These are both greenhouse gases, which trap heat and warm our atmosphere.
In June 2022, a gold miner in the Canadian Yukon made a remarkable discovery: the exceptionally well-preserved frozen remains of a woolly mammoth calf that died 30,000 years ago. This find is not unique, as the Arctic holds many buried secrets. Approximately 15% of the Northern Hemisphere is composed of permafrost - ground that has been frozen for at least two years, and in some cases, up to 740,000 years. This permafrost is particularly good at preserving biological remains, which can sometimes offer scientists literal freeze-frames of times long gone. For example, in 2016 a 7-week-old grey wolf pup that had been preserved in permafrost for 57,000 years was discovered by a gold miner, and in 2020 reindeer herders encountered remains that belonged to a 39,500 year old cave bear. Even incomplete animal remains found in permafrost have yielded incredible results - in 2021, researchers identified a new species of mammoth by reconstructing DNA sequences from 1.6-million-year-old mammoth teeth.
However, all the prehistoric remains we have yet to discover in permafrost are at risk, as permafrost is thawing rapidly due to climate change. This thawing can cause the ground to fracture, flooding and erosion, and can trigger massive landslides that threaten critical infrastructure. It can also release an estimated 1.6 trillion tons of carbon dioxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases that trap heat and warm our atmosphere. This puts 3.6 million people, including many Indigenous and First Nations people, at risk by 2050. As such, difficult decisions must be made about how to protect their communities and traditional ways of life in the face of climate change. A feedback loop is triggered when more greenhouse gases are released due to the climate warming, causing more permafrost to thaw and release even more gases. To preserve snapshots of the past and ensure the diversity of life on Earth for thousands of years to come, it is vital that the Arctic remain cool.