out of the freezer

Following a helpful suggestion from one of the scientific editors at Current Biology, I looked at the scary things that can come out of the Arctic permafrost soils as they continue to thaw due to climate change. The defrosted threats include pathogens like anthrax, poisons like methyl mercury, and, as is already widely known, lots of methane, which could further accelerate global warming in a positive feedback loop.

The scary but fascinating finds out of the Earths freezer compartment are collected in today's feature which is out now:


Permafrost thaw releases problems

Current Biology Volume 29, issue 2, pages R39-R41, January 21, 2019

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The photo shows researchers from several US institutions investigating the impact of vegetation on permafrost soils (Environ. Res. Lett. (2018) 13, 105006). (Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory.)