(Daily News Scan - DNS English) Permafrost and It's Effects
By now we all are aware about the oil spill that happened in Russia. A 20,000 tonne of oil leak took place at an Arctic region power plant. It took place at a power plant belonging to the mining group near the Siberian industrial city of Norilsk. This became a serious concern as oil spill in the ocean can cause severe problems. It was the worst adversity that ever happened in that region. For the same an emergency was declared by the president of Russia. As per the officials the reason for the oil spill was the permafrost that was under the fuel tank that melted.
In this Dns we will know in detail about how this oil spill happened and what is permafrost?
A large freshwater lake has been polluted due to the diesel spill in one the regions of Russia that is very close to Arctic Ocean. There is a risk that it may spread to the Arctic Ocean as well. This oil spill has contaminated the river water turning its colour to red.
The reason behind this oil spill and breaking of the oil tank is the permafrost. The ground beneath the tank collapsed due to the permafrost thaw.
The thermoelectric plant at Norilsk, is built entirely on permafrost, whose weakening over the years due to climate change caused the pillars supporting a fuel tank at the plant to sink.
Permafrost is a ground that is frozen continuously for two or more years. These grounds are known to be below 22 per cent of the land surface on Earth, mostly in polar zones and regions with high mountains. They are spread across 55 per cent of the landmass in Russia and Canada. While permafrost itself is always frozen, the surface layer that covers it (called the “active layer”) need not be.
The Earth’s polar and high altitude regions that are the main
reservoirs of permafrost are threatened by the climate change. According to the
USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Arctic regions are
warming twice as fast compared to the rest of the planet, its current rate of
temperature change being the highest in 2,000 years. In 2016, Arctic permafrost
temperatures were 3.5 degrees Celsius higher than at the beginning of the 20th
century. A study has shown that every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature can
degrade up to 39 lakh square kilometre due to thawing. The degradation may also
increase if the temperature increases.
Beneath its surface, permafrost contains large quantities of organic leftover
from thousands of years. These include dead remains of plants, animals, and
microorganisms that got frozen before they could rot. It also holds a massive
trove of pathogens.
When permafrost thaws, microbes start decomposing this carbon matter, releasing greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. Researchers have estimated that for every 1 degree Celsius rise in average temperature, permafrost grounds could release greenhouse gases to the tune of 4-6 years’ of emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas which becomes a major factor of climate change in themselves.
Along with releasing greenhouses gases the melting permafrost can also release ancient bacteria and viruses into the atmosphere as they unfreeze.
Thawing permafrost is a threat to manmade structures also. The Copernicus Climate Change Service recorded temperatures in Siberia at more than 10 degrees Celsius above average, and called them “highly anomalous” for the region where the power plant is located.
As temperature rises the ice in the permafrost melts making the ground unstable and weak that leads to potholes, landslides, and floods. This effect causes damage to infrastructure like roads, railway lines, buildings, power lines and pipelines that serve more than 3.5 crore people that live in permafrost regions. Not only this, it also causes threat to the survival of indigenous people and to the Arctic animals.
This incident gave us an insight and an example of how drastically climate change can affect our lives within no time.
