Permafrost Research Paper

The tundra, which comes from the Finnish word, tunturi, which means treeless, is the coldest terrestrial biome known to biologists (University of California Museum of Paleontology). Located in the northern hemisphere, between 55° and 70° North, the Tundra covers about 20% of Earth’s surface (S). Although tundras can be found in many of the continents, most notably, the Northern Alaska, Canada and Greenland Tundra and the Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands stand out the most (Gardella). They are all large tourists attractions disply nature’s ability to thrive in the harshest environments. Winters in the tundra have an average temperature of -30° F, due to its high altitude. However, the average temperatures in the tundra during

Global warming is one of the most tumultuous topics in today’s society. Some believe it is happening as we speak, while others question its very existence, So, is it real, or is merely a hoax? There is no one answer, but evidence does overwhelmingly support the former. Surely we have all heard this word at one time or another, but few individuals actually know its true definition. Justifiably, however, global warming is not that simply explained. In layman’s terms, it is the dramatic increase in the Earth’s average air and ocean temperature since the 20th century. This increase is primarily attributed to two main culprits: the greenhouse effect and human activity, such as fossil fuel burning. In both cases, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the

The tundra is one of the cooldest land biomes on the planet. Due to the high winds and the permafrost there are no trees becuase it dosent allow the growth of deep roots. All the producers and othe need to get adapted to the cold temperatures, little sun and short growing season to stay alive. The tundra is considered a poor enviroment thats low in resources. The dead minerals get recycled by othe decomposers like the slime molds, fungi, and bacteria. Rain increases photosynthesis and decomposition. Air pollution kills lichen in the cold tundra. The warmer climates allow trees to invade the shade out the small tundra plants. And warmer temperatures can increase decompositon, while releasing more CO2 into the air causing mor global

Scientists have given numerous warnings that human-caused, or anthropogenic, climate change is not only occurring now, but accelerating more quickly than predicted (Maibach, Myers, and Leiserowitz 295). Global warming contributes to climate change as a result of the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (“Global Warming”). The level of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere has increased significantly over the years. Patterns of warming are sufficient to conclude that this increase has coincided with the start of the Industrial Revolution (“Global Warming”). By analyzing carbon dioxide pockets that have been trapped in Antarctic ice, scientists can assuredly confirm the correlation between recent warming

This decrease has been not only increasing the sea level at an unnatural rate, but also endangering many arctic species. As these species are forced to change their hunting habits, the native villages are starving themselves, knowing only how to hunt the animals in the pattern they moved before. While the polar ice caps melt more and more, the purity of the water is negatively affected which, in turn, directly affects the air purity, too. According to experts from the Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gases are emitted mostly from electricity, industry, and transportation (epa.gov/climatechange). Even though the amount of greenhouse gases have been rising very unsteadily the past 100 years, these gases have been and always will be crucial to our survival on this planet, as long as there is a steady balance between greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide. When we emit carbon dioxide into the air, the atmosphere becomes more acidic; this causes the greenhouse gases to become further amplified and more likely to break down the ozone layer, which in turn pollutes the air even further, creating an endless

Polar bears are just one kind of animal you can find on the tundra did you know the tundra is the coldest biome of them all? The climate, producers, and consumers, are all parts that make up the tundra.

The tundra is an ecosystem that has consumers, decomposer, food chain and producers so that is the stuff that I know about tundra ecosystem so let's get started with The tundra ecosystem facts about the tundra ecosystem.

In the article, “As Earth Warms, the Diseases That May Lie Within Permafrost Become a Bigger Worry,” published in the Scientific American on its November's 2016 issue by Sara Goudarzi, it talks about the potential threat of diseases that can lie beneath the permafrost. These diseases have been expelled from underneath due to the thawing of permafrost caused by global warming, resulting in one of the first outbreaks in Siberia in 75 years. Although some scientist who have searched for such diseases have come up empty handed, it is important that we stay weary of these illnesses as they can, “Include infectious agents humans might not be prepared for or have immunity to, the scientists [say].”

