Thawing Lakes Belch Greenhouse Gas
Northern Siberia, Russia

Northern Siberia is dotted with “thaw lakes”—water bodies that freeze and thaw with the seasons. A new study by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows these lakes both affect and are affected by global warming.

The warmer climate is thawing the permafrost, or ice-riddled soil, under the lakes. The melt is causing lakes in this region to grow in number and size.

As the permafrost thaws, microbes convert the soil’s organic matter into methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The gas bubbles through the lake water into the atmosphere. The study found that Siberia’s thawing wetlands are a significant, underestimated source of atmospheric methane.

Researchers
Katey Walter, University of Alaska Fairbanks (lead)

Image Credits 

Russia, September 2004 (Blue Marble: Next Generation, satellite: NASA Terra/Aqua, sensor: MODIS)
Northern Siberia, 6/25/2002 (MODIS Rapid Response, satellite: NASA Terra, sensor: MODIS)
Thaw lakes, 2000 (Global Land Cover Facility, satellite: NASA Landsat 7, sensor: ETM+)
Arctic lake aerial (Karen Frey, UCLA Department of Geography)
Methane bubbles (Katey Walter)

Related Science Bulletins
Global Warming: Plants Make Methane (February 6, 2006)
Vanishing Lakes (August 22, 2005)