Charred. Burned tussocks at the Anaktuvuk River fire burn site in 2008, the year following the fire. Credit: Adrian Rocha/Marine Biological Laboratory
Polar Fellow Chelsea Wald wrote a news story for ScienceNOW about the 2007 Anaktuvuk fire.
TOOLIK FIELD STATION, ALASKA—For nearly 3 months in the hot, dry summer and fall of 2007, the biggest arctic tundra fire in Alaska’s history—the Anaktuvuk River fire—raged on the North Slope, a large area that contains the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve. Scientists have been concerned that such fires—which seem to be on the rise—could contribute to global warming by burning deep into tundra soils, thereby releasing carbon that thousands of years’ worth of plants have stored there. But a new study finds that the Anaktuvuk River fire burned only the newest, topmost layer of the soil, leaving the tundra’s ancient stores of carbon intact below. That’s a small victory when it comes to climate change, says ecologist Michelle Mack of the University of Florida, Gainesville. Although the fire released a lot of carbon, “it’s not radically changing the carbon system, as far as we can tell.” Read the full story here.
