There’s already a few inches of snow covering the ground in Fairbanks but you can’t be able to find any in the vicinity of Vladimir Romanovsky’s residence. Romanovsky is a permafrost expert and professor emeritus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, maintains the snow-covered ground.
“My home, it’s situated right at the boundary between non-permafrost and permafrost.” he explained.
Snow acts as an insulation; It keeps ground a few degrees cooler than the air. If there’s permafrost under his house He doesn’t want to risk freezing and possibly cracking the foundation or causing other structural issues.
“That’s the reason to be prepared, in case of emergency I’m making snow-shoveling rounds around my house to make it more chilly. If there’s a deeper layer of permafrost, it will keep it from thawing out,” Romanovsky said.
Permafrost refers to the frozen soil on or under the Earth’s surface that can be found in the polar regions. Romanovsky belongs to an international team of scientists from all over the world that are trying to figure out the speed at which it is melting.
As the climate heats up because of carbon emissions from humans The Earth’s upper layer of permafrost could be at the risk of disappearing. The rate at which it melts could have huge financial implications for communities that live above permafrost today. These include Fairbanks, Utqiagvik and dozens of villages across the northern, western along with Interior Alaska.
The team modeled different scenarios of warming to see the effects on permafrost and published their findings in August in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In extreme warming scenarios, they discovered that more than 75% of the Earth’s near-surface permafrost that is located 10-13 feet below the ground is likely to disappear at the end of this century. Even in mild warming scenarios over half will be gone.
Based on the temperature of the air information they gathered, Romanovsky said we’re heading towards a severe warming scenario.
“We’re sort of at the higher end of predictions based on actual temperature changes,” he said.
This means that three-quarters (or more) of the planet’s near-surface permafrost will disappear in 2100.
This could have major implications for regions with cold climates like Alaska in which permafrost is the predominant feature of the state. Thawing is well under way. One of the most significant impact is on the built environment.
Homes, roads, construction sites and other infrastructures need solid surfaces in order to be able to withstand the elements. When the ground beneath melts, the surfaces sink and then become unstable. This is a serious issue especially for the rural Alaska communities that are built on permafrost, and it’s likely to get worse.
Ilya Benesch serves as Arctic construction manager at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center located in Fairbanks that performs research on building construction and also addresses questions about housing design. He says the center is receiving more permafrost-related concerns.
“I receive numerous calls It’s one of those constant themes”Hey, I’ve got a hole in my yard. Hey, how can I make my home level?'” Benesch said. In recent times, even: “Do you know anybody who can help me move my house?”
These alarms are a sign the climate is advancing, Benesch said. “I believe there’s only likely to become more like this.” Benesch said.
Benesch is a journeyman carpenter by trade, told me there are many strategies for building structures on permafrost for instance, using a continuous steel or wooden beams to construct structures that are strong enough to withstand sinking into places. The primary consideration is the cost.
“With the advancements in technology today we’re able to create it however it will cost a lot of money,” said Dr. Joey Yang is a civil engineering professor at UAA.
Yang investigates solutions to build on frozen permafrost such as Bethel, Nome and Utqiagvik. The homes in these regions are typically built on foundations that are adjustable that can be adjusted in the event that the ground shifts beneath. Roads and other infrastructures require thermosiphons, large pipes that make use of cold air on the surface — or, sometimes air conditioning units to chill the ground below and prevent it from shifting.
Yang stated that as permafrost’s thaw continues this will make these solutions more important — and costly.
“I believe that the climate is moving in the way it was predicted that this is simply life like every day, we must deal to it.” the scientist said.
Researchers believe the only thing that can stop the permafrost’s thawing is to drastically reduce carbon emissions that are causing global warming. However, for the moment the climate is already in the air, Yang said, and Alaskans are paying the cost.
