The Permafrost is melting fast in the Yukon, what are we going to do?

Paco Dennis

Paco Dennis

SF VIP
Location
Mid-Missouri
Please do your own research for the facts, so you can determine them yourselves. My research is summarized by perplexity.ai.

Permafrost Melting in Yukon​

Permafrost, a layer of frozen soil and rock, covers much of the Yukon, Canada. As the region warms due to climate change, permafrost is thawing at an alarming rate, posing significant threats to infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities. Here are some key findings and concerns:
  1. Thawing Rates: Permafrost is thawing rapidly, with some areas experiencing up to 3°C (5.4°F) of warming per decade. This is significantly faster than the global average.
  2. Infrastructure Impacts: Thawing permafrost is causing widespread damage to roads, bridges, and buildings. The Alaska Highway, a critical transportation route, is particularly vulnerable, with sections experiencing significant settlement and cracking.
  3. Ecosystem Disruptions: Thawing permafrost is altering soil chemistry, affecting plant growth, and disrupting nutrient cycles. This can have cascading effects on Yukon’s unique ecosystems, including boreal forests, tundra, and wetlands.
  4. Water Quality Changes: Thawing permafrost is releasing stored carbon and nutrients into waterways, altering water chemistry and potentially impacting aquatic life.
  5. Increased Erosion: Thawing permafrost is leading to increased erosion and landslides, particularly along rivers and coastal areas.
  6. Community Concerns: Permafrost thawing is affecting traditional hunting and fishing practices, as well as the overall quality of life for Yukon’s Indigenous communities.
  7. Climate Change Feedback Loops: Thawing permafrost is releasing methane and carbon dioxide, accelerating climate change and creating a feedback loop that exacerbates warming.

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies:​

  1. Monitoring and Research: Continued monitoring of permafrost thaw rates and impacts is essential for understanding the extent of the problem and developing effective mitigation strategies.
  2. Infrastructure Design and Maintenance: Roads, bridges, and buildings must be designed and maintained with permafrost thawing in mind, incorporating features such as flexible foundations and drainage systems.
  3. Ecosystem-Based Management: Conservation efforts should focus on preserving and restoring ecosystems, including the reintroduction of native vegetation and habitat restoration.
  4. Community Engagement and Adaptation: Indigenous communities must be involved in decision-making processes and receive support for adapting to permafrost thawing impacts, including traditional knowledge sharing and cultural preservation.
  5. Climate Change Mitigation: Reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally is crucial for slowing permafrost thawing and addressing its consequences.

Key Sources:​

  1. Yukon Permafrost Database
  2. “Permafrost Loss Dramatically Changes Yukon River Chemistry and Hydrology” (2016)
  3. “Driving on Permafrost-Affected Roads” (Yukon Government)
  4. “Permafrost in the Northwest Territories — ClimateData.ca” (2024)
  5. “Five Fascinating Ice Age Finds Discovered in Yukon Permafrost” (2022)
 

As the earths temperature continues to climb, the effects will be substantial. The melting of permafrost will release large amounts of Methane into the atmosphere....which will accelerate warming even more. The air that future generations breathe will contain pollutants that are even more harmful than what fossil fuels release. Combine that with rising oceans, and those living in coming decades will have to deal with problems we can only imagine today.
 
Last edited:
As long as the warmongering selfish, inconsiderate, myopic, wealth driven Military Industrial Complex continues to dominate our short sighted economic and power overpopulated with Earth monkey world, sadly probably little until planet conditions become so damaged, possibly irreversibly, that we and our planet's magnificent life will be doomed.
 
Even if you believe the discredited propaganda what do you propose to do about it? No, not demand that others do... while you're a bigger problem than most people. What are you doing yourself that has any significance at all?

California is among the big 4 states for military-industrial spending. The 5th is dramatically far below.

So much irrational blathering. So little acceptance of culpability. The virtue signaling is stifling, and we are past this now as a society anyway.
 
David777 said:
As long as the warmongering selfish, inconsiderate, myopic, wealth driven Military Industrial Complex continues to dominate our short sighted economic and power overpopulated with Earth monkey world, sadly probably little until planet conditions become so damaged, possibly irreversibly, that we and our planet's magnificent life will be doomed.
Click to expand...

I believe Nietzsche wrote something to the effect that societies that knowingly choose harmful paths are in decline and heading toward destruction. Ultimately, if those in power don't come together to devise a plan to restore and protect our planet, we're doomed.
 
