Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia
The decomposition of thawing permafrost organic matter (OM) to the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane forms a positive feedback to global climate change. Data on in situ GHG fluxes from thawing permafrost OM are scarce and OM degradability is largely unknown, causing high uncert...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
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ftsubggeo:oai:e-docs.geo-leo.de:11858/9808 2023-05-15T15:14:54+02:00 Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia Knoblauch, Christian Beer, Christian Schuett, Alexander Sauerland, Lewis Liebner, Susanne Steinhof, Axel Rethemeyer, Janet Grigoriev, Mikhail N. Faguet, Alexey Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria Beer, Christian; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Schuett, Alexander; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Sauerland, Lewis; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Liebner, Susanne; 4 GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Section Geomicrobiology Potsdam Germany Steinhof, Axel; 6 Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena Germany Rethemeyer, Janet; 7 Institute of Geology and Mineralogy University of Cologne Cologne Germany Grigoriev, Mikhail N.; 8 Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch Mel'nikov Permafrost Institute Yakutsk Russia Faguet, Alexey; 9 Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Novosibirsk Russia Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany 2021-11-01 https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006543 http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/9808 eng eng doi:10.1029/2021JG006543 http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/9808 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. CC-BY ddc:551 thaw slump thermal erosion respiration carbon decomposition tundra modeling doc-type:article 2021 ftsubggeo https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006543 2022-11-09T06:51:42Z The decomposition of thawing permafrost organic matter (OM) to the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane forms a positive feedback to global climate change. Data on in situ GHG fluxes from thawing permafrost OM are scarce and OM degradability is largely unknown, causing high uncertainties in the permafrost‐carbon climate feedback. We combined in situ CO2 and methane flux measurements at an abrupt permafrost thaw feature with laboratory incubations and dynamic modeling to quantify annual CO2 release from thawing permafrost OM, estimate its in situ degradability and evaluate the explanatory power of incubation experiments. In July 2016 and 2019, CO2 fluxes ranged between 0.24 and 2.6 g CO2‐C m−2 d−1. Methane fluxes were low, which coincided with the absence of active methanogens in the Pleistocene permafrost. CO2 fluxes were lower three years after initial thaw after normalizing these fluxes to thawed carbon, indicating the depletion of labile carbon. Higher CO2 fluxes from thawing Pleistocene permafrost than from Holocene permafrost indicate OM preservation for millennia and give evidence that microbial activity in the permafrost was not substantial. Short‐term incubations overestimated in situ CO2 fluxes but underestimated methane fluxes. Two independent models simulated median annual CO2 fluxes of 160 and 184 g CO2‐C m−2 from the thaw slump, which include 25%–31% CO2 emissions during winter. Annual CO2 fluxes represent 0.8% of the carbon pool thawed in the surface soil. Our results demonstrate the potential of abrupt thaw processes to transform the tundra from carbon neutral into a substantial GHG source. Plain Language Summary: Thawing of permanently frozen soils (permafrost) in the northern hemisphere forms a threat to global climate since these soils contain large amounts of frozen organic carbon, which might be decomposed to the greenhouse gases (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane upon thaw. How fast these GHGs are produced is largely unknown, since field observations of greenhouse ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Siberia GEO-LEOe-docs (FID GEO) Arctic Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 126 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
GEO-LEOe-docs (FID GEO) |
op_collection_id |
ftsubggeo |
language |
English |
topic |
ddc:551 thaw slump thermal erosion respiration carbon decomposition tundra modeling |
spellingShingle |
ddc:551 thaw slump thermal erosion respiration carbon decomposition tundra modeling Knoblauch, Christian Beer, Christian Schuett, Alexander Sauerland, Lewis Liebner, Susanne Steinhof, Axel Rethemeyer, Janet Grigoriev, Mikhail N. Faguet, Alexey Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria Beer, Christian; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Schuett, Alexander; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Sauerland, Lewis; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Liebner, Susanne; 4 GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Section Geomicrobiology Potsdam Germany Steinhof, Axel; 6 Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena Germany Rethemeyer, Janet; 7 Institute of Geology and Mineralogy University of Cologne Cologne Germany Grigoriev, Mikhail N.; 8 Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch Mel'nikov Permafrost Institute Yakutsk Russia Faguet, Alexey; 9 Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Novosibirsk Russia Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia |
