In parts of Fairbanks, Alaska, houses and buildings lean at odd angles. Some slump as if sliding downhill. Windows and doors inch closer and closer to the ground. It is an architectural landscape that is becoming more familiar as the world's ice-rich permafrost gives way to thaw. Water replaces ice and the ground subsides, taking the structures on top along with it. Alaska is not the only region in a slump. The permafrost melt is accelerating throughout the world's cold regions, scientists reported at the recent Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. In addition to northern Alaska, the permafrost zone includes most other Arctic land, such as northern Canada and much of Siberia, as well as the higher reaches of mountainous regions such as the Alps and Tibet. All report permafrost thaw.

"It's a very, very widespread problem," said Frederick Nelson, a geographer at the University of Delaware, US. Scientists attribute the thaw to climate warming. As the air temperature warms, so does the frozen ground beneath it. The observations reiterate the recent findings of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report, which attributed the northern polar region's summer sea-ice loss and permafrost thaw to dramatic warming over the past half-century. Thawing permafrost can cause buildings and roads to droop, and pipelines to crack.

View: Full Article | Source: BBC News