Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - July 16, 2024 - The Arctic is experiencing a rapid warming, with permafrost thawing in Siberia, where most of the land is permanently frozen.

This sudden change has been seen as a tipping element, a term that describes large-scale components of the Earth system that may reach a tipping point.

However, a new study from polar researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany, has found no evidence of a global climate tipping point in connection with permafrost.

Climate scientist Jan Nitzbon, who led the research, argues that the idea of permafrost being a global tipping element has long been controversial in the research community.

He points to a 2008 study by climate change professor Timothy Lenton that introduced the idea of tipping elements and put permafrost forward as a potential candidate.

As permafrost thaws, bacteria in the soil speed up the decomposition of formerly frozen organic matter, releasing long-stored carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane.

Scientists have suggested that these greenhouse gases would further warm the planet, creating a strong positive feedback loop that thaws more permafrost, leading to rapid and widespread permafrost degradation.

However, Nitzbon emphasizes that permafrost is already thawing and at a rate that is increasing with every additional degree of global warming.