Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
(Photo: Hannes Grobe)
For today’s Geo Quiz, we head to the frozen north. We have heard a lot about the problem of melting ice as climate change warms up the Arctic. But scientists are also worried about something else that is melting up there – permafrost. Permafrost is the permanently frozen soil underneath much of the northern part of the planet. Now, a report says over half of it may melt within the next 200 years with big consequences for the global climate. We are looking for the names of the four countries with the biggest areas of permafrost.
Geo Answer:
(Photo: Peter Thomson)
The four countries with the largest amount of permafrost are Russia, Canada, China and the United States. Permafrost is ground that is often frozen for tens of thousands of years. Kevin Schaefer is one of the report’s authors. He is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Click on the image to see full size and more details
(Photo courtesy: United Nations Environment Programme)
Discussion
3 comments for “Melting Permafrost”