Science

Arctic tundra is now a source – not a sink – of carbon emissions

Scenic landscape with tundra, lonely mountain and moon. In June in the Arctic in the tundra, not all snow has melted yet. Beautiful nature of the far North. Anadyr tundra, Chukotka, Siberia, Russia.; Shutterstock ID 1602740413; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Arctic tundra in Siberia

Shutterstock / Andrei Stepanov

The Arctic tundra now emits more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases than it absorbs. Rising temperatures due to climate change have shifted the ecosystem’s effect on the planet – it has moved from helping to cool Earth to having a warming effect.

“It’s a really serious change,” says Twila Moon at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado. “Human-caused warming is now causing warming from nature. It is irreversible on a thousands-of-years timescale.”…


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