Bremerhaven: Million dollar project investigates rapid thawing of permafrost

Bremerhaven: Million dollar project investigates rapid thawing of permafrost

The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven has launched an exciting new project that is attracting the attention of climate researchers worldwide. Under the name PeTCaT, short for “Rapid Permafrost Thaw Carbon Trajectories”, the aim is to investigate from October 2025 to September 2030 how the rapid thawing of permafrost affects the climate. The non-profit organization Schmidt Sciences is supporting this groundbreaking project with a funding amount of around 10.4 million US dollars – that is around 8.9 million euros. With AWI at the center, the project brings together researchers from the United States, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands to address the challenges of global warming.

Why is this project so important? The Arctic is warming faster than the global average, and more carbon is stored in the region's frozen soils than in the atmosphere - about twice as much! As permafrost thaws, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are released, further destabilizing the climate. Guido Grosse, the project manager, points out that the thawing of the upper soil layer occurs every summer, while the melting layers go deeper due to long-term warming.

Research methods and objectives

The project's methodology is also noteworthy. PeTCaT uses remote sensing and deep learning technologies to map abrupt thawing processes in the Arctic. By collecting samples from sites in Alaska, Canada and Finland, the decomposition of organic material and the amount of carbon released will be examined. A novel data set, including satellite evaluations and field measurements, is being created to better understand the interactions within the carbon cycle at the Arctic location.

The team of scientists plans to develop new climate projections. These are intended to help understand the role of thawing permafrost in the global carbon cycle and analyze the effects on the remaining CO₂ budget. How moisture conditions develop in the Arctic is of central importance. Simulations show that future precipitation will influence local conditions: more CO₂ is produced in dry soils, while methane is produced in wetter soils.

A better understanding of the future

Researchers are intensively studying the various factors that influence the climate. One of the challenges is coastal erosion, which results in the loss of about half a meter of coastline annually in many Arctic areas. This erosion not only affects the landscape, but also the carbon cycle, as the CO2 levels of the oceanic surface increase due to eroded material.

The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology is also working on parallel projects to better model the complex biogeochemical processes associated with permafrost. Experts from a wide range of institutions are helping to deepen knowledge about the Arctic region so that future climate scenarios become even more precise.

Overall, the PeTCaT project shows how important international cooperation and modern technologies are in meeting the challenges of climate change. The results could be crucial for both the scientific community and policymakers to develop well-founded measures to address impending climate impacts. This is a piece of future research that is highly relevant not only for the Arctic, but for the entire planet.

Find out more about the project at T-Online, [AWI].