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Fires are releasing record levels of carbon dioxide, partly because they are burning ancient peatlands.
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Scooped by Gabrielle Demers |
Scoop.it!
Gabrielle Demers's insight:
The media made it known that Australia and much of California were having record-breaking wildfires, however, there was close to no discussion on the Arctic having larger and more impactful fires. This article discusses the Arctic peatlands, which are massive carbon sinks, and how they are beginning to burn earlier and longer. When peatlands burn, it takes the ancient carbon being held into the earth and releases it into the atmosphere. This creates a positive feedback loop, as more peatland burns, more carbon is released, causing the earth to further warm, resulting in peatlands igniting easier and earlier. If these large peatland fires continue to occur earlier and longer, then peatlands will no longer be a carbon sink, but rather a carbon time bomb.
Jaison Quilantang's comment,
February 5, 2021 11:51 AM
This is really interesting and terrifying when you think about it. The idea that these fires in the Arctic are not shown in the media despite the devastating effect that they will have not only in the Arctic but also all over the world. Also the fact that this is starting what appears to be a very dangerous cycle in that the Earth gets warmer, which melts more ice, which exposes more of these peatlands, which catch fire and release loads of CO2, which causes the Earth to warm more and so on.
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