To the North Pole to study thawing permafrost

A team of researchers from Frederick took part in a scientific expedition to the Arctic to drill permafrost.

The team, led by microbiologist Donato Giovannelli of the Department of Biology joined an international team of scientists led by Dr. Karen Lloyd of the University of Tennessee.

The purpose of the expedition was to obtain intact cores of permafrost, the permanently frozen Arctic soil, and study the communities of microorganisms that feed on the carbon released as permafrost thaws. Indeed, climate change is leading to a gradual thawing of permafrost. This thawing unfortunately releases organic carbon that had been buried for millennia precisely because of permafrost and is now being degraded by microbial communities and turned into greenhouse gases, potentially contributing further to global warming.

"Current models of permafrost thawing for the most part ignore details about the activity of microbial communities in Arctic soils that degrade carbon during permafrost thawing," clarifies Giovannelli, "given the ongoing climate change, it is critical to include this information in order to obtain accurate predictions about future climate."

The research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) involves two missions to Svalbard, the first of which has just concluded.

"It was a success," Giovannelli continued, "also thanks to the support of the Italian base Dirigibile Italia operated by CNR. International cooperation is essential when working in extreme areas like the Arctic."