September 2005
Permafrost Melting in Western Siberia
Climate scientists have reacted with alarm to findings that vast amounts of western Siberia are melting at an unprecedented rate.
Scientists believe that over the past 3-4 years an area of permafrost comprising more than 1 million square kilometres, created in the last ice age, have started to thaw. This area of permafrost is the world’s largest frozen peat bog, however it is slowly turning into a region of broken landscapes of mud and lakes.
Methane is a greenhouse gas twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide and it is estimated that the western Siberian peat bogs hold around 70 billion tonnes; one quarter of the methane stored on the land surfaces of the earth. The peat bogs have been releasing methane since they were formed at the end of the last ice age, 11,000 years ago, but most of the gas has previously been trapped beneath the permafrost.
The gas being released from the peat bogs into the atmosphere will contribute significantly to the warming effect on the earth, consequently increasing the amount of permafrost being defrosted, which will again increase the warming effect, in essence becoming a positive feedback system.
These positive feedbacks with landmass were not taken into account in 2001 when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted a 1.4°C – 5.8°C increase in temperature between 1990 and 2100, therefore estimates of future warming will have to be revised upwards.
This however, is not the only example of a large scale thaw. In May this year another research group reported observations of methane hot spots in eastern Siberia, thus adding more pressure on the decision makers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions significantly and tackle the huge global issue of climate change.
If you or your company are looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require advice on how best to achieve this, contact Nersi Salehi on 024 7632 3260.
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