The world’s oceans, glaciers, and ice caps are under assault by climate change. The Gazette spoke with former Obama science adviser John Holdren about the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report examining the threat.

A recent study shows that nitrous-oxide emissions from thawing Alaskan permafrost are about 12 times higher than previously assumed. About a quarter of the Northern Hemisphere is covered in permafrost, which is thawing at an increasing rate. And, even though researchers are monitoring carbon dioxide and methane, no one seems to be monitoring N2O, the most potent greenhouse gas.