In case of permafrost melting, oxygen will permeate soil and humidity will change, which will lead to the decomposition of organic matter, experts say.

      Melting of permafrost will start the process of decomposition of organic substances contained in the soil of the Arctic, which will lead to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This was announced on Thursday by the press service of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center in the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

      According to scientists, the amount of carbon in the form of organic substances in soils and the permafrost layer of the Arctic makes about half of its total reserves in the soil on Earth. In permafrost conditions the soil accumulates it, in contrast to the more southerly latitudes. In the case of permafrost thawing, oxygen will start to permeate the soil and humidity will change, which will lead to the decomposition of organic matter and, as a consequence, increase the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere”.