Terrified frozen land full of laughing gas 'heats' the earth

Scientists have discovered a huge and terrifying source of laughing gas called Yedoma, a type of permafrost, that affects the warming of our planet.

According to Sicence Alert, scientists studied the Lena and Kolyma rivers in northeastern Siberia and found that when the permafrost layer melts along the water's edges, it releases 10-100 times more nitrous oxide than normal levels. injured when the permafrost elsewhere melts.

Siberia

Nitrous oxide, chemical formula N2O, also known as laughing gas, is one of the greenhouse gases driving our planet's warming.

That dreaded permafrost is named Yedoma, a type of permafrost characteristic of Siberia. "Yedoma's high glacial content makes it susceptible to abrupt thaws and collapses, allowing rapid mobilization of carbon and nitrogen reserves in the soil after thawing," said the authors, led by environmental scientists. Maija Marushchak from the University of Eastern Finland, explains.

Laughing gas, a sugar produced by microorganisms in the soil, although not as much as carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, has a much more significant impact in terms of temperature: 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in terms of method. planetary warming agent within 100 years.

As Yedoma melts, it also causes the population of N2O-producing microorganisms to increase while the N2O-consuming population shrinks, altering the nitrogen cycle.

This phenomenon is inherently our human fault. Previously, the Yedoma ice was hidden beneath regular permafrost. It is global warming that humans are one of the main reasons driving that has gradually exposed Yedoma and made the event worse and worse.