permafrost

In a study published this week in Scientific Reports, researchers describe the frozen body of a saber-toothed kitten preserved for 37,000 years in the Siberian permafrost.

I recall a trip to Siberia, where climate change has been melting the permafrost, exposing skeletons, and releasing harmful bacteria and gases.

Arctic permafrost — or soil that was once permanently frozen — is also thawing amid record-high global temperatures and releasing carbon and methane into the atmosphere.

As Earth warms, the Arctic Ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is waning due to melting permafrost and worsening coastal erosion, according to new research.

As such, taking decisive action today is all the more important if our goal is to preserve as much permafrost as possible.