Melting Arctic Permafrost Releases Acid that Dissolves Rocks

As temperatures rise in the Arctic, permafrost — permanently frozen ground — is defrosting at an alarming rate. But the permafrost isn't the only thing in the Arctic that's melting.

Runoff from melting permafrost in Alaska flows toward the sea.

Exposed rock that was once covered in ice is dissolving, eaten away by acid. And the effects of this acid bath could have far-reaching impacts on global climate, according to a new study.

Icy permafrost is rich in minerals, which are released when the ice melts. The minerals then become vulnerable to chemical weathering, or the breakdown of rock through chemical reactions, scientists recently reported. They investigated areas once covered by permafrost in the western Canadian Arctic, finding evidence of weathering caused by sulfuric acid, produced by sulfide minerals that were released when the permafrost melted.

Read the LiveScience story by Mindy Weisberger - “Melting Arctic Permafrost Releases Acid that Dissolves Rocks.”

Losing the wilderness: a 10th has gone since 1992 – and gone for good

The world’s last great wildernesses are shrinking at an alarming rate. In the past two decades, 10% of the earth’s wilderness has been lost due to human pressure, a mapping study by the University of Queensland has found.

University of Queensland study shows since 1992, 3m sq km of wilderness have been lost.

Over the course of human history, there has been a major degradation of 52% of the earth’s ecosystems, while the remaining 48% is being increasingly eroded. Since 1992, when the United Nations signed up to the Rio convention on biological diversity, three million square kilometres of wilderness have been lost.

Read The Guardian story by Susan Cherney - “Losing the wilderness: a 10th has gone since 1992 – and gone for good.”