Melting
Tundra Releases Carbon Dioxide Quickly
By: Christa Marshall
Climate
Wire
February 12, 2013
This graphic shows the immense amount of
permafrost within the Arctic soil that will melt when hit with ultraviolet
rays, which it has not been exposed to in a long time.
Summary:
As the earth gets warmer, ice in the
Arctic is beginning to melt. Not only is that problematic by itself, but the
ice that melts away is exposing soil that had been covered for a long time to
the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This soil is called permafrost soil, and when it
melts, it releases more carbon dioxide into the air, which continues to speed
up global warming. Due to this, the Arctic is warming about twice as fast as
the rest of the earth is. Also, scientists are worried that all the carbon
dioxide being released from the permafrost will eventually double the amount of
CO2 on the earth. It causes a
nearly endless cycle to occur where heat thaws this permafrost, which releases
more carbon, which eventually heats the earth more and thaws more permafrost.
This is happening much more rapidly than scientists expected it too, and it has
them concerned due to the massive amounts of carbon dioxide stored in the
permafrost.
Reflection:
I thought this article really showed how
global warming and an increased amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can
affect our planet in ways that we didn’t even know a lot about. It shocked me
that even though the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere could double
through this process, heating the earth a lot more, we still aren’t doing much
to stop it. In class, we showed that increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere would be difficult for ecosystems to deal with, and since this
process could double the amount of CO2, it could also prove
potentially harmful to all of our ecosystems on the earth.
Questions:
1.
What do you think would be the best way to stop
the permafrost from melting at such a quick rate?
2.
Since this process is so much like a cycle, do
you think it will be able to be stopped?
3.
How will
the release of CO2 into the atmosphere affect other tundras around
the world?
I have invited Professor Roger Pielke, Jr. to view our science blog. I chose to invite him as a professional because he is an environmental studies professor at the University of Colorodo. Dr Pielke, Jr. also has his own blog relating to science. In addition, he appears to be a trustworthy source for science knowledge because of his extensive education and membership in many science institutes and centers, including the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Lastly, he has written a number of books, one of which being The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won't Tell You About Global Warming
ReplyDeleteMy email to him:
Dear Professor Roger Pielke, Jr.,
My name is Madison Dall, and I am a ninth grade student taking Honors Environmental Science right now at Hatboro Horsham High School. As of now we are learning about the cycles including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water as well as ecosystems and everything within. Myself and a few other classmates have set up a blog in which we share articles and questions relating to what we are studying and learning about in class. Being an environmental science expert yourself, it would mean so much to me if you commented and shared your thoughts on our current post about carbon dioxide effects from a melting tundra at our blog, Brainy Bloggers 101. I visited your blog, which I find so admirable being that you put so much time and thought into it. I enjoyed reading your blog posts and hope you will be able to analyze and comment on the latest blog post on my classmate’s blog and mine even if it means taking a minute out of your day. You can comment on the blog post at http://brainybloggers101.blogspot.com/2013/02/melting-tundra-releases-carbon-dioxide.html. Thank you so much for your time and I hope to be able to read your thoughts in the near future.
All the best,
Madison Dall
Ninth Grade Student
Hatboro-Horsham High School
Opinion and Question:
ReplyDeleteI actually never heard of this permafrost and I think it is very interesting. Since this releases carbon dioxide, scientists should probably put this at the top of their lists on how to reduce the melting. People around the world should really pay more attention to this information because every person can do something about to try to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, to avoid melting the ice.
1) Is there any way to try and keep the ice cool?
2) What should the scientists push the world to do?
3) Do you think if more people were aware of this, some melting could be averted?
-Natalie Laurito
Thanks for the invitation. I'd be happy to engage. However, tundra is not my specialty ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks from the University of Colorado!
Expand with a new link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newscientist.com/mobile/article/dn22549-arctic-permafrost-is-melting-faster-than-predicted.html
This article is similar to the above article because they both relate to the melting arctic ice, and the exposed permafrost. The article I found is talking about how this ice is melting quicker than expected, which leads to more permafrost also melting quickly. This is a bad sign for everyone, because it could cause major damage to our climate. Not only is this ice and soil going to melt quickly, but one of the biggest problems is that it has already started. NASA researchers have looked into this, and they found out that along with carbon dioxide being released, more methane then expected may be released. Over a long span of time, the methane could be more damaging than the carbon dioxide itself! NASA researchers have found this out by flying just 150 meters above the ground, and measuring the amounts of CO2 and methane in the air. These results with the large amount of methane in the air along with CO2 is an early on result which scientists will continue to look into. Although there is no official evidence that states we will undergo dramatic climate change, there are two bottom lines scientists have discovered through experiments and research: the warmer and drier, the more potential for CO2, and the warmer and wetter, the more potential for methane.
Kelsy Hopkins
Answering Questions
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think would be the best way to stop the permafrost from melting at such a quick rate?
Im not sure what the best way would be because it is happening too quickly. I would say if we stopped burning fossil fuels than we could slow it down. We could also drive more fuel efficient cars or drive hybrids. If we could get everyone in the world to do these things we may be able to stop some of the CO2 from entering in the atmosphere.
Since this process is so much like a cycle, do you think it will be able to be stopped?
I don't believe it will ever stop all together. I think there are many ways in which we could slow the process down. The problem is it is a cycle and it will keep going through the same steps unless we stop helping it continue.
Max Griffith