Signal Permafrost holds 2.5 times atmospheric carbon while shipping may darken ice

Summary

Beyond minerals and shipping lanes, the Arctic is also a vast store of carbon and a reserve of biodiversity. Its permafrost holds about two and a half times as much carbon as is currently in the atmosphere. EY warns that rising ship traffic could deposit particulates that darken the ice, reducing reflectivity and speeding up warming. That creates a feedback loop in which the commercial opening driven by melting ice could itself accelerate the melt. EY adds that the region remains less studied than other biologically important areas because it is so hard to reach, which leaves the size of these risks uncertain.