SOURCE: Think Progress
DATE: April 8, 2015
LINK: Original Article
SNIP:
Scientists might have to change their projected timelines for when Greenland’s permafrost will completely melt due to man-made climate change, now that new research from Denmark has shown it could be thawing faster than expected.
Published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, the research shows that tiny microbes trapped in Greenland’s permafrost are becoming active as the climate warms and the permafrost begins to thaw. As those microbes become active, they are feeding on previously-frozen organic matter, producing heat, and threatening to thaw the permafrost even further.
In other words, according to the research, permafrost thaw could be accelerating permafrost thaw to a “potentially critical” level.