Due to global warming , the Arctic is warming much faster than the average global temperature; ice in the Arctic Ocean is melting and the permafrost is thawing. Since 1880, after carbon dioxide emissions took off with the Industrial Revolution, the average global temperature has increased about one and half degrees Fahrenheit. Each decade gets warmer than the last. A conference organized by the Geological Society in London in 2010 to evaluate how climate changed effected the earth before this time. The Geological Society warned that it could take the Earth one hundred thousand years to

Climate change or colloquially known as global warming, now pose a new threat to civilization as the levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) are soaring to new levels. The most significant contributor to greenhouse gasses would be Carbon Dioxide (Co2). The levels of Carbon Dioxide (Co2) gas have risen to levels civilization has not seen before. As such, the effects of these levels are not known to civilization as data gathered from the ice cores drilled in the Antarctica only shows data up to 650,000 years ago. However we can conclude that present CO2 concentrations are higher compared to any time in the last 650,000 years (IPCC 2007). Current carbon dioxide concentrations are hovering around 389 parts per million (ppm) as of September 2011,

Human produced carbon dioxide mainly caused by the burning of natural resources and deforestation has caused the earth’s temperature to rise (Spahni). The carbon dioxide adds to a problem known as the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse effect is the building up of different gases in the earth’s atmosphere causing the earth’s temperature to rise. Consequently, the key players in the greenhouse effect are as follows: water vapor 36-70%, carbon dioxide 9-26%, methane 4-9%, and ozone 3-7% (Russel). Thus, to determine the amount of CO2 and other gases that have been in the atmosphere in the past, ice core samples are taken and examined. There are ice core samples taken from as far back as 650,000 years ago (Siegenthaler). There has

All over Alaska, heat from roadways and buildings is causing the ice in unstable permafrost formations to melt, creating serious issues for the safety and longevity of Alaskan infrastructure. Lying beneath as much as 85% of Alaska, the majority of structures across the state are built on top of the permafrost layer, which has grown increasingly unstable with the advent of global warming. Ed Yarmak, the president of Arctic Foundations, states, “If you’re going to put a building on permafrost, unless the permafrost is thaw stable, which most of it isn’t, your building is going to settle.” This settling and destabilization of the earth is projected to raise the cost of maintaining affected public infrastructure by 10-20 percent ($4-6 billion) by 2030 and another 10-20 percent ($5.6-7.6 billion) by 2080

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere. • Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to over 380 ppm. Current concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are unprecedented in at least the last 650,000 years, based on records from gas bubbles trapped in polar ice. • Independent measurements demonstrate that the increased CO2 in the atmosphere comes

Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas naturally found in the atmosphere. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, humans have devised many inventions that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases, which, along with other human activities such as clearing land for agriculture or urban settlements, help some of these greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere that in turn trap more heat radiation in the atmosphere causing the Earth’s climate to become warmer than it would naturally (Mastrandrea). This unnatural phenomenon is termed global warming by scientists and they blame it for an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.6°C (about 1°F) over the last 100 years (Mastrandrea).

The issue of global warming should be on the list of our top priorities. Studies show that the average of global temperatures have risen since the Industrial Revolution began. Since the Industrial Revolution, human emissions has quadrupled the frequency of certain heat extremes and many scientists have warned that a failure to bring greenhouse gases under control could eventually lead to a 62-fold increase in extreme heat blasts (Gillis Justin A17). Most of the increase is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. These activities contribute to a build-up in carbon dioxide and other gases in Earth’s atmosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere is made of gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and oxygen. These gases act as a blanket that covers and gives us warmth, but once these gases such as carbon dioxide absorbs heat, but does not release it back into space in which causes the increase in global temperature. This is called the greenhouse effect because it only traps heat but does not release it.