A new study warns of the possibility that antibiotic-resistant viruses and bacteria could be released as ice sheets melt around the polar cover or the Arctic region. Even more terrifying, radioactive waste from nuclear reactors and submarines during the Cold War can be released.
This is the impact of climate change that triggers various extreme events around the world. The permafrost or frozen soil in the Arctic region covers an area of about 23 million square kilometers in the northern hemisphere, which is up to one million years old.
This region harbors a wide variety of chemical compounds over thousands of years either through natural processes, accidents, or intentional storage other than microbes.
As the planet heats up due to global warming and climate change, the Arctic is heating up faster than anywhere else in the world. It is estimated that up to two-thirds of the ice sheet near the surface could be lost by 2100.
Quoted from India Today, the melting of the Arctic ice sheet will cause a large release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, as well as cause sudden changes in the landscape of the region.
According to research published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the implications of ice sheet loss could be much broader than just ice sheet loss. This phenomenon has the potential to release bacteria, unknown viruses, nuclear and radiation waste, and other long-standing chemicals.
"If the Arctic cryosphere collapses, there will be overlapping environmental risks. In particular, thawing permafrost threatens to release biological, chemical and radioactive material that has been buried for tens to hundreds of thousands of years," the report said.
It added that this has the potential to disrupt ecosystem functions, reduce the population of the Arctic's unique wildlife, and endanger human health.
The research, conducted as part of the ESANasa Arctic Methane and Permafrost Challenge, describes the ice sheet at a depth of more than three meters, is one of the few environments on Earth that has not been exposed to modern antibiotics. More than 100 microorganisms found in the Siberian deep ice sheet are resistant to antibiotics.
However, as thawing continues, there is a risk that these bacteria mix with the meltwater and create new strains that are resistant to antibiotics.
Over the past 70 years, more than 1,000 settlements, both resource extraction, military and scientific projects, have been created in permafrost thereby increasing the risk of contamination and the possibility of accidental contact or release of viruses or hazardous waste. The research also raises concerns about the Arctic's capacity to withstand such natural stresses.
"We considered both natural and anthropogenic processes that could add to the impact of this risk, as it is not clear whether or not the highly adapted Arctic ecosystem has the resilience to withstand the new stresses," the research paper said.
"It's important to understand the secondary and tertiary impacts of large-scale Earth changes such as ice sheet melting. While some of the hazards associated with material melting up to one million years are known, we are still unable to model and predict exactly when and where this will occur. That's why this research is so important," said Kimberley Miner of NASA JPL.