Permafrost soil metagenome study in Wired UK

As permafrost thaws, trapped frozen organic matter becomes accessible for microbes to degrade, releasing greenhouse gases as a byproduct. Understanding what sorts of microbes are in the ice is key to predicting the impact of the melting of permafrost soils.
The US Department of Energy has teamed up with the Joint Genome Institute, the Earth Sciences Division of Berkeley Lab and the US Geological Survey to understand how microbes found in the permafrost might respond to a warming environment.

Read more in Wired UK