A new study has found that a third of the Arctic’s tundra, forests, and wetlands have become a source of carbon emissions, rather than a carbon sink. For millennia, the Arctic has acted as a deep-freeze for the planet’s carbon, holding vast amounts of potential emissions in the permafrost. However, with rising temperatures, the region is now releasing more CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing to global heating. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, analyzed monitoring data from 200 study sites between 1990 and 2020 and found that over 30% of the region was a net source of CO2, rising to 40% when emissions from wildfires were included. The researchers warn that the Arctic ecosystem, which has been accumulating carbon for thousands of years, is beginning to change and needs better monitoring. The study’s lead author notes that the permafrost-carbon feedback, where warmer temperatures lead to the release of stored carbon, is a key driver of this change.
The Arctic, once a vital carbon sink, has dramatically reversed course, now becoming a significant source of carbon emissions, according to a groundbreaking study.
