Christina Biasi from the Institute of Ecology at the University of Innsbruck has been awarded the prestigious Synergy Grant from the European Research Council together with an international team. Biasi investigates the thawing of permafrost and its consequences.

Northern peatlands are among the largest carbon stores on Earth. In Arctic and subarctic regions, temperatures are rising significantly faster than the global average. "Over the past fifty years, temperatures there have already risen by around three degrees," explained Christina Biasi. By the end of the century, the rise could be as much as 10 degrees.

When the frozen ground thaws, the water balance, vegetation and microbiology can change in a potentially very short space of time: "We therefore have to reckon with abrupt changes occurring within just a few years, which in turn can massively increase greenhouse gas emissions within a matter of years," the ecologist explained. Through the project CLIMPEAT ("Northern Peatlands in the Face of Climate Warming and Abrupt Changes"), Biasi aims, together with colleagues from France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, to better understand and quantify these processes.

A unique experiment in Finland

A hitherto unique field experiment is being set up in northern Finland to study the natural thawing of a permafrost bog over an area of approximately two hectares… Read the article at tirol.orf.at

Further information on Biasi's research project is also available at: www.uibk.ac.at