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Peat and forests save permafrost from meltingContact: Jane Christmas
chrisja@mcmaster.ca
905-525-9140 x27988
McMaster University
Peat and forests save permafrost from melting
| Quote: | Hamilton, ON. September 13, 2007 – Permafrost may be buffered against the impacts of climate change by peat and vegetation present in the northern regions, according to a study by McMaster researchers.
Permafrost is frozen soil that remains at or below 0 oC for at least two consecutive years. Currently, it covers more than 30 per cent of the Earth’s surface and about 42 per cent (four-million square kilometres) of Canada’s land mass.
The study was published recently in Geophysical Research Letters.
“There is no doubt that northern regions are warming and permafrost is melting as shown by numerous observations and modeling studies,” says Altaf Arain, co-author of the study and associate professor in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences. “However, there is large uncertainty about the rate and magnitude of permafrost degradation and thaw depth.”
Previous studies using the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model suggest that global warming is rapidly melting permafrost in the North regions. According to those studies, only a million square kilometres of the currently estimated 10.5-million square kilometres of permafrost would remain by the end of this century. |
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-09/mu-paf091307.php
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