Permafrost

Narration: Katie Jepson

Transcript:

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frozen Earth, be it ice, soil

or even organic material

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that has been frozen for two

or more years.

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Most of Alaska

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and northern Canada has permafrost beneath

a thin, active layer of soil.

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Problem is, when permafrost does

thaw, it can wreak havoc

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on infrastructure and upend ecosystems.

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Dr. Walter Anthony: Not all permafrost contains ice,

but here in interior

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Alaska, we have frozen soils

with massive amounts of ice.

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There are very large

ice wedges - ice wedges as big as garages.

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And so when that ice melts,

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the ground surface collapses

and the sinkholes can fill with water.

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When that happens, new little ponds

form- thermokarst ponds.

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And as thermokarst ponds form, microbes

in the soil feast

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on the newly thawed organic material,

releasing methane into the atmosphere -

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an extremely potent,

and flammable greenhouse gas.

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These newly formed thermokarst ponds

give us an insight

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as to what is going to happen in the future.

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Dr. Walter Anthony: What we're seeing at this lake

is that the emissions are ten times

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higher than the rest of the lakes

and wetlands in the Arctic,

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and it's being fueled by thawing

permafrost.

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Narration: Scientists are working with ABoVE

and NASA's UAVSAR to study

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how these lakes are evolving

as the climate continues to warm.