New Arctic Lakes Could Soon Be a Major Source of Atmospheric Methane

160 Views

Thanks! Share it with your friends!

You disliked this video. Thanks for the feedback!

Published Aug 17, 2018

For centuries, a massive store of carbon has been locked underground in the Arctic's permanently frozen soil known as permafrost. As Earth's climate continues to warm, that carbon has begun to leach into the atmosphere, the result of microbes waking up and digesting once-frozen organic materials.
A new NASA-funded study focuses on a mechanism that could accelerate the release of this atmospheric carbon, the result of thermokarst lakes. These lakes form when thawing permafrost causes the ground to slump, creating a depression that collects rain and snowmelt and perpetuates a cycle of further permafrost thaw.
This video is public domain and along with other supporting visualizations can be downloaded from the Scientific Visualization Studio at:
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Katy Mersmann
If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel:
Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
· Facebook:
· Twitter
· Flickr
· Instagram
· Google+

Category: Documentary
Tags: NASA

Be the first to comment

Sign in

Create your account

Add Video

New Arctic Lakes Could Soon Be a Major Source of Atmospheric Methane

Up Next