Close to half of the geographic area of Canada is covered by permafrost, especially in the northern area of the nation. This permafrost may be at risk if the Arctic Sea ice melting continues at the current swift rate.
The overall warming of the climate and the melting of Arctic Sea ice has had a number of different secondary effects on the environment, some of which are just now beginning to be realized.
A new American Study is pointing to the warming and issues a grave warning for areas that have permafrost as a permanent feature. Many of these areas are now in fact starting to melt.
“The Arctic is warming faster than many areas of the world, at an alarming rate,” says David Lawrence.
David Lawrence is the lead author of the study that was conducted at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.
The current rate of the warming over the northern parts of Canada, Russia and Alaska pose a risk to the state of permafrost found in those regions. Many of the different roads and structures in these areas that are building upon the permafrost are also therefore at considerable risk.
The ecosystems, roadways and other structures that sit on the melting permafrost and increasingly thawed areas are very venerable.
Many of these structures were built and constructed on the premise that the ground in these areas never melts, and in the way they are constructed they are in harmony with the environment, as long as the ground stays frozen and the permafrost is intact.