Permafrost+and+climate+change

Elayna Haboush Stephen Brine Wikipedia -ice doesn’t have to be present. -permafrost is not present in Scandinavia (snow insulates ground). -Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, insulates pipes so they don’t sink in permafrost. -permafrost can change the soil; make level uneven (rings, polygons) [] -permafrost is a thermal conditions, it comes and goes away when climate changes. -relationship between temperature and permafrost is complex. -it takes thousands of years to create a deep permafrost. - “The loss of permafrost usually means the loss of terra firma in an otherwise often boggy landscape,” Turetsky said. “Roads, buildings and whole communities will have to cope with this aspect of climate change. What this means for ecosystems and humans residing in the North remains of the most pressing issues in the climate change arena Essentially, Permafrost is referring to earth material that has been under 0 degrees celsius for at least two full years. Nearly all permafrost is situated in the northern atmosphere, north of the Arctic Circle due to the cold climate. Permafrost can be found mostly in Canada, China, Russia, Alaska, and Mongolia and collectively, the regions containing permafrost cover approximately 23 km2 (as shown in the image above, where the darker colors show areas where Permafrost is more concentrated). Permafrost can also be found in areas with high altitudes, such as mountaintops. Because permafrost takes so long to form, the current issue of a warming climate and excessive greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere pose a threat to the amount of permafrost currently on the globe. A good example of this would be in northern Sweden, where permafrost has been thawing. One scientist states that “At one of our sites, permafrost has completely disappeared from the greater part of the mire during the last decade,”. The reason why this could be a problem is because often, after permafrost thaws, it leaves behind unstable earth that can collapse. As stated by Dr. Merritt Turetsky, and assistant professor at The University of Guelph, CA, "The loss of permafrost usually means the loss of terra firma in an otherwise often boggy landscape, Roads, buildings and whole communities will have to cope with this aspect of climate change. what this means for ecosystems and humans residing in the North remains of the most pressing issues in the climate change arena.". - though studies show the increased amounts of Greenhouse Gases adding to the temperature of the earth to a minimal extent, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the arctic are capable of raising temperature several degrees, which could drastically decrease the amount of permafrost present.