Watching a documentary on melting permafrost and the numbers were way bigger than I thought

I was watching a show on PBS last night about the Arctic, and they said a single lake formed by thawing permafrost in Alaska can release over 5,000 tons of carbon in a summer. That's like a huge, hidden source just bubbling up. Has anyone else come across a climate fact that just seemed way bigger once you saw the actual scale?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason_flores1d agoMost Upvoted

Wow, 5,000 tons from just one lake? How many of these lakes are out there?

lilyrodriguez1d ago

Crazy to think about how much pressure that's been building up down there (like a giant, natural soda can). Makes you wonder if pulling all that gas out could actually change the lake bed itself, you know?