Katey Walter - Thermokarst Thaw Walter studies methane emissions from arctic lakes, especially the connection between thawing permafrost and lakes. As permafrost around a lake's edges thaws, the organic material in it -- dead plants and amimals -- can enter the water, where bacteria convert it to methane gas, which bubbles up into the atmosphere, sometimes in spectatcular fashion. See methane bubbling up out of a lake here. What Walter learned from this summer's fieldwork is that methane bubbling "hotspots" can come from various sources, not just thawing permafrost. Her next goal is to identify and quantify various sources of methane hotspots, such as this boiling North Slope lake, around Alaska and in other areas of the Arctic.
		Katey Walter Assistant Professor of Limnology Water & Environmental Research Center Institute of Northern Engineering PO Box 755860 525 Duckering Building University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK 99775- 5860 Office phone: (907)-474-6095 fax: (907) 474-7979 email Katey

PO Box 755910 • 525 Duckering Building • Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-5910 • fax 907-474-6686

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