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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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A recent New York Magazine article painted a darker-than-usual picture of planetary climate change. If billions of tons of ancient carbon buried in permafrost ever thaws out, it could release a methane "bomb" into the atmosphere that could trigger "Day After Tomorrow"-style disasters. This article discusses the chances of that actually happening, and includes reaction from Joel Kostka, a professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Biological Sciences. Kostka is part of a research team studying this subject in northern Minnesota.