AI Insight
Research examining sediment cores from the Arctic Ocean near Herschel Island, Canada, shows that thawing permafrost releases ancient carbon into coastal waters, but approximately 90 percent of this carbon becomes buried in seafloor sediments rather than being converted to greenhouse gases by microbes. Only about 10 percent of the land-based carbon is transformed into atmospheric gases that could contribute to climate change.
Why it matters
This finding suggests that Arctic coastal sediments act as a significant carbon sink, partially mitigating the climate impact of thawing permafrost. The research provides crucial data for improving climate models that predict greenhouse gas emissions from Arctic regions as global temperatures rise.
Understand the Science
Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing ancient carbon into the ocean, raising fears that microbes could turn it into greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change. But sediment cores collected near Canada’s Herschel Island reveal a more reassuring twist: most of this land-based carbon becomes buried in the seafloor, while only about 10 percent is converted into gases.
Source: Ancient Arctic carbon is pouring into the sea, but the seabed captures most of it