Swamp Wetlands in Degraded Permafrost Areas Release Large Amounts of Methane and May Promote Wildfires through Friction Electrification

Affected by global warming, permafrost degradation releases a large amount of methane gas, and this part of flammable methane may increase the frequency of wildfires. To study the influence mechanism of methane emission on wildfires in degraded permafrost regions, we selected the northwest section o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability
Main Authors: Zhichao Xu, Wei Shan, Ying Guo, Chengcheng Zhang, Lisha Qiu
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022
Subjects:
China
Heilongjiang province
Xiao Xing’an Mountains
permafrost
methane emissions
static electricity
Environmental effects of industries and plants
TD194-195
Renewable energy sources
TJ807-830
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159193
https://doaj.org/article/50181eab1d0b485a97966a251b5148a3
Description
Summary:Affected by global warming, permafrost degradation releases a large amount of methane gas, and this part of flammable methane may increase the frequency of wildfires. To study the influence mechanism of methane emission on wildfires in degraded permafrost regions, we selected the northwest section of Xiaoxing’an Mountains in China as the study area, and combined with remote sensing data, we conducted long-term monitoring of atmospheric electric field, temperature, methane concentration, and other observation parameters, and further carried out indoor gas–solid friction tests. The study shows that methane gas (the concentration of methane at the centralized leakage point is higher than 10,000 ppm) in the permafrost degradation area will release rapidly in spring, and friction with soil, surface plant residues, and water vapor will accelerate atmospheric convection and generate electrostatic and atmospheric electrodischarge phenomena on the surface. The electrostatic and atmospheric electrodischarge accumulated on the surface will further ignite the combustibles near the surface, such as methane gas and plant residues. Therefore, the gradual release of methane gas into the air promotes the feedback mechanism of lightning–wildfire–vegetation, and increases the risk of wildfire in degraded permafrost areas through frictional electrification (i.e., electrostatic and atmospheric electrodischarge).

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