Soils are warming quickly and at considerable depth across Alaska, with temperatures rising fastest in the state’s permafrost region, a trend that could accelerate climate change and undermine the stability of roads, buildings and other infrastructure built on the continuously frozen ground.
That’s a central finding of new research from Washington State University that provides a comprehensive look at soil temperatures from 1997 to 2023 in a state where the effects of climate change are pronounced. The warming permafrost comes with particular concern, because when that ground thaws it releases carbon dioxide and methane, driving even faster warming.
Alaska’s air temperatures are rising at twice the pace of the Lower 48, a key sign of the “polar amplification” of climate change at the Arctic latitudes. The new research details how and where the ground is warming, compares that to air temperatures, and shows that snow cover plays a key role in regional differences.
“In the Lower 48 or further south you would expect that soil temperatures and air temperatures would change at the same rate,” said lead author Erin Oliver, a post-doctoral research associate for WSU’s Department of Crop and Soil Science who is based in Alaska. “Those warmer air temperatures warm the soil. But in Alaska, over half the year, our soils are covered in snow. So how would that affect things?”
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