Ecosystem Studies & Management
An Arctic Solution to Global Warming
As the climate warms, frozen Arctic soils (called permafrost) are thawing. When the soils thaw, some of the vast quantities of ancient carbon they contain is released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane. This causes additional warming, which leads to more permafrost thaw, release of more greenhouse gases, and so on.
In the video below, Dr. Max Holmes discusses a controversial experiment underway in a remote corner of the Siberian Arctic to see whether the reintroduction of mega-herbivores (including musk oxen, bison, elk, and horses) will reshape the landscape in ways that will help keep the permafrost frozen, thus slowing global warming. Although warming in the Arctic is largely driven by forces outside of the Arctic (mainly fossil fuel combustion in more populated parts of the world and tropical deforestation), the idea presented here is a novel way that actions in the Arctic could help combat global climate change.
This presentation took place at TEDxWoodsHole 2011.
