Connect: GRID-Arendal Annual Report 2017

Keeping carbon in the ground

Tropical peatlands and permafrost regions, while formed through very different processes, are both waterlogged environments. The main difference between them, of course, is that permafrost is frozen and peatlands are saturated with liquid water. In order to maintain their ecological functions, they both need to stay as they are.

subsea arctic permafrost on the global climate and what this means for Arctic societies and economies in three locations. Besides releasing carbon, permafrost thaw also causes erosion, disappearance of lakes, landslides, and ground subsidence and will cause changes in the composition of plant species at high latitudes. Nunataryuk will focus on three Arctic coastal regions in the Beaufort Sea, Nordic and east Siberian areas. Most human activity in the Arctic takes place along permafrost coasts and these areas are among the most rapidly changing on Earth. Thawing permafrost is exposing coasts to rapid change, change that threatens the rich biodiversity, puts pressure on communities and contributes to the vulnerability of the global climate system. Working with communities and researchers, Nunataryuk will focus on designing adaptation and mitigation strategies for Arctic coastal populations.

Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer of the Earth’s surface that occurs mostly in high latitudes. It consists of soil, gravel, sand, and is usually bound together by ice. Peatlands are composed of partly decomposed plant remains in a water-saturated environment. Both peatlands and permafrost also store massive amounts of carbon. In many places rising surface temperatures due to human-induced climate change are thawing permafrost. Human activity is degrading and destroying peatlands. Both result in the release of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane. GRID-Arendal is involved in efforts to protect peatlands and raise awareness about the effects of thawing permafrost. Nunataryuk is a five-year project that kicked off last year. In the language of the Inuvialuit, who live in the western Canadian Arctic, “Nunataryuk” means “land- to-sea.” It will study the impacts of thawing coastal and

Continuous permafrost >90% area coverage Discontinuous/sporadic

10–90% coverage Isolated patches

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