More disturbing news regarding the changes from human caused global warming occurring in the arctic regions of Siberia. The Siberian Times reports that over 200 lakes have been identified in the thermokarst landscape of Siberia that are bubbling methane.
This landscape is full of water from thawing permafrost consisting mainly of marshes. It is also full of craters called pingos, trembling earth and lakes. The permafrost soil consists of vast amounts of organic material such as plants and the rotting carcasses of mammoth, horse and other ancient plains species. Once the permafrost thaws, the soil decomposes and releases into the atmosphere the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane. These greenhouse gases heat the earth which causes even more warming, which in turn releases even more gases from the permafrost in a vicious cycle called a feedback loop.
Al Jazeera reports on the local impact of the thawing permafrost such as the loss of the lakes as water sources for rural and urban people:
Courtney Price, of the Arctic Council's Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna organisation, said continued thawing of permafrost is one factor endangering thermokarst lakes. These lakes are formed by the thawing of permafrost and accumulation of surface water in the depression.
But if permafrost continues to thaw, there is no structure to hold the water, and the lakes can drain completely, Price said.
"Thermokarst lakes act as 'hot spots' of biological activity in northern regions… Such biologically productive systems are important to Arctic peoples for supporting traditional lifestyles, and for providing water to rural/urban communities and development, especially where groundwater resources are unavailable," she explained.
The phenomenon also affects public safety: Around 70 percent of the world's permafrost is found in Russia, and in Siberia, entire cities, of which Yakutsk is the largest, are built on permafrost. When permafrost thaws, buildings can tilt and become uninhabitable.