One of the World's Largest Carbon Time Bombs: Unveiling the Massive Logjam Hidden in the Arctic

The Mackenzie River Delta in the N.W.T. is home to the world's largest known cumulative logjam.

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Unfortunately, this logjam is storing a huge amount of carbon.

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Logjams like the one in the Mackenzie River Delta have been overlooked in terms of their impact on the carbon cycle and the environment.

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The logjam covers an area almost as large as Manhattan and consists of 400,000 miniature caches of wood.

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Trees act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide and storing it in their wood.

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The logjam in the Mackenzie River Delta stores approximately 3.4 million tons of carbon, equivalent to two and a half million car emissions in a year.

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Driftwood accumulates in the Arctic due to the transport of fallen trees from the boreal forests and high-latitude rivers.

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The Arctic's rapid warming, which is four times faster than the global average, could affect the logjam and the carbon cycle.

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Understanding the carbon storage potential of logjams can contribute to climate change mitigation strategies.

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