Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Combustion!!!

The audience’s eyes widened in unison as they let out cries of surprise.

Can soil also burn?

"Of course, and the combustion effect is very good. You can simply think of it as charcoal-like soil; it has other names, such as peat and lignite, which is coal with the lowest degree of coalification."

This comparison made the audience instantaneously understand the combustion ability of peat soil.

So it’s coal!

Sparks ignited on the charcoal he held, and Bi Fang blew deliberately into it. Soon, a small flame sprinted up on the tinder, and seeing this, he didn’t hurry to insert the peat but instead grabbed a handful of loose peat soil.

"When the organic matter content in clay exceeds 10% but is less than 60%, it is called peaty soil, and only when it surpasses 60% can it become peat. This kind of soil mostly has a calorific value of 9.50 to 15.0 megajoules per kilogram and burns very easily."

"This is a type of soil formed in a moist and hypoxic environment from the accumulation of undecomposed plant remains. Its appearance is usually dark grey or black with a foul smell, showing incompletely decomposed plant structures, swelling and easy crumbing upon soaking in water, with plant residues floating above the water, and evident shrinkage when dried."

The audience moved closer, and indeed, they could see structures resembling plant roots in the soil.

"Apart from the characteristics of peaty soil, peat also has a loose structure, light soil quality, and a dull, lackluster appearance."

With so many features, identifying peat soil was not difficult. Coupled with the faint foul odor, Bi Fang recognized it at a glance.

[However, does peat soil also exist in the Arctic?]

[There aren’t many plants in the Arctic, are there? How come there are so many plant remains?]

The audience was somewhat puzzled because, according to Bi Fang, such a thing should be common in places like rainforests, where countless plant remains can be found.

"So you didn’t listen to the preconditions, did you?" Bi Fang chuckled, "It’s completely different from what you guys are guessing. In places like rainforests, where microbes are too developed, plant remains hardly get left behind, so seventy percent of the world’s peat bogs are located in the Arctic region, predominantly in high latitude areas. Low latitude regions with more peat soil... let me think..."

"Oh, the Indonesian Forest is covered in peat bogs."

"However, when we use peat soil, we must be very careful and take all necessary precautions. Since peat soil burns very easily and has properties close to coal, you can imagine the scenario of starting a fire on a coal pile."

[Holy shit, is it that dangerous?]

[I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die]

[Old Fang has really got guts]

The audience drew in a sharp breath of cold air; this was too scary.

"Haha, actually, it’s not that exaggerated. After all, the degree of coalification is very low, and it has to be dried before it can burn. Plus, we’re surrounded by snow and ice; a little caution is all we need. I just wanted to make you aware of its potential danger," he explained.

Just as he had said, Bi Fang didn’t choose to start the fire inside the remaining peat pits but laid a considerable amount of snow beside them. Then, he added ordinary permafrost, creating a concave shape, and tossed the peat soil and the flame into it. In no time at all, the flames blazed fiercely, emitting astounding heat that quickly warmed up the dugout.

Removing his coat, Bi Fang looked up at the musk oxen above his head and felt that this was a kind of unconventional smoking process, even though the smoke was a bit thick.

It wasn’t working, Bi Fang picked up a shovel and began digging to the side. He had to move the fire; he didn’t want his musk ox meat to taste like the unpleasant dryness of smoke.

"In many places, when forest fires occur in the summer, they are likely to spread to the peat bogs where forests grow. It doesn’t only intensify the fires, but they also act as potential climate bombs."

"When peat bogs burn, they release carbon dioxide that has been stored for several geological eras. As the soil begins to burn, it lets off choking thick smoke, and only with the help of bulldozers can this process be stopped. The fire can last for months or even years, so the loss of peat is extremely significant."

"The carbon content in the atmosphere is 7,500 tons, while the peat bogs in the Arctic might contain 250 to 450 billion tons. If it’s all released, it will increase the carbon content in the atmosphere by 50%."

Bi Fang articulated a terrifying conclusion.

"I don’t know if everyone remembers the huge wildfires that erupted in the forests of Australia and California, Ugly Country, the year before last, causing Earth to lose hundreds of millions of wild animals and many species to become endangered. In fact, at that time, the Arctic also saw multiple wildfires, it’s just that they weren’t as widely reported."

"At that time, the smoke from the wildfires rising from the ground in the Arctic created enormous columns of smoke in the stratosphere, which could be clearly seen from satellites."

"It wasn’t until the next day, after months of cold weather, that the above-ground wildfires in the Arctic were completely extinguished, but the fires underground were still burning."

"Even near Seydi Village, about 400 kilometers northeast of Yakutsk in the Arctic, the underground fire continued to burn at temperatures of -50℃, spreading from Udarnik to Seydi, and all important resources were burned up."

The audience was stunned. Burned for a year?

Wasn’t that an exaggeration?

"Peat fires are different from the forest fires we typically see. Because they burn quietly underground, they are incredibly difficult to put out, even if heavy snow falls above, the peat fires still blaze beneath."

"Burning underground, with no flames visible and very little smoke, these fires are hard to detect unless satellite detects an abnormal temperature."

"Especially since such fires can keep burning until they reach the mineral layer and the upper portion of the groundwater. Although they spread slowly, at a rate of 4-5 meters per hour, and can only spread a few dozen meters in a day and night, they are difficult to extinguish and can burn for days, months, or even longer."

"Fires that occur underground in the fall can usually overwinter, continuing to burn until the next spring, which is why they are also called overwintering fires."

Once again, the audience was shocked by the power of nature and heard for the first time of flames that could burn underground.

[If the underground fire keeps spreading to coal deposits, what would happen?]

[Wouldn’t that just cause an explosion?]

Amidst the audience’s discussions, Bi Fang started to dig horizontally, planning to build a greenhouse next door and release as much smoke as possible.

With the effort of one man and three dogs, progress was swift. By the afternoon, the dig was complete.

Bi Fang also transferred the fire. Although the likelihood of humanly igniting a layer of peat on fire was meager here with much snow cover and the temperature melting the snow into water to extinguish the flame, it was still better to be cautious and convey the right knowledge and methods to the audience as much as possible.

With flames and food present, Bi Fang and Sanshao hunkered down for three days, as the outside world’s snowstorms and sandstorms finally showed signs of abating.

And the polar night was now less than five days away.