Melting Permafrost

Here are a few news stories based on the Zimov Science paper I mentioned yesterday: SF Chron, LA Times, Reuters.

Negative points for the Reuters headline, "Thawing permafrost could unleash tons of carbon," because it's hundreds of billions of tons they're talking about, not "tons." It matters, especially since people are starting to learn that they individually emit ~tons of carbon each year. (Worldwide average: 1 Gt/yr, US average: 15 Gt/yr.)

From the Chronicle:

"I'm a scientist, so we tend to be conservative in our language. But I would say this could make global warming significantly worse" than expected, said E.A.G. "Ted" Schurr, a former UC Berkeley doctoral student who is one of the article's three authors.

The amount of carbon released in the next century (~1,000 Gt) would be about the same as that burned by humans over the same time period. Lots of positive feedback here.