Melting Arctic permafrost could release antibiotic-resistant bacteria, undiscovered viruses, and even radioactive waste from Cold War nuclear reactors
Melting permafrost could release unknown viruses / Фото: Pixabay
Permafrost covers about 23 million square kilometers in the northern hemisphere, and most of it is up to a million years old – the deeper, the older.
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Due to climate change, scientists estimate that up to two-thirds of the near-surface permafrost may be lost by 2100.
Melting releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – carbon dioxide and methane, and also causes dramatic changes in the landscape, but the consequences can be much larger, writes phys.org.
Permafrost at a depth of more than three meters is one of the few environments on Earth that has not been exposed to modern antibiotics. It was found that more than 100 different microorganisms in the deep permafrost of Siberia are resistant to antibiotics.
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As it melts, these bacteria can mix with the melt water and create new antibiotic-resistant strains.
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