New Scientist - Michael Slezak, 11/28/12
We may be closer to a major climate tipping point than we knew. Earth's permafrost – frozen soil that covers nearly a quarter of the northern hemisphere and traps vast amounts of carbon – may be melting faster than thought and releasing more potent greenhouse gasses.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report yesterday reviewing the most up-to-date research on Arctic permafrost. It claims temperature projections due in 2014 from the International Panel on Climate Change are "likely to be biased on the low side" because the models that the IPCC bases its assessments on do not take into account the positive feedback cycle of permafrost melting and releasing greenhouse gases.
To read the rest of this story, visit New Scientist.com.
