Having conducted radiocarbon dating of the contents of rivers and lakes in Canada’s Northwestern Territories, scientists at VU University Amsterdam have detected an increase in dissolved carbon and carbon dioxide; some samples are over 2,000 years old.
Now, however, as the permafrost thaws, these carbon deposits are starting to decompose and are being released into the atmosphere as methane and carbon dioxide further exacerbate problems related to global warming and climate change.
"I would say if you're looking at anything pushing several hundred years old to a thousand years old, then you have to start wondering whether that should be coming out of this kind of system," study lead Joshua Dean said.
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He also added that while his research cannot prove with 100 percent certainty that the situation in the Artic has changed to a point that might result in a growing amount of carbon being released in the air, the results were a definitely "a warning sign for the future."
