We have all heard about
how the ice is melting and polar bears are losing their habitats, but
there is a lot more to take into consideration. This post aims to
look at the effects of anthropogenic emissions on permafrost and in
turn how this will alter the global system indelibly.
Last year the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) produced a report on potential policies to reduce permafrost warming, an important report when the impact of permafrost is taken into account. Currently 24% of land in the Northern Hemisphere is perennially covered by permafrost, with an estimated ~1700 gigatonnes of carbon locked up in the organic matter within the ice; if this were to thaw the organic matter would decay and expel anywhere between 43 and 135 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2100.
As one might expect, the release of this amount of greenhouse gas would cause irreversible effects to our global system. We have already committed ourselves to a global temperature rise of 3ºC by 2100 and due to the insulating ability of snow, permafrost temperatures are expected to be double this. If this is the amount of CO2 that will be emitted from what we have already done, imagine what the future holds for us. Permafrost is an important tipping element which we are very close to reaching.
Greenhouse gas emission is not the only negative impact caused by melting permafrost. Increased erosion rates, landslides, flooding, ecosystems destruction, infrastructure collapse and economic strain are all going to occur as well. In Alaska alone $3.6-£6.1 billion will be absorbed by damages caused by permafrost melt.
Last year the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) produced a report on potential policies to reduce permafrost warming, an important report when the impact of permafrost is taken into account. Currently 24% of land in the Northern Hemisphere is perennially covered by permafrost, with an estimated ~1700 gigatonnes of carbon locked up in the organic matter within the ice; if this were to thaw the organic matter would decay and expel anywhere between 43 and 135 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2100.
As one might expect, the release of this amount of greenhouse gas would cause irreversible effects to our global system. We have already committed ourselves to a global temperature rise of 3ºC by 2100 and due to the insulating ability of snow, permafrost temperatures are expected to be double this. If this is the amount of CO2 that will be emitted from what we have already done, imagine what the future holds for us. Permafrost is an important tipping element which we are very close to reaching.
Greenhouse gas emission is not the only negative impact caused by melting permafrost. Increased erosion rates, landslides, flooding, ecosystems destruction, infrastructure collapse and economic strain are all going to occur as well. In Alaska alone $3.6-£6.1 billion will be absorbed by damages caused by permafrost melt.
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| We are living on the edge - Taken from UNEP report. |
The release of
permafrost emissions is likely to begin in our lifetimes and continue
for centuries, placing an uncertainty on human survival and that of
many more species. What is worse is that there is no real solution to
prevent this disaster. The UNEP report recommends a rather
disheartening plan for adaptation. I think that the highest priority
should be a worldwide awareness project – perhaps it will scare
people into becoming part of the sustainable revolution.
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