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Permanently frozen northern soil holds twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. The figure is taken from NOAA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Permafrost traps immense quantities of organic carbon

Permanently frozen northern soil holds twice as much carbon as the atmosphere

Permafrost is ground that remains completely frozen at or below zero degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years. Vast subarctic permafrost soils contain accumulated dead plant matter frozen before decay could occur. Scientists estimate permafrost traps roughly 1,500 billion tonnes of carbon, which could release methane gas if global temperatures rise.

Where this comes from

NOAA

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Tags: earth science, permafrost, climate

Permafrost traps immense quantities of organic carbon: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Permanently frozen northern soil holds twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. The figure is taken from NOAA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a science fact?: Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.