Distribution of mineral constituents in Yedoma permafrost: implications for Yedoma formation

• Main Authors: Mauclet, Elisabeth, Opfergelt, Sophie, Monhonval, Arthur, Strauss, Jens, Grosse, Guido, Fuchs, Matthias, Schirrmeister, Lutz
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: Laboratoire EDYTEM - Université Savoie Mont Blanc 2018
• Subjects: Ice; permafrost; Thermokarst
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/47507/; https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/47507/1/Mauclet_et_al_2018_EUCOP5_2018_Book_of_abstracts_pp780-781.pdf; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.43f68a6c-ee4b-4887-8663-4d94f5a26177

Ice-rich permafrost deposits such as Yedoma are highly sensitive to thaw and given that they contain up to one third of the organic carbon content of the Northern circumpolar permafrost region, their degradation is considered to be a potential climate tipping point on Earth. Accurately predicting the impact of climate warming on the fate of organic carbon in Yedoma requires better constraints on the mineral element reserve in these deposits. This study provides evidence for the homogeneity of chemical composition and mineralogy of Yedoma deposits with depth. This suggests that upon deep thaw through thermokarst or thermo-erosion a high reserve in mineral nutrients is likely to be exposed also from deeper deposits.