Areas of the Arctic have stored large quantities of carbon in the soil for millennia. However, a new international study published in Nature Climate Change shows that a shift is under way in these permafrost regions. Now Arctic areas emit more carbon into the atmosphere during winter than the vegetation absorbs in summer. In addition, there is a risk of significant increases in emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, of up to 41 per cent, if we do not succeed in curbing our own emissions.
“We’ve known that warmer temperatures and thawing permafrost have been accelerating winter CO2 emissions, but we haven’t had a clear accounting of the winter carbon balance,” says Sue Natali, director of the Arctic programme at the Woods Hole Research Center, which headed the study.
Four Swedish researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Lund University and Stockholm University have participated in the study.
Last updated:
November 4, 2019
Page editor:
Lina Enell
Source: Lina Enell
