The Changing World of Permafrost 「変わりゆく永久凍土の世界」

2025年1月25日 19:00

This article is a sequel to the following article:

As a comment to the above article, I referred to the following news article on Batagaika megaslump in Sakha Republic of Siberia:

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to visit the exhibition "The Changing World of Permafrost"「変わりゆく永久凍土の世界」at (国立極地研究所) in Tachikawa City:

This exhibition at National Institute of Polar Research was regarding the above Batagaika megaslump.

Here're two articles on Batagaika megaslump.
[NOTE] The header image is taken from ① by Independent below.

① Appearance of crater dubbed 'the Gateway to the Underworld' in Siberia is a warning to our warming planet (05 June 2016)
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/gateway-to-the-underworld-siberia-batagaika-siberia-russia-permafrost-melting-a7063936.html

② World's biggest permafrost crater in Russia's Far East thaws as planet warms (21 July 2023)
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/worlds-biggest-permafrost-crater-russias-far-east-thaws-planet-warms-2023-07-21/

And its location is:

In the previous article I covered mysterious craters with anomalously high concentrations of methane formed in the Yamal and Taymyr peninsulas. (Google Map)

It was not a large size exhibition but was very compact yet very informative.
Here're photos I took during my visit on 15th January 2025:

**Permafrost in Sakha Republic in Siberia**

**Attention to the ice within permafrost - Yedoma layer (ice-rich permafrost layer**)

**Various wonders created by repeated freeze-thaw cycles - Cryoturbation & Pingo**

**Permafrost is the Earth's carbon storage**

**When permafrost thaws - Batagaica megaslump, World's largest permafrost collapse site**

**When permafrost thaws - Topographic deformation due to thermokarst**

**Polygon landforms created by thermokarst spreading…**

European Space Agency (ESA) explains permafrost thaw in the following web site:
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Permafrost_thaw_it_s_complicated

Abrupt thawing and thermokarst, which is a fast process of permafrost degradation but varies significantly depending on local conditions, can emit substantial amounts of carbon to the atmosphere very quickly, even in a matter of days. These processes risk mobilizing the deep, legacy carbon sequestered in yedoma. Yedoma is a type of permafrost that formed between 1.8 million and 10 000 years ago, and is particularly rich in organic material, so a significant source of atmospheric methane. A paper published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment describes how scientists from Europe and the US are working together to better tracking permafrost carbon dynamics. This includes gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to abrupt thaws, the use of key observations of carbon release and developing models to predict permafrost–carbon feedback.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/01/Permafrost_layers

In addition, the following article was posted in SciTechDaily this week:
https://scitechdaily.com/thawing-permafrost-sparks-massive-carbon-release-in-the-arctic/

Its one line summary is:
Recent findings indicate that the Arctic’s traditional role as a planetary cooling agent is faltering, with hotspots and wildfires nearly nullifying its carbon storage capabilities.

Even elementary school pupils, if decently educated, would understand that the newly formed EE.UU de los estúpidos will accelerate the process of Arctic destruction.

P.S. The permanent exhibition on antarctica is superb✨👍

During the summer in Japan, such a sight cannot be seen due to the polar night (極夜).

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The Changing World of Permafrost 「変わりゆく永久凍土の世界」

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