Permafrost study: academics promote circular climate argument

Alaskan permafrost: [image credit: insideclimatenews.org]

” data-image-caption=”" data-medium-file=”https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/permafrost.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/permafrost.jpg?w=614″ src=”https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/permafrost.jpg?w=300″ alt=”" width=”300″ height=”178″ class=”alignright size-medium wp-image-34170″ srcset=”https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/permafrost.jpg?w=300 300w, https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/permafrost.jpg?w=600 600w, https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/permafrost.jpg?w=150 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px” />
We’re supposed to believe (1) climate change causes permafrost to melt and (2) permafrost melting causes more climate change. All due to driving the wrong type of vehicle, using the wrong type of heating and/or method of generating electricity, and so on. The usual evidence-free assertions and biases relating to carbon dioxide have been highlighted and numbered by the Talkshop here.
– – –
Experiments by University of Leeds researchers, published in AGU journal Earth’s Future, have shown that thawing of permafrost makes it between 25 and 100 times more permeable, allowing more climate change forcing gases to escape [1], says Eurekalert.

Permafrost – soil that has been frozen for extensive periods and is found over large areas in the Arctic – has historically acted as a vital barrier against climate change [2], but warming temperatures mean it is thawing.

Globally, permafrost is estimated to contain 1700 billion tonnes of carbon, which is roughly three times the amount currently in the atmosphere.

The results suggest that thawing permafrost will accelerate climate change by releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases [3] including carbon and methane, creating a self‑reinforcing process. [Talkshop comment – the circular argument].

Professor Paul Glover, Chair of Petrophysics in the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability at the University of Leeds, led the research. He said: “It is now widely recognised that climate change is leading to significant thawing of permafrost, with a 42% expected loss of permafrost in the Arctic Circumpolar Permafrost Region (ACPR) by 2050.

“The release of huge amounts of carbon that have been stored in previously frozen soils, predominantly in the Arctic, represents a very real danger [4], especially as it is known that climate change is warming the Arctic regions four times faster than elsewhere.

“The hypothesis that thawing of permafrost could release sufficient climate forcing gases not only to continue but to accelerate climate change [5] is one step closer to being confirmed by the results we are publishing today.”
. . .
Professor Glover said that it was important to remember that these were initial published results, but that they were being corroborated daily by further measurements.

He added that the results were also significant for the Arctic release of the cancer-causing radioactive gas, radon, which could present a significant health risk for the Earth’s northern communities.

Full article here.
– – –
Image: Alaskan permafrost [credit: insideclimatenews.org]