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Permafrost The Hidden Climate Threat.ppt
Permafrost, a layer of frozen soil, rock, or sediment found primarily in high-latitude regions, is significantly affected by climate change as rising temperatures cause it to thaw, releasing potent greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. This thawing poses severe risks including infrastructure damage, water contamination, health issues, and ecological disruptions, potentially leading to a feedback loop that exacerbates global warming. The implications of permafrost thaw extend beyond environmental concerns, affecting human communities and necessitating international cooperation for adaptation and mitigation strategies.
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Permafrost The Hidden Climate Threat.ppt
- 1. PERMAFROST: THE HIDDENCLIMATE THREAT By, Anitha V PhD Research Scholar
- 2. Permafrost: A Frozen Landscape Permafrost is a layer of soil, rock, or sediment that has remained frozen for at least two consecutive years. It is commonly found in snowy, high-altitude mountains. It can vary in depth from a few meters to more than 100.
- 3. 58% of land– freezes seasonally – 55 million sq km (21 million sq miles) 24% of the land in the Northern Hemisphere has permafrost - 23 million square kilometers (9 million square miles)
- 4. Where is PermafrostFound? High Latitudes Permafrost is predominantly found in high latitude regions, covering approximately 24% of the Northern Hemisphere's landmass. This includes vast areas of Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Scandinavia. 1. Arctic 2. Subarctic High Altitudes Permafrost also occurs at high altitudes, even in lower latitude regions. Mountain ranges in North and South America, Asia, and Europe often have permafrost layers in their higher elevations. 1. Himalayas 2. Andes Continental Permafrost The majority of permafrost is found in continental regions, where temperatures remain consistently below freezing for extended periods. This type of permafrost is typically thicker and more widespread than alpine permafrost. 1. Siberia 2. Alaska
- 9. Types of Permafrost 1Continuous Permafrost Continuous permafrost is found in regions where the ground is permanently frozen, except for a thin active layer that thaws seasonally. It is the most common type of permafrost and is typically found in the Arctic and Subarctic. 2 Discontinuous Permafrost Discontinuous permafrost is found in regions where the ground is frozen for most of the year, but there are areas where it thaws seasonally. This type of permafrost is often found in the transition zone between continuous permafrost and areas without permafrost. 3 Sporadic Permafrost Sporadic permafrost is found in areas where permafrost is only present in isolated patches. This type of permafrost is typically found in areas with a warmer climate or where the ground is heavily influenced by factors such as vegetation or topography. 4 Alpine Permafrost Alpine permafrost is found in mountainous regions, even at lower latitudes. It forms in the high elevations where temperatures remain consistently below freezing for extended periods.
- 12. How Climate ChangeAffects Permafrost Rising Temperatures Rising global temperatures, a key characteristic of climate change, have a direct impact on permafrost. As the average temperature increases, the permafrost layer begins to thaw. Thawing Permafrost The thawing of permafrost releases methane and carbon dioxide, potent greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere. This further exacerbates climate change, creating a feedback loop. Changes in Ecosystem Melting permafrost leads to changes in the Arctic ecosystem. As the frozen ground thaws, it releases nutrients and organic matter that were previously locked away. This can alter the composition of plant and animal communities and lead to the growth of invasive species.
- 17. Why Melting Permafrostis Dangerous - Climate Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions Feedback Loop Sea Level Rise Thawing permafrost releases methane and carbon dioxide, potent greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere. These gases contribute to global warming, accelerating the rate of climate change. The thawing of permafrost, which is caused by rising temperatures, leads to the release of greenhouse gases. These gases further warm the planet, accelerating the rate of permafrost thaw. This creates a dangerous feedback loop. As permafrost thaws, the ground becomes less stable and can cause subsidence, a sinking of the ground. This subsidence can contribute to sea level rise as coastal areas become more vulnerable to flooding. Changes in Weather Patterns Melting permafrost can disrupt weather patterns and contribute to more extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, and heat waves.
