Permafrost – an ultimatum- fostering the clean energy transition!

The brouhaha surrounding melting glaciers has been in the headlines since a decade or more.
In time people’s approach towards preserving the environment has strengthened! For
instance, as seen from the steady pick up in commercialization of e-vehicles across the world,
changing consumer spending habits (purchasing products that are sustainable, the in vogue
‘pre-loved fashion’), government initiatives that galvanize a spur in adoption of renewable
energy (the recent proposition of hydrogen as a renewable source) to electrify majority of
cities and the list is endless.

However, individuals failed to envisage what implications does the melting pose on the
various communities that inhabit countries that are built on ice! Think: Alaska, Siberia,
Scandinavia, Russia, Artic, Canada and Greenland!

This ice is called permafrost and its thawing has sparked alarm about its consequences on
human life and subsequently the ecosystem.

So, what is permafrost?

Permafrost has formed over millions of years below the Earth’s surface creating widespread
chunks of land. Permafrost constitutes an amalgamation of rocks, soil and sand; ice being
their binding agent. In addition, it is created by water ensnared in the cracks of rocks or in
soil and sediment that is frozen over a period of 2 years to hundreds, thousands and millions
of years, creating numerous layers down to the surface of the earth.

Permafrost’s presence is ubiquitous across the globe, covering majority of the northern
hemisphere such Artic, Siberia, Russia, Canada, Greenland, Alaska, Scandinavia, Tibetan
Plateau, Arctic Ocean (undersea permafrost) South American Andes and New Zealand.

A plethora of indigenous communities have been constructed on permafrost ground. Man-
made industrial activities over centuries have been responsible for triggering a glut of
greenhouse gases emissions in the atmosphere thus resulting in and activating climate change
and global warming across the world. Today communities inhabiting these affected regions
are forced to relocate due the disruption caused to the landscapes by landslides and flooding.

Entire infrastructure of towns are under threat for instance melting of permafrost down to
deeper levels can rupture sewage pipes and disrupt the functioning of power poles and
powerlines. Furthermore roads, pipelines, fuel storage areas, transportation routes etc are
jeopardized as permafrost melts. One can come to a realization that it is not only the islands
like Indonesia and their communities that are sinking due to rising sea levels, but a whole
host of communities residing in the northern hemisphere are too forced to relocate due to the
consequences of climate change.

Alarmingly permafrost is believed to store 1500 billion tons of carbon that is double of what
is present in the atmosphere today. According to scientists the emissions caused from the
thawing of the permafrost can be equivalent to emissions created by a mid-size country!!
Hence permafrost presents itself as a carbon pool. How is this plausible? Well, the plant and
animal remains that failed to undergo the process of decomposition, became embedded in ice
overtime. Therefore, as the permafrost melts (fostered by rising temperatures, climate change
and global warming) microbes will now decompose the remains releasing carbon dioxide and
methane aggravating global warming around the world.

So, what can we do about this?

It is imperative to reduce the emission of fossil fuels from man made activities as this is
something that is in the hands and control of businesses, governments and individual citizens.
For now, perhaps there is no solution to restore permafrost or curb its melting but widespread
adoption of cleaner sources of energy for multitude applications (manufacturing, electricity)
can delay the melting of permafrost.

Permafrost is a refuge for millions of old and new viruses and bacteria, stored over thousands
of years. As the thawing process exacerbates over time, this can jeopardize human life and
entire ecosystems as they come into contact with these viruses. These viruses can flow into
water bodies, contaminate land and agricultural produce, infect wildlife and ultimately
humans. However, every adversity comes with an opportunity and hence the escape of these
viruses can accelerate prolific research and innovation in the pharma space to identify
remedies for treating potential epidemic and pandemics.

The Artic (and Northern Hemisphere under ice) is bejeweled with precious and rare metals
that are present in copious amounts under the permafrost and Artic Sea. For instance,
Greenland is rich in rare earth metals, gold, copper, nickel, cobalt and zinc. All these
resources will bolster our path towards clean energy transition as they are the raw materials
for batteries for e-vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines and so on. These regions also present
new possibilities for oil and fossil fuel extraction. The north of the artic circle is supposed to
be a powerhouse of 30% of undiscovered gas and 13% undiscovered oil and contains
precious metals of worth $1 trillion. Not good news for the environmental communities but
probably good news for the business community (in terms of potential business opportunities
that can be exploited)

The thawing of permafrost will burgeon the expansion of shipping lanes and reduce duration
of travel between Europe and Asia for logistical and transportation-based activities. These
routes are believed to be the shortest compared to the Suez Canal and Panama Canal hence
decreasing transportation time by 14-20 days, resulting in 24% less emission of greenhouse
gasses caused by shipping activities.

Desolate areas of the artic far from the reach of human life were treated as spots for disposal
of radioactive waste from activities such as nuclear testing or nuclear reactors as well as
various chemicals and biohazards. Thus, suggestive of that fact that these harmful wastes
have been embossed in the permafrost overtime. Furthermore, wastes generated from heavy
metal mining in the Artic too would be entrapped in the permafrost. In addition toxic
materials present in landslides structured upon dry permafrost are now trickling down their
way into rivers and lakes. Hence causing several hazardous consequences as the permafrost
thaws and comes into human contact over time. This calls for investigation of immediate
solutions to corroborate how these areas can be managed.

As the permafrost melts it will bring with it opportunities for sustaining access to agricultural
produce for example Siberia can become a potential wheat producer to the world and Canada
a wine producer. In Greenland the sand and sediments collected from the melting of glaciers
can be transformed into raw materials for creating concrete, glass or computers. World
powers are gearing up for claiming their part of the land in the Artic as it will potentially
equip them with access to owning rich natural resources and exploit the area for future
business opportunities.

The thawing of the permafrost will offer the world with large areas of barren land.
Considering the lessons learned from global warming, hopefully world leaders will take
prudent steps to nurture and preserve the new environment than exploit it for business
purposes.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article are views of the author in general and the author does not hold any legal responsibility or liability for the same.)