A new study published in Nature Climate Change indicates soil moisture levels will determine how much carbon is released to the atmosphere as rising temperatures thaw Arctic lands.
An international team led by Northern Arizona University scientists analyzed the results of 25 experiments from multiple research groups including the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The researchers had measured the release of greenhouse gases from incubated soil samples, which originated in field sites in Alaska, Canada and Russia, under a temperature increase of 10 degrees Celsius.
Researchers found that soils with plenty of oxygen from air released about 3.4 times more carbon than wetter soils with limited oxygen.
Read more at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Learn more: Map of Permafrost In a Warming World Act Now
