"Arctic Rivers and the Carbon Contained in Permafrost"

New research from Dartmouth College shows that permafrost, the frozen soil in the Arctic, is the dominant force shaping Earth's northernmost rivers, confining them to smaller areas and shallower valleys. However, permafrost is also a fragile reservoir of vast amounts of carbon, and as climate change weakens it, every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of global warming could release as much carbon as 35 million cars emit in a year. The study suggests that the Arctic's warming could lead to a release of between 22 billion and 550 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2100, with significant implications for the environment.