writeaboutwarming

June 20, 2019 Scientists from the University of Edinburgh found a new way of studying permafrost in the Arctic: they flew drone-mounted cameras over the Canadian Arctic. What they found reveals one aspect of the damage global warming is doing in that part of the world. During a 40-day period in the summer of 2017, the Canadian permafrost coastline retreated 47 feet, with daily rates of erosion sometimes exceeding 3 feet. This rate of erosion is six times higher than the historical average of the past half century. Why is this important? First of all, permafrost is soil that remains frozen for at least 2 years. When permafrost thaws, it releases twice as much carbon into the atmosphere as when its temperature stays below freezing . More CO2, more global warming. More global warming, more permafrost that thaws, more CO2. Melting permafrost releases both carbon dioxide and methane into the air and water. Perhaps most disturbing, a 2017 study found that a major portion of the Arctic ha