Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw
Abstract Methane (CH 4 ) release to the atmosphere from thawing permafrost contributes significantly to global CH 4 emissions. However, constraining the effects of thaw that control the production and emission of CH 4 is needed to anticipate future Arctic emissions. Here are presented robust rate me...
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crwiley:10.1111/gcb.16151 2024-06-02T08:02:49+00:00 Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw Pellerin, André Lotem, Noam Walter Anthony, Katey Eliani Russak, Efrat Hasson, Nicholas Røy, Hans Chanton, Jeffrey P. Sivan, Orit Ames Research Center National Science Foundation H2020 European Research Council 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16151 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.16151 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.16151 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Global Change Biology volume 28, issue 10, page 3206-3221 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16151 2024-05-03T10:51:34Z Abstract Methane (CH 4 ) release to the atmosphere from thawing permafrost contributes significantly to global CH 4 emissions. However, constraining the effects of thaw that control the production and emission of CH 4 is needed to anticipate future Arctic emissions. Here are presented robust rate measurements of CH 4 production and cycling in a region of rapidly degrading permafrost. Big Trail Lake, located in central Alaska, is a young, actively expanding thermokarst lake. The lake was investigated by taking two 1 m cores of sediment from different regions. Two independent methods of measuring microbial CH 4 production, long term (CH 4 accumulation) and short term ( 14 C tracer), produced similar average rates of 11 ± 3.5 and 9 ± 3.6 nmol cm −3 d −1 , respectively. The rates had small variations between the different lithological units, indicating homogeneous CH 4 production despite heterogeneous lithology in the surface ~1 m of sediment. To estimate the total CH 4 production, the CH 4 production rates were multiplied through the 10–15 m deep talik (thaw bulb). This estimate suggests that CH 4 production is higher than emission by a maximum factor of ~2, which is less than previous estimates. Stable and radioactive carbon isotope measurements showed that 50% of dissolved CH 4 in the first meter was produced further below. Interestingly, labeled 14 C incubations with 2‐ 14 C acetate and 14 C CO 2 indicate that variations in the pathway used by microbes to produce CH 4 depends on the age and type of organic matter in the sediment, but did not appear to influence the rates at which CH 4 was produced. This study demonstrates that at least half of the CH 4 produced by microbial breakdown of organic matter in actively expanding thermokarst is emitted to the atmosphere, and that the majority of this CH 4 is produced in the deep sediment. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic permafrost Thermokarst Alaska Wiley Online Library Arctic Talik ENVELOPE(146.601,146.601,59.667,59.667) Trail Lake ENVELOPE(-122.200,-122.200,59.551,59.551) Global Change Biology |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Methane (CH 4 ) release to the atmosphere from thawing permafrost contributes significantly to global CH 4 emissions. However, constraining the effects of thaw that control the production and emission of CH 4 is needed to anticipate future Arctic emissions. Here are presented robust rate measurements of CH 4 production and cycling in a region of rapidly degrading permafrost. Big Trail Lake, located in central Alaska, is a young, actively expanding thermokarst lake. The lake was investigated by taking two 1 m cores of sediment from different regions. Two independent methods of measuring microbial CH 4 production, long term (CH 4 accumulation) and short term ( 14 C tracer), produced similar average rates of 11 ± 3.5 and 9 ± 3.6 nmol cm −3 d −1 , respectively. The rates had small variations between the different lithological units, indicating homogeneous CH 4 production despite heterogeneous lithology in the surface ~1 m of sediment. To estimate the total CH 4 production, the CH 4 production rates were multiplied through the 10–15 m deep talik (thaw bulb). This estimate suggests that CH 4 production is higher than emission by a maximum factor of ~2, which is less than previous estimates. Stable and radioactive carbon isotope measurements showed that 50% of dissolved CH 4 in the first meter was produced further below. Interestingly, labeled 14 C incubations with 2‐ 14 C acetate and 14 C CO 2 indicate that variations in the pathway used by microbes to produce CH 4 depends on the age and type of organic matter in the sediment, but did not appear to influence the rates at which CH 4 was produced. This study demonstrates that at least half of the CH 4 produced by microbial breakdown of organic matter in actively expanding thermokarst is emitted to the atmosphere, and that the majority of this CH 4 is produced in the deep sediment. |
author2 |
Ames Research Center National Science Foundation H2020 European Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pellerin, André Lotem, Noam Walter Anthony, Katey Eliani Russak, Efrat Hasson, Nicholas Røy, Hans Chanton, Jeffrey P. Sivan, Orit |
spellingShingle |
Pellerin, André Lotem, Noam Walter Anthony, Katey Eliani Russak, Efrat Hasson, Nicholas Røy, Hans Chanton, Jeffrey P. Sivan, Orit Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
author_facet |
Pellerin, André Lotem, Noam Walter Anthony, Katey Eliani Russak, Efrat Hasson, Nicholas Røy, Hans Chanton, Jeffrey P. Sivan, Orit |
author_sort |
Pellerin, André |
title |
Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
title_short |
Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
title_full |
Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
title_fullStr |
Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
title_full_unstemmed |
Methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
title_sort |
methane production controls in a young thermokarst lake formed by abrupt permafrost thaw |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16151 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.16151 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.16151 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(146.601,146.601,59.667,59.667) ENVELOPE(-122.200,-122.200,59.551,59.551) |
geographic |
Arctic Talik Trail Lake |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Talik Trail Lake |
genre |
Arctic permafrost Thermokarst Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic permafrost Thermokarst Alaska |
op_source |
Global Change Biology volume 28, issue 10, page 3206-3221 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16151 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
_version_ |
1800747297748811776 |