The recent appearance of a giant crater in Siberia has raised concerns that sea ice is not the only thing melting in the Arctic. The mysterious hole that appeared in the frozen landscape of the Yamal Peninusla is now seeming like yet another indication of global warming.
What was originally thought of as some sort of explosion caused by a build up of methane gas is now believed to be the thawing of permafrost, which is frozen soil that covers nearly a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists think that the crater is actually more closely related to a sinkhole and believe that as the permafrost thawed, water was released that sculpted tunnels underground, eventually causing the ground above it to collapse.
So why is this thawing of permafrost a problem? First of all, all of this permafrost holds an enormous amount of carbon and methane, two of the big contributors to global warming. As it thaws, methane and carbon are released into the atmosphere, increasing the Earth’s temperature.
This also means potential disaster for homeowners whose houses are built in permafrost regions. As the permafrost melts and the soil begins to move, a house’s foundation can crack and break. Unfortunately no amount of exterior basement waterproofing or interior basement waterproofing can prevent the effects of sinking soil, and often the damage can lead to major basement foundation repair, and this type of house foundation repair cost is usually very high. This can also make your home more prone to flooding and water damage, so if you didn’t need house foundation repair before, you might in a few years.
Whether or not you believe that global warming is causing many of the environmental changes we have witnessed in recent years, one thing is for certain: the thawing of permafrost poses a threat to both our climate and our homes. Continue your research here.