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Groundwater may play an unrecognized role in thawing Arctic permafrost following wildfires, according to new research.
The new study reveals that, after wildfire burns off a portion of organic rich soil that normally insulates permafrost, summer warmth penetrates deeper into the frozen soils, allowing groundwater to flow downgradient and potentially contributing to greater release of greenhouse gases.
The study’s lead author, ecohydrologist Samuel Zipper from McGill University and the University of Victoria (Canada), will share his findings on 22 October at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington.
Conventionally, Zipper says, researchers tend to estimate permafrost thaw by vertically measuring thawed soil depth at single locations, offering a one-dimensional perspective of the aftereffects of fire on the Arctic landscape.
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