Big Picture Science for Jan. 26, 2026: Cold to Hot

Big Picture Science: Cold to Hot

The icy-white crust of Arctic permafrost is melting, and increased plant growth is turning the glacial north green. Metals like iron, once locked inside the ice, are leaching into hundreds of Arctic rivers, giving them an orange hue. Vivid changes may catch our eye, yet invisible shifts are also afoot. Microbes locked in the frozen ground since the age of the mammoths can now be revived when they thaw. We’re exploring the consequences of changes in permafrost, how AI may help us better understand Greenland ice loss, and get reactions from scientists about the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), one of the premier climate and weather researcher centers in the world.

Guests:

• Tristan Caro – Postdoctoral Fellow, Geological and Planetary Sciences Division, California Institute of Technology
• Twila Moon – Glaciologist and deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, within the cooperative Institute for Research and Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder
• Abagael Pruitt – Biochemist and ecosystem ecologist, postdoctoral researcher at the University of California Davis
• Karina Zikan – Glaciologist and snow hydrologist, PhD candidate at Boise State University
• Roland Pease – Science writer and broadcaster often heard on the BBC World Service, and former presenter and host of its program Science in Action
• Alan Sealls – Retired broadcast meteorologist, adjust professor at the University of South Alabama and president of the American Meteorological Society

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/cold-to-hot

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Big Picture Science for April 22 2024 - De-Permafrosting

Big Picture Science - De-Permafrosting

REPEAT
Above the Arctic Circle, much of the land is underlaid by permafrost. But climate change is causing it to thaw. This is not good news for the planet.

As the carbon rich ground warms, microbes start to feast… releasing greenhouse gases that will warm the Earth even more.

Another possible downside was envisioned by a science-fiction author. Could ancient pathogens–released from the permafrost’s icy grip–cause new pandemics? We investigate what happens when the far north defrosts.

Guests:

• Jacquelyn Gill – Associate professor of paleoecology at the University of Maine.
• Jim Shepard – Novelist and short story writer, and teacher of English at Williams College, and author of “Phase Six.”
• Scott Saleska – Global change ecologist, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, and co-founder of IsoGenie.

This repeat podcast originally aired on September 6, 2021

Download podcast at - https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/de-permafrosting

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://bigpicturescience.org/

Get early access to ad-free versions of every episode by joining us on Patreon. Thanks for your support!

Is Arctic Permafrost the "Sleeping Giant" of Climate Change?

Source - NASA Science News for June 24, 2013

Arctic permafrost soils contain more accumulated carbon than all the human fossil-fuel emissions since 1850 combined. Warming permafrost, poised to release its own gases into the atmosphere, could be the "sleeping giant" of climate change.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/24jun_permafrost/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZSM8GcmJKg




License: Standard YouTube License