Why Is Permafrost Important?

Written By Teacher: Liz Ransom

As a High School Spanish teacher and student newspaper advisor, Liz has taught for over 20 years and has served as World Languages Department Chair and K-6 summer camp activities leader. She has worked in Ohio, Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, and Chile.

Although Arctic permafrost is physically distant for many students, changes in the permafrost can have impacts close to home. This video breaks down what happens when permafrost thaws, while this ELA lesson on Arctic-related infographics and data helps students understand permafrost from different perspectives. Science teachers can highlight the impact of shrinking permafrost on arctic communities and animals in this lesson on allele frequencies.

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

During the Arctic’s short summers, meadows fill up with wildflowers and other greenery. But just a meter or so below the surface, the soil likely hasn’t thawed — possibly for thousands of years.

Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for two or more years, and it lies beneath a vast portion of the Earth’s surface: in fact, 15% of land in the Northern Hemisphere contains permafrost. But the warming of the Arctic and other climate change impacts are thawing vast stretches of permafrost, creating a feedback loop that is accelerating global warming.

How does climate change affect permafrost?

Permafrost is found almost exclusively in the far northern reaches and high elevations of the Northern Hemisphere, in places like Siberia, Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and the Tibetan Plateau. While permafrost exists in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s much less common. That’s because there’s much less land in the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere — although Patagonia, the mountainous parts of New Zealand, and Antarctica all have some permafrost. (Land under ice sheets is not considered permafrost.) 

The Arctic has already warmed by almost 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or just over 3 degrees Celsius — three times as fast as the rest of the world. This warmer air temperature is, in turn, heating up the ground and thawing the top layer of permafrost. Climate change is also affecting parts of the Arctic in other ways — like increasing wildfires — that further thaw permafrost.