topic_facet |
ddc:551 thaw slump thermal erosion respiration carbon decomposition tundra modeling |
description |
The decomposition of thawing permafrost organic matter (OM) to the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane forms a positive feedback to global climate change. Data on in situ GHG fluxes from thawing permafrost OM are scarce and OM degradability is largely unknown, causing high uncertainties in the permafrost‐carbon climate feedback. We combined in situ CO2 and methane flux measurements at an abrupt permafrost thaw feature with laboratory incubations and dynamic modeling to quantify annual CO2 release from thawing permafrost OM, estimate its in situ degradability and evaluate the explanatory power of incubation experiments. In July 2016 and 2019, CO2 fluxes ranged between 0.24 and 2.6 g CO2‐C m−2 d−1. Methane fluxes were low, which coincided with the absence of active methanogens in the Pleistocene permafrost. CO2 fluxes were lower three years after initial thaw after normalizing these fluxes to thawed carbon, indicating the depletion of labile carbon. Higher CO2 fluxes from thawing Pleistocene permafrost than from Holocene permafrost indicate OM preservation for millennia and give evidence that microbial activity in the permafrost was not substantial. Short‐term incubations overestimated in situ CO2 fluxes but underestimated methane fluxes. Two independent models simulated median annual CO2 fluxes of 160 and 184 g CO2‐C m−2 from the thaw slump, which include 25%–31% CO2 emissions during winter. Annual CO2 fluxes represent 0.8% of the carbon pool thawed in the surface soil. Our results demonstrate the potential of abrupt thaw processes to transform the tundra from carbon neutral into a substantial GHG source. Plain Language Summary: Thawing of permanently frozen soils (permafrost) in the northern hemisphere forms a threat to global climate since these soils contain large amounts of frozen organic carbon, which might be decomposed to the greenhouse gases (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane upon thaw. How fast these GHGs are produced is largely unknown, since field observations of greenhouse ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Knoblauch, Christian Beer, Christian Schuett, Alexander Sauerland, Lewis Liebner, Susanne Steinhof, Axel Rethemeyer, Janet Grigoriev, Mikhail N. Faguet, Alexey Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria Beer, Christian; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Schuett, Alexander; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Sauerland, Lewis; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Liebner, Susanne; 4 GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Section Geomicrobiology Potsdam Germany Steinhof, Axel; 6 Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena Germany Rethemeyer, Janet; 7 Institute of Geology and Mineralogy University of Cologne Cologne Germany Grigoriev, Mikhail N.; 8 Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch Mel'nikov Permafrost Institute Yakutsk Russia Faguet, Alexey; 9 Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Novosibirsk Russia Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany |
author_facet |
Knoblauch, Christian Beer, Christian Schuett, Alexander Sauerland, Lewis Liebner, Susanne Steinhof, Axel Rethemeyer, Janet Grigoriev, Mikhail N. Faguet, Alexey Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria Beer, Christian; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Schuett, Alexander; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Sauerland, Lewis; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany Liebner, Susanne; 4 GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences Section Geomicrobiology Potsdam Germany Steinhof, Axel; 6 Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena Germany Rethemeyer, Janet; 7 Institute of Geology and Mineralogy University of Cologne Cologne Germany Grigoriev, Mikhail N.; 8 Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch Mel'nikov Permafrost Institute Yakutsk Russia Faguet, Alexey; 9 Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Novosibirsk Russia Pfeiffer, Eva‐Maria; 1 Institute of Soil Science Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany |
author_sort |
Knoblauch, Christian |
title |
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia |
title_short |
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia |
title_full |
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia |
title_fullStr |
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia |
title_sort |
carbon dioxide and methane release following abrupt thaw of pleistocene permafrost deposits in arctic siberia |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006543 http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/9808 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Siberia |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Siberia |
op_relation |
doi:10.1029/2021JG006543 http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/9808 |
op_rights |
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006543 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
126 |
container_issue |
11 |
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1766345297813831680 |