Dump all the white Styrofoam out there.
Earth gradually wipes out its weather pattern and chooses another.
Billions of years from now Pangea will most likely be at the north pole.
No one is going to care except the living that are freezing up there.
Of course it may all just move south as the planet flips. If that happens
The Days sunlight hours will most likely change time considerably.
 
Last edited:
David777 said:
As long as the warmongering selfish, inconsiderate, myopic, wealth driven Military Industrial Complex continues to dominate our short sighted economic and power overpopulated with Earth monkey world, sadly probably little until planet conditions become so damaged, possibly irreversibly, that we and our planet's magnificent life will be doomed.jats tja
Click to expand...
 
What can we reasonably do to stop it ? Will trading my truck for a horse have an affect on it ... not likely. How'bout I turn off my furnace and start burning my furniture ? I can't wait to smell the tons of horseshit piled up wafting through the air, when the entire nation reverts back. And let's not forget the oh so pleasant aroma of thousands of gallons of horse-piss running down the gutters. And just what will power these PC's and smart phones that we seem to be unable to live without?

And the list goes on & on, it's endless.

Progress is the result of living, searching for a better life. But it comes at a cost. We learned to move indoors , now we need to learn to live with the earth we have created . Do we really want to regress ?
 
The Permafrost is melting fast in the Yukon, what are we going to do?

Ask perplexity.ai.for the solution.
 
Knight said:
The Permafrost is melting fast in the Yukon, what are we going to do?

Ask perplexity.ai.for the solution.
Click to expand...
Good idea. Thanks!

the permafrost in the Yukon is melting, what are we going to do?

Thawing permafrost in the Yukon is releasing mercury and greenhouse gases, posing environmental and public health risks. Mercury stored in frozen sediments is entering the Yukon River, threatening water quality and food security for Indigenous communities reliant on fish and subsistence lifestyles[1][3][6]. Additionally, infrastructure damage, erosion, and carbon emissions from decomposing organic material exacerbate climate change[2][5][9]. Mitigation strategies include monitoring mercury levels, adapting infrastructure, and reducing global emissions to slow permafrost thawing[1][2][8].

Citations:
[1] Study warns thawing permafrost may release substantial amount of ... https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/permafrost-thaw-mercury-stores-yukon-river-research-1.7343861
[2] Climate Change Indicators: Permafrost | US EPA https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-permafrost
[3] Melting permafrost could release mercury into Yukon https://www.nationalfisherman.com/a...uld-release-mercury-deposits-into-yukon-river
[4] Permafrost - Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve (U.S. ... https://www.nps.gov/yuch/learn/nature/permafrost.htm
[5] Permafrost Thaw in a Warming World - The Arctic Institute https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/...institute-permafrost-series-fall-winter-2020/
[6] Thawing Alaskan permafrost is unleashing more mercury ... - KNKX https://www.knkx.org/environment/20...ore-mercury-confirming-scientists-worst-fears
[7] Permafrost in the Northwest Territories - ClimateData.ca https://climatedata.ca/case-study/permafrost-in-the-northwest-territories/
[8] Thawing permafrost - WWF Arctic https://www.arcticwwf.org/the-circle/stories/thawing-permafrost/
[9] Meltdown - The Permafrost that Holds the Arctic Together is Falling ... https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/meltdown-permafrost-arctic-together-falling-apart/
[10] Permafrost Loss Changes Yukon River Chemistry with Global ... https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-...y-changes-yukon-river-chemistry-and-hydrology

Snipping_2024-12-25-10-37-19.jpg
 
For many years man has been trying to control mother nature, but with little success.
However, we can't stop trying.
I think any solution would be multi-pronged: Reduced greenhouse gasses, carbon capture innovations, and possible even radical solutions. Perhaps a solar powered army of robots that tamp down the snow that is there. It melts slower that way.
 
Burning incense, chanting, and dreaming of unicorns didn't keep the glaciers at bay either. There has always been an element of society running around squawking about things we're too small to influence while ignoring those that we actually bring upon ourselves and making matters worse.

"Climate change" is a vacuous cry induced by marketing, just like drinking Brawndo praising its "electrolytes."

 
Ask perplexity.ai. to estimate how long mankind will survive if nothing is done to reduce global emissions & to slow permafrost thawing
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top