Public Lecture: When Permafrost Thaws: Addressing complex problems through convergence and collaboration
Permafrost thaw seems to tell a simple climate story; thaw exposes previously frozen carbon to microbial decomposition, releasing heat trapping gases (like CO₂ and CH₄) to the atmosphere. But, it’s more complicated than that. What actually happens depends on complex interactions between microbial communities, plants, minerals, hydrology, temperature, redox conditions, and landscape change, all of which vary across space and time.
