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"Up to 10% of the projected global warming this century could come from thawing permafrost"
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and Katey Walter Anthony's research has helped to reveal that Arctic lakes are emitting five times more methane than previously thought.
Emissions from these lakes, also known as thermokarst lakes, are expected to peak by 2050, and it takes just one year for those powerful greenhouse gases to mix into our global atmosphere.
"Most polar bears, for example, could become extinct from the wild by the end of this century."
The question is no longer whether the Arctic is melting, but rather how fast. NASA has reported that while many models predict the Arctic Ocean will become ice-free for at least part of the year before 2100, other models predict that it will happen much quicker - within the next fifty years. Either way, the consequences would be devastating for natural ecosystems.
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