere’s land surface.
It holds about 1.5 trillion tons of carbon—roughly twice the amount currently in Earth’s atmosphere.
Most of this carbon has been locked away for thousands of years, dating back to the last ice age.
Permafrost forms in cold regions like Alaska, Canada, and Siberia, where temperatures stay below freezing for long periods.
As global temperatures rise, permafrost thaws, releasing stored carbon in the form of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄), both of which trap heat and accelerate climate change.
The article highlights that permafrost loss is not uniform; some areas thaw gradually, while others experience abrupt thaw, where the ground collapses suddenly due to melting ice wedges, releasing carbon much faster than expected.
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