"iconoclast" <iconoclast@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote
> You do realise there are a several clues that indicate otherwise.
Asia: Global warming thaws permafrost in Siberia
02/14/2008
THE ASAHI ****MBUN
Permafrost in Siberia in the Russian Far East is thawing at an alarming
pace because of global warming, a Japanese government-affiliated research
institute said recently.
In some areas, the depth of the melted permafrost has become double that
of around 2000, said officials of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth
Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
The thaw is causing the expansion of lakes and marshes, the rise in water
levels of rivers and cave-ins of roads, they added.
Permafrost contains methane, one of the greenhouse gases. If the
permafrost melts, the gas is released into the air, further promoting
global warming.
JAMSTEC, based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, along with Russian
organizations, has set up an observation center in Yakutsk, capital of
Sakha Republic, to survey the melting of permafrost in Siberia.
The researchers have analyzed the survey results along with climate
observation data of Russia.
According to the analysis, the annual average of ground temperatures at
the depth of 1.2 meters from the Earth's surface stood at minus 2.4
degrees in the period from 1998 to 2004. However, it rose to minus 1.4
degrees in 2005, and further rose to minus 0.4 degrees in 2006.
The average annual ground temperatures in three different locations in
eastern Siberia have also risen sharply since 2005, marking the highest
level on record since the survey was conducted there for the first time in
1960.
Meanwhile, the depth of permafrost that melted in Yakutsk in summer was
about 1 meter around 2000. However, it exceeded 2 meters in 2006 and 2007.
In surrounding areas, the sizes of lakes and marshes that appeared on the
places where permafrost melted in 2007 were about 3.5 times larger than
those in 2000.
In addition to the rise in air temperatures, which is led by global
warming, increases in the amounts of rain and snow are also believed to be
accelerating the melting of permafrost.
Rain thaws permafrost while snow makes it difficult for the ground to grow
colder.(IHT/Asahi: February 14,2008)
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