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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 21h

Good question. Methane is actually odorless but the organics in permafrost itself can smell very earthy. Also, in wet areas experiencing thaw, sulfate in permafrost can be reduced which smells like rotten eggs. So the smells tell us a lot actually!

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 1d

Field demo from rapidly changing northern ecosystems. This shows a violent stream of methane bubbles venting through thawing permafrost soils to the sky. Video credit to Tom Douglas and Torre Jorgenson. Curious bog dog is a Friday bonus.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 1d

Outside Fairbanks Alaska.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 1d

Yes methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Thawing permafrost mostly releases carbon dioxide today but is expected to emit more and more methane in coming decades.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 1d

Field demo from rapidly changing northern ecosystems. This shows a violent stream of methane bubbles venting through thawing permafrost soils to the sky. Video credit to Tom Douglas and Torre Jorgenson. Curious bog dog is a Friday bonus.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 2d

Yes there will be! Takes a couple of months to produce the videos and I will link it once they go live.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · 18d

Excited to be a speaker at TEDx Boulder Dreams and Reality this Sunday. Teaser: My dream is to live in a world that embraces boglands as sacred places. The reality is we live in a world intent on destroying them. But we can fight back and become bog champions. tedxboulder.com/speakers/dre...

Dreams & Reality Speakers for TEDxBoulder

For 16 years TEDxBoulder has been captivating audiences with talks from all diciplines. Videos are posted here and live talks happen every fall.

tedxboulder.com

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Sep 3

Also f*ck cancer. If you have been putting off a test (mammogram, colonoscopy) please stop whatever you are doing and make the appointment today. Not tomorrow. Today. Thank u.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Sep 3

Remembering my dear friend and trusted field partner on all things Sphagnum and peat, Teresa Hollingsworth (1975-2025). May your memory cross into the bogs of forever.

Photograph of a woman in an Arctic parka hanging in front of a window.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Aug 19

I am a bog walker. This was pretty good conditions! ♥️

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Aug 19

Count the mosquitos. Still my happy place with a never ending tundra of peat, moss, and cotton grass.

Image of a woman - me! - wearing a winter hat and sunglasses, smiling despite mosquitos buzzing around her head.

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

KinarNicholas.bsky.social @kinarnicholas.bsky.social · Aug 14

Hydrology Paper of the Day @queenofpeat.bsky.social and colleagues on fast thawing phenomena and permafrost processes: quantitatively defining "abrupt thaw" based on ecosystem change and spatial scale; situating thaw in the context of the carbon cycle; models; and decision tree classification.

Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 24

Hot off the presses! Abrupt permafrost thaw is a critical climate feedback but is poorly defined & understood. In an awesome collaboration between my team & the Permafrost Carbon Network, PhD student Hailey Webb provides a formal definition to guide future studies. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework - Current Climate Change Reports

Purpose of Review We review how ‘abrupt thaw’ has been used in published studies, compare these definitions to abrupt processes in other Earth science disciplines, and provide a definitive framework f...

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 30

What do we mean by abrupt permafrost thaw? This site above the permafrost tunnel in Alaska had no evidence of a sinkhole in this spot last fall. This thermokarst pit formed in the past several months, large enough for Hailey Webb, who made the discovery, to climb down into it.

Large pit formed in the ground from permafrost thaw, with pink flagging tape stretched out to measure it.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 30

What do we mean by abrupt permafrost thaw? This site above the permafrost tunnel in Alaska had no evidence of a sinkhole in this spot last fall. This thermokarst pit formed in the past several months, large enough for Hailey Webb, who made the discovery, to climb down into it.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 29

They are one of my favorites.

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 27

Happy #BogDay. The most misunderstood ecosystems on our planet have been ridiculed, drained, burned, and destroyed throughout modern history. These water purifiers, carbon keepers, storytellers, and beautiful places deserve our respect, today and every day.

Image of a big with water and red moss in the foreground and conifer trees in the background.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 27

I love this. Would make an awesome pet name!

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 27

You are most welcome. What do you call them? Maybe I can learn some new words too. ♥️

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

Katie @kateytomatey.bsky.social · Jul 27

Happy bog day! Some photos from Shorepine Bog, Ucluelet #BC this June.

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

Antronics Ltd @antronicsltd.bsky.social · Jul 27

Boggy bits around Hatchet Pond in the New Forest.
#BogDay #NewForest

Low, boggy vegetation in the foreground; tall rushes in the background

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 27

They have tested, inspired, and amazed me through the years.

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 27

I should start a BOG bog series. ♥️

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 27

Happy #BogDay. The most misunderstood ecosystems on our planet have been ridiculed, drained, burned, and destroyed throughout modern history. These water purifiers, carbon keepers, storytellers, and beautiful places deserve our respect, today and every day.

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Reposted by Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky

Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 24

Hot off the presses! Abrupt permafrost thaw is a critical climate feedback but is poorly defined & understood. In an awesome collaboration between my team & the Permafrost Carbon Network, PhD student Hailey Webb provides a formal definition to guide future studies. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework - Current Climate Change Reports

Purpose of Review We review how ‘abrupt thaw’ has been used in published studies, compare these definitions to abrupt processes in other Earth science disciplines, and provide a definitive framework f...

link.springer.com

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Dr. Merritt Rae Turetsky @queenofpeat.bsky.social · Jul 25

New paper led by PhD student Will Cox makes 2 discoveries: 1) understory plants predict early onset of abrupt permafrost thaw. 2) early stages of abrupt thaw are associated with high methane release, not accounted for in previous models or frameworks. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...

Plant Community Shifts as Early Indicators of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw and Associated Carbon Release in an Interior Alaskan Peatland

Emerging permafrost thaw features can be identified by predictable species turnover in the plant community within the first decade of thaw Methane emissions double during early onset of boreal pe...

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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