Brendan Rogers and Jessica Howard: What happens when the Arctic permafrost melts?

What happens when the Arctic permafrost melts?

In June 2022, a gold miner in the Canadian Yukon made a remarkable discovery. While working on the traditional lands of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation, he uncovered the exceptionally well-preserved, frozen remains of a wooly mammoth calf that died 30,000 years ago. And this find isn't the only of its kind. Brendan Rogers and Jessica Howard uncover secrets buried in the Arctic permafrost. [Directed by Denys Spolitak, narrated by Susan Zimmerman, music by Cem Misirlioglu, Greg Chudzik].

Permafrost preserves astonishing snapshots of the past, such as a 30,000-year-old woolly mammoth calf and a wolf pup frozen for 57,000 years. As Arctic temperatures rise three to four times faster than the global average, these ancient vaults of history are rapidly thawing. This not only risks the loss of irreplaceable scientific treasures but also unlocks over 1.6 trillion tons of carbon, more than double what is in the atmosphere today. The consequences reach far beyond the Arctic, impacting people, ecosystems, and the stability of the global climate.