Permafrost Leaks Methane
CLIMATE Major regions of the world are covered in permafrost - permanently frozen soil and ice. The frozen ground resembles a huge membrane, which covers ancient reservoirs of greenhouse gases such as methane.
Methane is estimated to be at least 20 times as active as CO , when it comes to intensifying the greenhouse effect. Climate researchers fear that the methane reservoirs will escape to the atmosphere, as the permafrost thaws due to increasing temperatures.
German scientists have collected air samples above 10,000 km2 of permafrost in the Mackenzie Delta of Northern Canada, which show that methane emissions are 13 times higher in areas with thinner, thawing permafrost.
SCIENTISTS FEARED LEAK
The permafrost of the world contains trillions of tonnes of organic material such as plants, bacteria, and small animals, which are only slowly converted into CO in the cold. In some places such as Siberia and the Arctic, the permafrost is up to 700 m thick.