Melting of large swathes of permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere could cause a massive increase in the rate of climate change, according to a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme.

 

The report found that the melting could precipitate the release of 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon, which are currently stored under permafrost in massive ‘carbon sinks’.

 

The Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost report issues dire warnings about the impacts of the rapid release of carbon dioxide and methane under the permafrost layer.

 

"Permafrost is one of the keys to the planet's future because it contains large stores of frozen organic matter that, if thawed and released into the atmosphere, would amplify current global warming and propel us to a warmer world," said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

 

"Its potential impact on the climate, ecosystems and infrastructure has been neglected for too long," he added. "This report seeks to communicate to climate-treaty negotiators, policy makers and the general public the implications of continuing to ignore the challenges of warming permafrost."

 

Most of the current permafrost formed during or since the last ice age and extends to depths of more than 700 meters in parts of northern Siberia and Canada. Permafrost consists of an active layer of up to two metres in thickness, which thaws each summer and refreezes each winter, and the permanently frozen soil beneath.

 

Should the active layer increase in thickness due to warming, huge quantities of organic matter stored in the frozen soil would begin to thaw and decay, releasing large amounts of COâ‚‚  and methane into the atmosphere.

 

Once this process begins, it will operate in a feedback loop known as the permafrost carbon feedback, which has the effect of increasing surface temperatures and thus accelerating the further warming of permafrost - a process that would be irreversible on human timescales.