Greenland Wildfire: Largest Since 2000 Seen by Satellite

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the recent discovery of the largest wildfire in Greenland since 2000, as observed by satellite. Participants explore the implications of this wildfire, including its causes, the nature of the burning materials, and potential environmental impacts, with a focus on the role of peat and the effects of climate change.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that the wildfire was found in an area of recently melted tundra, which had undergone scrubification, suggesting a shift in the ecosystem.
  • There is a claim that the smoke's color indicates that peat, which has melted out from permafrost, is burning, potentially releasing methane and CO2.
  • Another participant raises the possibility that the fire may have been human-caused and discusses the implications of burning peat as a carbon sink.
  • Concerns are expressed about the difficulty of extinguishing peat fires, with a personal anecdote shared about a similar incident in Northern Michigan.
  • Questions are posed regarding the feasibility of stripping hydrogen from biomass, with some participants suggesting that this process takes millions of years to form coal.
  • Technological solutions for hydrogen extraction from hydrocarbons are mentioned, including advanced membrane technologies, though their applicability to the current situation is uncertain.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the causes and implications of the wildfire, with no consensus reached on the specifics of the fire's origins or the effectiveness of potential technological solutions. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the environmental impact of the wildfire and the feasibility of proposed interventions.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of the interactions between fire, peat, and climate change, noting that assumptions about the environmental benefits or drawbacks of the fire are not fully established. The discussion also reflects uncertainty about the technological feasibility of hydrogen extraction from biomass.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying climate change, environmental science, wildfire management, and advanced energy technologies.

BillTre
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The largest known wildfire ever seen in Greenland (since 2000) was found by satellite.
The area (recently melted tundra) had undergone scrubification (shrubs were growing) in addition to lichels, mosses, of the tundra.
Apparently, the color of the smoke indicates peat (melted out from the permafrost) is burning.
It may have been human started.

Peat it seems is a carbon sink (I guess during the continuous process of its formation), but not when its burning.
Perhaps the flames will consume the heat trapping methane molecules to form the less bad CO2 that is expected to be released from melting permafrost, but the heat might locally speed melting. Now there's a benefit.
 
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Not yet showing on Google Earth. Lat 67.86° Long -51.492°
 
Apparently the fire either got put out and restarted, or being a peat fire never really got put out.
Small NASA article here.

Peat fires can smolder underground for a while and be difficult to put out.
My parents used to live in Northern Michigan (the UP; Upper Pennisula). Some camper once started a fire on an island (maybe 100 x 200 feet in size), largely made of peat, on the lake they lived on. It took a long time for it to get put out, even though it was only about 10-15 feet above the lake's water line (and therefore the water level in the soil) and surrounded by water.
 
How actually difficult is it to strip the Hydrogen out of bio-matter ? leaving Carbon behind.

Guess, it's a bit too late to put a megaproject windfarm all around the coast of Greenland (highest consistent windspeed in the world, but that's probably a direct result of being covered in ice)
 
hmmm27 said:
How actually difficult is it to strip the Hydrogen out of bio-matter ? leaving Carbon behind
Naturally - millions of years. And then you have coal.
 
There are some fairly cutting edge technological solutions for stripping hydrogen out of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons. (e.g. platinum and steel membrane technologies) that were once contemplated as being the basis for widespread fuel cell economies. Although the latter may not come to pass anytime soon, the technologies are interesting and are currently in use in defense applications, particularly U.S. military submarines.

I know not exactly what you were getting at, but it is at least in the same neck of the woods conceptually. Maybe the a modified engineering development might develop for this application.

diogenesNY
 

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