Melting polar regions are already causing unprecedented sea level rise but there are other threats besides water buried in the swiftly melting ice.
The discovery of a new ‘giant virus’ buried in Siberia for 30,000 years raises questions about the risk of drilling in the Arctic, a French scientist has claimed. Scientists have warned that climate change may awaken dangerous microscopic pathogens.
Mollivirus has been identified from a permafrost sample taken in the region’s extreme north-east, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Particles from such viruses – giant because while still microscopic they are much larger than other virus specimens – have the potential to cause disease to ‘sensitive hosts’ in the region, according to researchers at France’s CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research).
Mollivirus sibericum, “soft virus from Siberia”, is 0.6 microns, and was found in the permafrost of northeastern Russia.
Pithovirus is a genus of giant virus known from one species, Pithovirus sibericum, which infects amoebas. It is a double-stranded DNA virus. It was first described in 2014 after a viable specimen was found in a 30,000-year-old ice core harvested from permafrost in Siberia, Russia.
The researchers wrote: "Our finding suggests that prehistory 'live' viruses are not a rare occurrence." Further, they warn "we cannot rule out that distant viruses of ancient Siberian human populations could re-emerge as Arctic permafrost layers melt and/or are disrupted by industrial activities".
One of the researchers, Jean-Michel Claverie, said: "If we are not careful, and we industrialise these areas without putting safeguards in place, we run the risk of one day waking up viruses such as smallpox that we thought were eradicated."
But the researchers pointed out that focusing on the environmental effects of climate change, such as ice melt, should still be considered more important than long-dormant viruses.