A permafrost meltdown in Alaska is happening now and rapid changes are coming with it [View all]

The New York Times has it in big headlines; “Alaska’s permafrost is no longer permanent. It is starting to thaw.” And about 30-years from now, by 2050, much of this frozen ground could be gone.

It’s going to happen with evidence that looks normal but shows up as slumping ground, perhaps filled with water. All permafrost in Alaska is a storehouse of ancient carbon, the New York Times report said.

On a page of computerized graphics, the areas most likely to be impacted or become expanses of slumping ground are colored in red with the words, “this is what may be gone,” printed over the photograph of the state.

Also printed in big letters is the warning: “The loss of frozen ground in Arctic regions is a striking result of climate change. And it is also a cause of more warming to come.”

Read more: https://www.anchoragepress.com/columnists/a-permafrost-meltdown-in-alaska-is-happening-now-and-rapid/article_b92e23d8-609e-11e9-b087-8f73ad5e0852.html