Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability
Permafrost is a distinct feature of the terrestrial Arctic and is vulnerable to climate warming. Permafrost degrades in different ways, including deepening of a seasonally unfrozen surface and localized but rapid development of deep thaw features. Pleistocene ice-rich permafrost with syngenetic ice-...
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ftpubman:oai:pure.mpg.de:item_3035265 2023-08-20T04:04:48+02:00 Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability Strauss, J. Schirrmeister, L. Grosse, G. Fortier, D. Hugelius, G. Knoblauch, C. Romanovsky, V. Schädel, C. Schneider von Deimling, T. Schuur, E. Shmelev, D. Ulrich, M. Veremeeva, A. 2017-09 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BCF-3 http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BD1-F eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.007 http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BCF-3 http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BD1-F info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Earth-Science Reviews info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2017 ftpubman https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.007 2023-08-01T23:50:42Z Permafrost is a distinct feature of the terrestrial Arctic and is vulnerable to climate warming. Permafrost degrades in different ways, including deepening of a seasonally unfrozen surface and localized but rapid development of deep thaw features. Pleistocene ice-rich permafrost with syngenetic ice-wedges, termed Yedoma deposits, are widespread in Siberia, Alaska, and Yukon, Canada and may be especially prone to rapid-thaw processes. Freeze-locked organic matter in such deposits can be re-mobilized on short time-scales and contribute to a carbon-cycle climate feedback. Here we synthesize the characteristics and vulnerability of Yedoma deposits by synthesizing studies on the Yedoma origin and the associated organic carbon pool. We suggest that Yedoma deposits accumulated under periglacial weathering, transport, and deposition dynamics in non-glaciated regions during the late Pleistocene until the beginning of late glacial warming. The deposits formed due to a combination of aeolian, colluvial, nival, and alluvial deposition and simultaneous ground ice accumulation. We found up to 130gigatons organic carbon in Yedoma, parts of which are well-preserved and available for fast decomposition after thaw. Based on incubation experiments, up to 10 of the Yedoma carbon is considered especially decomposable and may be released upon thaw. The substantial amount of ground ice in Yedoma makes it highly vulnerable to disturbances such as thermokarst and thermo-erosion processes. Mobilization of permafrost carbon is expected to increase under future climate warming. Our synthesis results underline the need of accounting for Yedoma carbon stocks in next generation Earth-System-Models for a more complete representation of the permafrost-carbon feedback. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst wedge* Alaska Siberia Yukon Max Planck Society: MPG.PuRe Arctic Canada Yukon Earth-Science Reviews 172 75 86 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Max Planck Society: MPG.PuRe |
op_collection_id |
ftpubman |
language |
English |
description |
Permafrost is a distinct feature of the terrestrial Arctic and is vulnerable to climate warming. Permafrost degrades in different ways, including deepening of a seasonally unfrozen surface and localized but rapid development of deep thaw features. Pleistocene ice-rich permafrost with syngenetic ice-wedges, termed Yedoma deposits, are widespread in Siberia, Alaska, and Yukon, Canada and may be especially prone to rapid-thaw processes. Freeze-locked organic matter in such deposits can be re-mobilized on short time-scales and contribute to a carbon-cycle climate feedback. Here we synthesize the characteristics and vulnerability of Yedoma deposits by synthesizing studies on the Yedoma origin and the associated organic carbon pool. We suggest that Yedoma deposits accumulated under periglacial weathering, transport, and deposition dynamics in non-glaciated regions during the late Pleistocene until the beginning of late glacial warming. The deposits formed due to a combination of aeolian, colluvial, nival, and alluvial deposition and simultaneous ground ice accumulation. We found up to 130gigatons organic carbon in Yedoma, parts of which are well-preserved and available for fast decomposition after thaw. Based on incubation experiments, up to 10 of the Yedoma carbon is considered especially decomposable and may be released upon thaw. The substantial amount of ground ice in Yedoma makes it highly vulnerable to disturbances such as thermokarst and thermo-erosion processes. Mobilization of permafrost carbon is expected to increase under future climate warming. Our synthesis results underline the need of accounting for Yedoma carbon stocks in next generation Earth-System-Models for a more complete representation of the permafrost-carbon feedback. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Strauss, J. Schirrmeister, L. Grosse, G. Fortier, D. Hugelius, G. Knoblauch, C. Romanovsky, V. Schädel, C. Schneider von Deimling, T. Schuur, E. Shmelev, D. Ulrich, M. Veremeeva, A. |
spellingShingle |
Strauss, J. Schirrmeister, L. Grosse, G. Fortier, D. Hugelius, G. Knoblauch, C. Romanovsky, V. Schädel, C. Schneider von Deimling, T. Schuur, E. Shmelev, D. Ulrich, M. Veremeeva, A. Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
author_facet |
Strauss, J. Schirrmeister, L. Grosse, G. Fortier, D. Hugelius, G. Knoblauch, C. Romanovsky, V. Schädel, C. Schneider von Deimling, T. Schuur, E. Shmelev, D. Ulrich, M. Veremeeva, A. |
author_sort |
Strauss, J. |
title |
Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
title_short |
Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
title_full |
Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
title_fullStr |
Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Deep Yedoma permafrost: A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
title_sort |
deep yedoma permafrost: a synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BCF-3 http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BD1-F |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst wedge* Alaska Siberia Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst wedge* Alaska Siberia Yukon |
op_source |
Earth-Science Reviews |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.007 http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BCF-3 http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-3BD1-F |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.007 |
container_title |
Earth-Science Reviews |
container_volume |
172 |
container_start_page |
75 |
op_container_end_page |
86 |
_version_ |
1774715207295172608 |