An international group of scientists from Germany and Norway found that thermokarst can significantly enhance the melting of permafrost in climate change. This quickly leads to emissions of significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, which will further heat the atmosphere and accelerate climate disaster. Summary of the article published in Nature Communications, is contained in a press release on the website Phys.org.
Experts have developed a computer model to determine the impact of thermokarst processes in permafrost in northeast Siberia, where creolization currently remains stable. Thermokarst caused by the melting of ice in the ground when the surface is deposited and formed depressions filled with water. Such changes in surface topography can increase the melting of permafrost.
It turned out that when included in the model thermokarst even stable permafrost in Siberia could thaw out at the end of this century, although at the present time the soil temperature is minus ten degrees. In Norway have seen a shrinking of the permafrost and the formation of numerous ponds. With moderate warming thermokarst processes can slow the thawing, however, in scenarios with a significant increase in average temperatures on permafrost degradation will increase due to positive feedback.
