Miner writes about microbes escaping from permafrost in Scientific American
Kimberley Miner co-wrote the opinion piece “Deep Frozen Arctic Microbes Are Waking Up” in Scientific American. The assistant professor at the Climate Change Institute writes that in Siberia and northern Canada, the abrupt thaw has created sunken landforms, or thermokarst — where the oldest and deepest permafrost is exposed to the warm air for the first time in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. While consequences of ancient escaping microorganisms are largely unknown, in Siberia in 2018, consequences were deadly: A permafrost thaw led to an anthrax outbreak and the death of a child and 200,000 reindeer. Discovering and identifying stirring microbes, bacteria and viruses are rising challenges for scientists. And the clock is ticking. In the last decade, Arctic warming “has led to glacier melt and permafrost thaw levels that weren’t forecast to happen until 2050 or later,” she writes. Arwyn Edwards and Charles Miller also co-wrote the piece. Sputnik reported on the Scientific American piece co-authored by Miner.