Downstream Evolution of Particulate Organic Matter Composition From Permafrost Thaw Slumps ...

Permafrost soils, which store almost half of the global belowground organic carbon (OC), are susceptible to thaw upon climate warming. On the Peel Plateau of northwestern Canada, the number and size of retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) has increased in recent decades due to rising temperatures and hig...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Keskitalo, Kirsi H., Bröder, Lisa, Shakil, Sarah, Zolkos, Scott, Tank, Suzanne E., van Dongen, Bart E., Tesi, Tommaso, Haghipour, Negar, Eglinton, Timothy I., Kokelj, Steven V., Vonk, Jorien E.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: ETH Zurich 2021
Subjects:
Arctic
climate
carbon
lipid biomarkers
Peel Plateau
permafrost
pyrolysis-GCMS
degradation
Canada
Ice
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000479193
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/479193
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Summary:Permafrost soils, which store almost half of the global belowground organic carbon (OC), are susceptible to thaw upon climate warming. On the Peel Plateau of northwestern Canada, the number and size of retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) has increased in recent decades due to rising temperatures and higher precipitation. These RTS features caused by the rapid thaw of ice-rich permafrost release organic matter dominantly as particulate organic carbon (POC) to the stream network. In this study, we sampled POC and streambank sediments along a fluvial transect (∼12 km) downstream from two RTS features and assessed the composition and degradation status of the mobilized permafrost OC. We found that RTS features add old, Pleistocene-aged permafrost POC to the stream system that is traceable kilometers downstream. The POC released consists mainly of recalcitrant compounds that persists within stream networks, whereas labile compounds originate from the active layer and appear to largely degrade within the scar zone of ... : Frontiers in Earth Science, 9 ...

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