Deep below the surface of some of the planet’s northernmost wilderness, the soil and rock has been frozen for millions of years.

It’s called permafrost, and in Central Alaska just south of the Arctic Circle, this ice-cold layer reaches hundreds of feet below the tundra.

Global climate change is causing this layer, and equivalent ecosystems near the poles, to melt for the first time in ages, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at alarming rates.

It would be safe to assume research would be focused on keeping the permafrost frozen, but for one group of researchers working out of the Permafrost Research Tunnel, their goal is the opposite.

Carbon emissions from permafrost are driven by ancient microbes that are awakened and then begin to break down organic material, releasing carb

See Full Page