Washington – The Arctic represents a critical ring for the balance of the global climate system, as it contains immense amounts of carbon, stored in the form of permafrost, which with the rise in temperatures are likely to be emitted into the atmosphere, amplifying the greenhouse effect and thus global warming. During the cold season, these methane emissions (a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential far greater than carbon dioxide) are surprisingly equal or even greater than those of the warm season. This was revealed in a study led by Beniamino Gioli of the Institute of Biometeorology at the National Research Council (CNR-Ibimet) and Donatella Zona from the University of Sheffield and San Diego State University. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). (9Colonne)
