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Permafrost thaw causes the ground to become unstable as the soil collapses. This can damage building and roads built on permafrost. Cracks also expose the carbon stored within to sunlight, which may speed the release of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Photo credit: Dentren (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Storflaket.JPG)
As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, researchers are looking at a source of even more carbon emissions: thawing permafrost. A warming Arctic may cause significant amounts of dead, organic material currently frozen in permafrost to thaw out and decay, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. How exactly does permafrost store carbon? And what are the consequences if the permafrost thaws?
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