When considering the implications of thawing permafrost, our initial worries are likely to turn to...
While this is bad enough, new research reveals that the potential effects of permafrost thaw could also pose serious health threats.
As part of the ESA-NASA Arctic Methane and Permafrost Challenge, new research has revealed that rapidly thawing permafrost in the Arctic has the potential to release antibiotic-resistant bacteria, undiscovered viruses and even radioactive waste from Cold War nuclear reactors and submarines.
Most of the permafrost in the Arctic is up to a million years old - typically the deeper it is, the older it is.
With climate change causing the Arctic to warm much faster than the rest of the world, it is estimated that up to two-thirds of the near-surface permafrost could be lost by 2100.
Thawing permafrost releases greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide and methane - to the atmosphere, as well as causing abrupt changes to the landscape.
Research, published recently in Nature Climate Change, found the implications of waning permafrost could be much more widespread - with potential for the release of bacteria, unknown viruses, nuclear waste and radiation, and other chemicals of concern.
As the permafrost thaws, there is potential for these bacteria to mix with meltwater and create new antibiotic-resistant strains.
Despite the findings of the research, it says the risks from emergent microorganisms and chemicals within permafrost are poorly understood and largely unquantified.
"It's important to understand the secondary and tertiary impacts of these large-scale Earth changes such as permafrost thaw. While some of the hazards associated with the thaw of up to a million years of material have been captured, we are a long way from being able to model and predict exactly when and where they will happen. This research is critical."
ESA's Diego Fernandez added, "Research being conducted as part of the ESA-NASA Arctic Methane and Permafrost Challenge within our Science for Society programme is vital to understanding the science of the changing Arctic. Thawing permafrost clearly poses huge challenges, but more research is needed. NASA and ESA are joining forces to foster scientific collaboration across the Atlantic to ensure we develop solid science and knowledge so that decision-makers are armed with the correct information to help address these issues."