- 19. Why Melting Permafrostis Dangerous - Human Properties Infrastructure Damage Buildings, roads, and pipelines constructed on permafrost can be damaged as the ground thaws. The thawing can cause the ground to sink, leading to cracks, instability, and ultimately, structural failure. Coastal Erosion The thawing of permafrost can lead to increased erosion of coastal areas. As the ground becomes less stable, it is more susceptible to being washed away by waves and tides, leading to the loss of land and property. Water Contamination Thawing permafrost can contaminate water sources. As the ground thaws, it releases pollutants, such as heavy metals and organic contaminants, into the water. This can pose health risks for both humans and wildlife. Thawing permafrost can cause landslides, which can damage homes, businesses, and infrastructure, and can even lead to loss of life. Landslides
- 20. Why Melting Permafrostis Dangerous - Humans Health Risks The thawing of permafrost can expose humans to health risks. The release of pollutants and contaminants into the water and air can lead to respiratory problems, skin infections, and other health issues. Displacement The thawing of permafrost can cause the ground to sink, making it unsafe for homes and infrastructure to be built on. This can lead to the displacement of communities, as people are forced to relocate to safer areas. Food Security The thawing of permafrost can impact food security. The changes to the Arctic ecosystem, including the loss of traditional hunting and fishing grounds, can make it more difficult for local communities to obtain food. Economic Impacts The thawing of permafrost can have significant economic impacts. The damage to infrastructure and the displacement of communities can lead to job losses and decreased economic activity in affected regions.
- 21. • The thawingof the permafrost also threatens to unlock disease-causing bacteria and viruses long trapped in the ice. • There have already been some cases of this happening. In 2016 a child died in Russia's far northern Siberia in an outbreak of anthrax that scientists said seemed to have come from the corpses of infected reindeers. Frozen diseases?
- 22. • 70 peoplein western Siberia were hospitalized for exposure to anthrax. • Scientists have also warned that other dormant pathogens entombed in frozen soil may be roused by global warming, such as from old smallpox graves. • In 2014 scientists revived a giant but harmless virus, dubbed Pithovirus sibericum, that had been locked in the Siberian permafrost for more than 30,000 years.
- 24. Why Melting Permafrostis Dangerous - Governments 1 Adaptation Strategies Governments need to develop strategies to adapt to the impacts of melting permafrost. This includes measures to protect infrastructure, relocate communities, and mitigate the effects of the thawing ground. 2 Mitigation Efforts Governments need to take steps to mitigate the causes of climate change, which is driving permafrost thaw. This includes policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable development. 3 International Cooperation Melting permafrost is a global problem, requiring international cooperation to address. Governments need to work together to share knowledge, develop best practices, and coordinate efforts to manage the impacts of permafrost thaw.
- 25. Why Melting Permafrostis Dangerous - Animals Reindeer The thawing of permafrost is impacting reindeer populations in the Arctic. As the ground thaws, it releases methane and carbon dioxide, which can alter the vegetation that reindeer rely on for food. Arctic Fox Arctic foxes are also facing challenges from melting permafrost. The thawing ground can lead to the loss of their dens, which are often located in the permafrost layer. They can also face challenges in finding food as their prey, which often rely on permafrost for their habitat, are affected by the changes.
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- 44. • “The grassused to be up to the knees … Twenty years ago, we had to scythe it down. But now, well, you can see for yourself. It’s so short it looks like moss” PHUNTSOK DORJE A Tibetan nomad in an interview with The Guardian, 2010
- 45. China’s planto use solar power to melt permafrost to turn a Tibetan grassland into an artificial forest on the roof of the world. Scientists question the value and environmental impact of the expensive project, which is of special interest to the Chinese president Nagqu’s wildlife reserves protect wolves, foxes and bears that prey on wild goats and donkeys. The animals have adapted to the high-altitude grassland over millions of years. Photo: Alamy
- 49. Farming isnow possible in parts of Alaska Boon for the oil and mining industries, providing access to previously difficult-to- reach reserves. Are there any benefits to melting permafrost?
