Photos
University of Alaska Fairbanks

Research Associate Professor Katey Walter Anthony and a research assistant set fire to escaping methane gas trapped beneath the ice on a pond near the UAF campus. The naturally occurring phenomenon is made worse by thawing permafrost and increased plant decay caused by global warming.

Research Associate Professor Katey Walter Anthony inspects flaming methane gas seeping from a hole in the ice on the surface of a pond on the UAF campus. The naturally occurring phenomenon is made worse by thawing permafrost and increased plant decay caused by global warming.