A new study published in Science is warning that permafrost is melting faster than we thought as the planet heats up and is set to almost double the quantities of greenhouse gases humans are already emitting. This feedback process is set to supercharge climate change and its impacts.

Nearly early a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere’s land surface is covered in permanently frozen soil, or permafrost, which when melted, releases gases such as methane which is around 23 times more potent (as a greenhouse gas) than carbon dioxide.

Earth scientist Anton Vaks of Oxford University, and an international team of collaborators, are warning the community of the consequences of this permafrost feedback mechanism where heating is followed by more accelerating methane emissions.

Read the full story by From Climate Central’s Michael D. Lemonick, in the Huffington Post.