- 50. Conclusion Permafrost is acritical component of the Earth's climate system and a vital habitat for many species. The thawing of permafrost, driven by climate change, has significant consequences for the environment, infrastructure, and human communities. It is essential to understand the impacts of permafrost thaw and to take action to mitigate the causes of climate change and adapt to the challenges it presents. The fate of permafrost is inextricably linked to the future of our planet, and the choices we make today will determine the course of this frozen landscape for generations to come.
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- 53. REFERENCE • https://phys.org/news/2018-12-permafrost-climate.html • https://news.cnrs.fr/articles/permafrost-a-ticking-time-bomb •https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2111247/melting- permafrost-flows-lava-through-valley-tibetan-plateau • https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9655974/arctic-heatwave-greenland-ice-sheet- melt/ • Poket news • https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Permafrost
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Editor's Notes
- #13 Permafrost soils contain roughly twice as much carbon—mainly in the form of methane and CO2—as Earth's atmosphere. Most of the carbon stocks are thought to reside fairly close to the surface
- #14 CO2 is the most abundant greenhouse gas blamed for global warming but methane is 25 times more efficient at trapping heat.
- #15 When permafrost melts, this matter warms up and decomposes, eventually releasing the carbon that it holds as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, gases which have a greenhouse warming effect on the planet.
- #25 A Greenpeace report published in 2009 said thawing soil in Russia's permafrost zones caused buildings, bridges and pipelines to deform and collapse, costing up to 1.3 billion euros (nearly $1.5 billion) a year in repairs in western Siberia. In Alaska alone, the destruction of buildings and infrastructure due to permafrost thaw over the next century could cost more than $2 billion, according to a 2017 study.
- #32 The Tibetan Plateau 1,300 million square metres of frozen ground, the Tibetan Plateau is the largest alpine permafrost region in the world.
- #38 The huge impact in the Siling Co lake Fed by the rivers Boques Tsangpo and Za'gya Zangbo, this salt lake is one that shows one of the biggest increase in water levels in the last 30 years, according to studiesconducted by the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the lake has grown approximately 45 per cent since 1970
- #41 Rola Co lake The Rola Co is a large freshwater lake located in the district of Shuanghu, Nagqu province of China. It has grown to the point that it has merged with the neighbouring Danbing lake
- #45 The Tibetan Plateau is a vast, treeless region covered in seasonal grass. It is lightly populated because of the cold environment, but the nomads who do live here have watched the grass disappear and the ground melt. The life they knew is vanishing before their eyes.
- #46 Nagqu, a city with a near-polar climate in the high grasslands of Tibet, is known for its stark beauty, its wildlife and its role as the former capital of the Zhangzhung kingdom. But it has a second, more dubious distinction: it is believed to be the only Chinese city without a tree. The absence of trees ranked along with the area’s lack of oxygen, extreme cold and geographic isolation as top reasons for the mental breakdown of Chinese military personnel in this city 4,500 metres above sea level. Soldiers from Nagqu who would go to Lhasa on leave were known to leap off their buses to hug a tree, in tears, according to the People’s Liberation Army Daily. Now China is taking the unprecedented – and expensive – step of harnessing solar power to melt permafrost to allow trees to grow in Nagqu. The project’s aim is to make the landscape more welcoming for Han settlers and soldiers struggling to cope emotionally with the treeless setting. But worries about the cost and the environmental impact of the undertaking – which has captured the attention of President Xi Jinping – have scientists questioning its value. “Some official might do this to flatter the president, but most scientists have concerns about this project,” said a researcher who spoke to the South China Morning Post on condition of anonymity. Workers have set up grassland solar panels in the area to convert sunlight to electricity for an enormous copper-wire grid buried in the ground. The generated heat melts the subsurface layer of frozen soil to save tree roots from “frostbite”, according to scientists who have visited the experimental site. In recent months, a forest has begun to emerge. Encompassing an area equivalent to more than 30 sports stadiums, it consists of fir, cypress and pine trees, according to a report on the website of the Science and Technology Department of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The