x-post from LBN: The Arctic may have crossed key threshold, emitting billions of tons of carbon into
LBN thread: The Arctic may have crossed key threshold, emitting billions of tons of carbon into the air, in a lo
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From NOAA:
• Arctic Report Card: Update for 2019 - homepage
• Arctic Report Card 2019 - full report
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Source: Washington Post
The Arctic may have crossed key threshold, emitting billions of tons of carbon into the air, in a long-dreaded climate feedback
Report finds sweeping changes underway across the Arctic
By Andrew Freedman
December 10 at 2:04 PM
The Arctic is undergoing a profound, rapid, and unmitigated shift into a new climate state, one that is greener, features far less ice, and is now a net source of greenhouse gas emissions from melting permafrost, according to a major new federal assessment of the region released Tuesday.
The consequences of these climate shifts will be felt far outside the Arctic in the form of altered weather patterns, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and rising sea levels from the melting Greenland ice sheet and mountain glaciers.
The findings are contained in the 2019 Arctic Report Card, a major federal assessment of climate change trends and impacts throughout the region. The study paints an ominous picture of a region lurching to an entirely new and unfamiliar climate state.
Especially noteworthy is the report’s conclusion that the Arctic may have already turned into a net emitter of planet-warming carbon emissions into the atmosphere due to thawing permafrost, which would only accelerate global warming. Permafrost is the carbon-rich frozen soil that covers 24 percent of Northern Hemisphere land area, encompassing vast stretches of territory across Alaska, Canada, Siberia and Greenland.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/12/10/arctic-may-have-crossed-key-threshold-emitting-billions-tons-carbon-into-air-long-dreaded-climate-feedback/
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