Permafrost Thaw May Emit More Than Deforestation, Study Says

Emissions from thawing permafrost may contribute more to global warming than deforestation this century, according to a commentary in the journal Nature. Arctic warming of 7.5 degrees Celsius (13.5 degrees Fahrenheit) this century may unlock the equivalent of 380 billion tons of carbon dioxide as soils thaw, allowing carbon to escape as CO2 and methane, University of Florida and University of Alaska biologists wrote today in Nature. Two degrees of warming would release a third of that, they said.

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