Database of Ice-Rich Yedoma Permafrost (IRYP) ...

• Main Authors: Strauss, Jens, Laboor, Sebastian, Fedorov, Alexander N, Fortier, Daniel, Froese, Duane G, Fuchs, Matthias, Grosse, Guido, Günther, Frank, Harden, Jennifer W, Hugelius, Gustaf, Kanevskiy, Mikhail Z, Kholodov, Alexander L, Kunitsky, Victor V, Kraev, Gleb, Lapointe-Elmrabti, Lyna, Lozhkin, Anatoly V, Rivkina, Elizaveta, Robinson, Joel, Schirrmeister, Lutz, Shmelev, Denis, Shur, Yuri, Siegert, Christine, Spektor, Valentin, Ulrich, Mathias, Vartanyan, Sergey L, Veremeeva, Alexandra, Walter Anthony, Katey M, Zimov, Sergey A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2016
• Subjects: Permafrost Research Periglacial Dynamics @ AWI AWI_PerDyn; Arctic; Yukon; Ice; permafrost; wedge*; Alaska; Siberia
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.861733; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.861733

Vast portions of Arctic and sub-Arctic Siberia, Alaska and the Yukon Territory are covered by ice-rich silty to sandy deposits that are containing large ice wedges, resulting from syngenetic sedimentation and freezing. Accompanied by wedge-ice growth in polygonal landscapes, the sedimentation process was driven by cold continental climatic and environmental conditions in unglaciated regions during the late Pleistocene, inducing the accumulation of the unique Yedoma deposits up to >50 meters thick.Because of fast incorporation of organic material into syngenetic permafrost during its formation, Yedoma deposits include well-preserved organic matter. Ice-rich deposits like Yedoma are especially prone to degradation triggered by climate changes or human activity. When Yedoma deposits degrade, large amounts of sequestered organic carbon as well as other nutrients are released and become part of active biogeochemical cycling. This could be of global significance for future climate warming as increased ...