A team of researchers coordinated by experts in chemical oceanography at Florida State University has discovered that the melting of permafrost, the ice sheet that permanently covers the uppermost levels of the ground in many cold regions and close to glaciers, is causing the emission into the atmosphere of large amounts of greenhouse gases.
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , these scientists point out that the phenomenon could accelerate global warming. “We have known for a long time that permafrost is disappearing .
However, we have now been able to determine that this is causing changes in the composition of the plant communities of the polar regions , which would translate into greater carbon emissions, in this case in the form of methane ”, explains Suzanne Hodgkins, who has directed the trial.
This compound is an excellent heating agent. In fact, it is estimated that over a century, one ton of methane has a global warming effect 33 times greater than one of carbon dioxide.
According to oceanographer Jeff Chanton, co-signer of the study, if the permafrost were to melt completely, the atmosphere would accumulate five times more carbon than it currently retains . "The world is warming, and the additional gas emissions would compound our problems," he says.
