"Permafrost Soil Under North Slope Lakes Is About To Thaw"

"In northernmost Alaska, permafrost is steadily warming and large amounts of thaw are expected by the end of the century. But for some spots, the thaw is about 70 years ahead of that predicted pace, new research shows.

The soil on the beds of several North Slope lakes has already passed the thaw threshold or is on pace to get there much earlier than the nearby dry permafrost, according to a University of Alaska Fairbanks-led study now online in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Soil at the bed of the very shallow lakes that dot the Slope has warmed by 4.3 degrees in the last 30 years, the study found. In five of the last seven years, mean annual lake-bed temperature was above freezing, the study found."

Yereth Rosen reports for Alaska Dispatch News June 19, 2016.