Close Menu
Technology Mag

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    They’re trying to make deep-sea mining happen

    August 24, 2025

    The Framework Desktop and Linux have shown me the path to PC gaming in the living room

    August 24, 2025

    The West Texas Measles Outbreak Has Ended

    August 24, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Subscribe
    Technology Mag
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    • Home
    • News
    • Business
    • Games
    • Gear
    • Reviews
    • Science
    • Security
    • Trending
    • Press Release
    Technology Mag
    Home » Zombie Fire Season Is Here in the Arctic
    Science

    Zombie Fire Season Is Here in the Arctic

    News RoomBy News RoomJune 7, 20243 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email

    We call this new state the hot metastable state of peat soils. In this context, “metastable” means a long burn—the hot state lasts for a long but finite time, up to 10 years, until the peat burns out.

    Our other key finding is that a sudden transition from the regular cold state to the hot metastable state can be triggered by realistic climate patterns alone, including summer heat waves and global warming scenarios. Most interestingly, the increase in the atmospheric temperature has to be faster than some critical rate to trigger the transition. If the atmospheric temperature increases by the same amount but at a slower rate, bioactive peat soil remains in the regular cold state and never transitions to the hot metastable state.

    We still do not have proof of this happening in the real world, and it hasn’t been demonstrated in a lab—for now, this is a phenomenon seen only in our models. But we do know that compost (very similar to peat) can catch fire in the same way. For instance a large fire on the outskirts of London during a heatwave in 2022 was probably caused by a pile of compost spontaneously combusting.

    All this suggests that atmospheric temperature is not actually the key critical factor for zombie fires. Rather, it is the rate of atmospheric warming that triggers long burns of underground peat. Put simply, it is not the heat, it is the rate.

    How to Fight the Zombies

    As the climate warms, the weather is becoming more extreme, and these are precisely the conditions that can lead to more and more zombie fires. This is concerning, as it could kick off a vicious cycle: The gigatons of carbon released from ancient peat soils into the atmosphere are likely to make the climatic changes even worse, which means more fires, so more extreme weather, and so on.

    Indeed, zombie fires are an example of a rate-induced tipping point, where a system fails to adapt to too-fast changes in external conditions and transitions from its regular state to a different, often undesired state. It is possible that the contemporary climate is approaching—or has already exceeded—dangerous rates of change for certain natural system, such as bioactive peat soils, which could explain the recent increase in zombie fires.

    It appears that the only solution to prevent further zombie fires is to limit climate variability. While policymakers focus on dangerous levels of atmospheric temperature (the heat), climate variability (the rate of change) could be equally or even more relevant to our resilience in the short term.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleMicrosoft explains how its DLSS competitor uses AI to improve any game
    Next Article Xiaomi’s Poco F6 Is the Perfect Phone for Gamers on a Budget

    Related Posts

    The West Texas Measles Outbreak Has Ended

    August 24, 2025

    Meet Wukong, the AI Chatbot China Has Installed on Its Space Station

    August 24, 2025

    A Super-Energetic Neutrino That Reached Earth in 2023 Has Been Confirmed to Be Real. But Where Did It Come From?

    August 23, 2025

    FEMA Now Requires Disaster Victims to Have an Email Address

    August 23, 2025

    RFK Jr. Is Supporting mRNA Research—Just Not for Vaccines

    August 22, 2025

    Why the US Is Racing to Build a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon

    August 21, 2025
    Our Picks

    The Framework Desktop and Linux have shown me the path to PC gaming in the living room

    August 24, 2025

    The West Texas Measles Outbreak Has Ended

    August 24, 2025

    I Would Walk 500 Miles Wearing Any of These GoPro Cameras

    August 24, 2025

    The Rad ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4’ Remasters Are $15 Off Right Now

    August 24, 2025
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    Don't Miss
    News

    The most fun way to look through old photos

    By News RoomAugust 24, 2025

    Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 95, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff…

    Meet Wukong, the AI Chatbot China Has Installed on Its Space Station

    August 24, 2025

    Is It Ever Legal—or Ethical—to Remove DRM?

    August 24, 2025

    A Super-Energetic Neutrino That Reached Earth in 2023 Has Been Confirmed to Be Real. But Where Did It Come From?

    August 23, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Advertise
    • Contact
    © 2025 Technology Mag. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.