project’s cost could run into the tens of millions of yuan. “This is not sustainable,” another scientist said. “These can be the most expensive trees in the world,” another said. One scientist who has observed the area for years said the project would upset the Tibetan Plateau’s ecological balance. The sudden emergence of an artificial forest and solar power plants would drain the area’s water resources, ruin the natural habitat and disrupt the fragile food chain, the scientist said. Nagqu’s seven wildlife reserves protect various animals, including bears, foxes and wolves, which prey on the region’s wildlife, including goats and donkeys. The animals have adapted to the high-altitude grassland over millions of years. The project’s cost could run into the tens of millions of yuan. “This is not sustainable,” another scientist said. “These can be the most expensive trees in the world,” another said. One scientist who has observed the area for years said the project would upset the Tibetan Plateau’s ecological balance. The sudden emergence of an artificial forest and solar power plants would drain the area’s water resources, ruin the natural habitat and disrupt the fragile food chain, the scientist said. Nagqu’s seven wildlife reserves protect various animals, including bears, foxes and wolves, which prey on the region’s wildlife, including goats and donkeys. The animals have adapted to the high-altitude grassland over millions of years. Nagqu’s elevation makes it almost as tall as Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. Millions of yuan have been spent over the past few decades on efforts to make trees grow in Nagdu, according to PLA Daily. The methods used have included cultivating trees under a glass roof, feeding the trees vitamin pills, pouring warm water on the soil and covering branches with plastic membrane. None has survived. The current attempt seeks to use solar panels to increase the soil temperature by several degrees. That change could prevent the permafrost from halting lignification, the bio-chemical process that hardens the walls of cells to turn a plant woody, according to one of the scientists. Machines with specially designed bore heads handled the planting – both to boost productivity and reduce human error. A sophisticated network of sensors connected to a computer running an artificial intelligence algorithm keeps watch over the young trees – sounding an alert if, say, a twig snaps in the wind. If the strategy, which has never before been applied to create an artificial forest, proved effective this winter, trees might start appearing in Nagqu city in the years to come, a scientist said. President Xi Jinping, who visited Nagqu while deputy party secretary of Fujian province in the late 1990s, said he vividly remembered the city as set on a plateau of permafrost in a harsh environment similar to that of polar regions. “To people who could plant a tree and make it live, the reward [by the local government] started from the earliest amount of several thousand yuan, to 100,000 yuan (US$15,100) in the year I went,” the president was quoted by People’s Daily as saying in a meeting with more than 200 county-level Communist Party secretaries in 2015. “But nobody was able to get the money.” Last month, Xi was briefed by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the new forestation project. Afterward, he said he would “continue to pay attention to Nagqu’s tree plantation programme”, according to the Tibetan Science and Technology Department article. China has spent US$10 billion annually over the last decade to create new forests across the nation. The reforestation campaign has reversed the expansion of some of the world’s biggest deserts, almost eliminated the dust storms that frequently have hit Beijing in the spring, and turned wastelands larger than California green. China’s reforestation campaign has reversed the expansion of some of the world’s largest deserts. Photo: But the campaign also has prompted ecological concern as the massive plantation of non-native species reduces biodiversity and increases the risk of outbreaks of disease or pests. The owner of a Sichuan restaurant near the Nagqu government offices said he hoped the tree experiment in the city succeeded, because the sight of green-needled, long-limbed additions could ease his homesickness. “I miss sitting in the shade of a tree and listening to the rustling of leaves,” said the man, who was originally from Chengdu, Sichuan. An increasing number of people shared his feeling, he said. In 2010, native Tibetans, mostly herdsmen and women, accounted for more than 96 per cent of Nagqu’s population of 460,000, according to official statistics. Now nearly half the population comprised Han Chinese from inland China, the restaurant owner said. Besides trees, the new migrants also would like tap water. Owing to water’s ability to easily freeze in pipes in the permafrost, most families still depend on trucks or tractors to obtain water from rivers or wells.