Birgit Wild's prestigious appointment marks a deep dive into the Arctic's hidden methane reservoirs
Assistant Professor Birgit Wild from the Department of Environmental Science, has been appointed a Wallenberg Academy Fellow 2023 joining the ranks of eight distinguished researchers from Stockholm University. Wild has long focused on land permafrost and its response to climate warming but is now shifting her gaze to the mysteries of subsea permafrost beneath the Arctic Ocean.
Assistant Birgit Wild studies land and sea permafrost
”I have been working on land permafrost since my PhD, trying to understand how it will be affected by climate warming and if this will lead to increased greenhouse emissions from the Arctic. With the SuPerTip project, we will put the focus on subsea permafrost – permafrost that formed on land but was flooded by rising sea levels thousands of years ago,” explains Wild.
Filling the knowledge gap in underwater permafrost
”The frozen soil masses beneath the Arctic Ocean house significant quantities of organic material and methane, acting as a natural repository. However, as climate change warms the Arctic region, the permafrost barrier is beginning to thaw, potentially releasing substantial amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere,” says Wild.
The thawing of underwater permafrost could represent a critical tipping point that could trigger drastic climate changes. In her role as a Wallenberg Acadecy Fellow 2023, Birgit Wild will be spearheading the SuPerTip project to uncover the extent of methane release and understanding the complex dynamics of subsea permafrost.
Microbes are key players in the thawing process
As the permafrost thaws, microbial activity becomes pivotal, with some microbes generating methane from organic material while others oxidize methane into the milder greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The SuPerTip project is poised to unravel these intricate processes and provide crucial insights that could contribute to shaping the United Nations' climate forecasts.
”In the SuPerTip project, we will quantify microbial methane production and removal in subsea permafrost, and then combine this information with models to estimate the overall methane release, to reduce uncertainties of climate forecasts. This will become possible thanks to the support of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.”
Birgit Wild's appointment as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow 2023 is an important step in adding momentum to the pursuit of understanding and mitigating the potential environmental impact of thawing subsea permafrost in the Arctic Ocean.
Last updated: December 4, 2023
Source: Department of Environmental Science