Arctic Burning

Arctic Burning is inspired by a BBC Future article written by Tim Smedley in June 2019 about the perilous effects of the melting Arctic permafrost, including massive ground collapse events called mega slumps that release high concentrations of carbon and methane, thus accelerating global warming. Sue Natali, a scientist interviewed for the article, describes the skeletons of mammoths and other creatures of the Pleistocene unearthed in the thawing landscape, and I imagine here these ghosts of the Ice Age released by fires burning in the northernmost reaches of the tundra, signaling through the smoke their cautionary tale.