Frozen carbon in arctic could amplify climate change when thawed

As the world heats, a large-scale and natural threat emerges in massive frozen carbon deposits that exist in arctic and boreal regions.

The complexities surrounding global warming consistently demonstrate a compound knock-on effect: as one action happens another is unleashed and more dominoes are set in motion. The most recent example of this can be illustrated in the large-scale frozen carbon deposits that are plentiful in the arctic and boreal regions. "The vast amount of carbon stored in the arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double that previously estimated," reported Science Daily. As the planet heats, the trapped carbon will thaw and will be released into the atmosphere on a massive scale. "We now estimate the deposits contain over 1.5 trillion tons of frozen carbon, about twice as much carbon as contained in the atmosphere", said Dr. Charles Tarnocai, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, and lead author of the report that was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Science Daily reported. Carbon deposits frozen for thousands of years have little trouble breaking down when thawed. The break-down releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. "Radioactive carbon dating shows that most of the carbon dioxide currently emitted by thawing soils in Alaska was formed and frozen thousands of years ago. The carbon dating demonstrates how easily carbon decomposes when soils thaw under warmer conditions," said Professor Ted Schuur, University of Florida and co-author of the paper. "Permafrost carbon is a bit of a wildcard in the efforts to predict future climate change," said Dr Canadell. "All evidence to date shows that carbon in permafrost is likely to play a significant role in the 21st century climate given the large carbon deposits, the readiness of its organic matter to release greenhouse gases when thawed, and the fact that high latitudes will experience the largest increase in air temperature of all regions."