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Dear readers, |
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There’s a climate time bomb of sorts ticking away in Alaska, as in other
northern lands. As temperatures rise, permafrost — the permanently
frozen land that underlies much of the state —
is thawing. And when it thaws it starts to decompose, putting ancient carbon back into the atmosphere in the form of greenhouse gases. |
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Scientists are studying Alaskan permafrost, trying to get a handle on
its future as the world warms. I accompanied a few of them to a part of
the state where the permafrost is most threatened —
the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge in western Alaska. On the
60-mile helicopter flight from Bethel to the researchers’ field station,
I had a bird’s-eye view of the beautiful tundra, a colorful mosaic of
shrubs and grasses, lichens and mosses that
is dotted with the deep blues of countless lakes. |
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Today we’re publishing my article about how warming is already having an
effect on this beautiful landscape and the permafrost beneath it. I
invite you to
read and share the article — which is accompanied by spectacular maps that clearly illustrate the problem, fantastic photographs and even a
360 video that I shot from the helicopter. |
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Please let me know what you think. |
Henry Fountain
fountain@nytimes.com
@henryfountain
on Twitter |
