Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra.
High-latitude warming is capable of accelerating permafrost degradation and the decomposition of previously frozen carbon. The existence of an analogous high-altitude feedback, however, has yet to be directly evaluated. We address this knowledge gap by coupling a radiocarbon-based model to 7 years (...
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ftunicolboulder:oai:scholar.colorado.edu:libr_oafund-1110 2023-05-15T17:56:48+02:00 Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. Knowles, John F Blanken, Peter D Lawrence, Corey R Williams, Mark W 2019-03-21T07:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/108 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=libr_oafund unknown CU Scholar https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/108 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=libr_oafund University Libraries Open Access Fund Supported Publications text 2019 ftunicolboulder 2019-08-02T23:29:47Z High-latitude warming is capable of accelerating permafrost degradation and the decomposition of previously frozen carbon. The existence of an analogous high-altitude feedback, however, has yet to be directly evaluated. We address this knowledge gap by coupling a radiocarbon-based model to 7 years (2008-2014) of continuous eddy covariance data from a snow-scoured alpine tundra meadow in Colorado, USA, where solifluction lobes are associated with discontinuous permafrost. On average, the ecosystem was a net annual source of 232 ± 54 g C m-2 (mean ± 1 standard deviation) to the atmosphere, and respiration of relatively radiocarbon-depleted (i.e., older) substrate contributes to carbon emissions during the winter. Given that alpine soils with permafrost occupy 3.6 × 106 km2 land area and are estimated to contain 66.3 Pg of soil organic carbon (4.5% of the global pool), this scenario has global implications for the mountain carbon balance and corresponding resource allocation to lower elevations. Text permafrost Tundra University of Colorado, Boulder: CU Scholar |
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University of Colorado, Boulder: CU Scholar |
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ftunicolboulder |
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High-latitude warming is capable of accelerating permafrost degradation and the decomposition of previously frozen carbon. The existence of an analogous high-altitude feedback, however, has yet to be directly evaluated. We address this knowledge gap by coupling a radiocarbon-based model to 7 years (2008-2014) of continuous eddy covariance data from a snow-scoured alpine tundra meadow in Colorado, USA, where solifluction lobes are associated with discontinuous permafrost. On average, the ecosystem was a net annual source of 232 ± 54 g C m-2 (mean ± 1 standard deviation) to the atmosphere, and respiration of relatively radiocarbon-depleted (i.e., older) substrate contributes to carbon emissions during the winter. Given that alpine soils with permafrost occupy 3.6 × 106 km2 land area and are estimated to contain 66.3 Pg of soil organic carbon (4.5% of the global pool), this scenario has global implications for the mountain carbon balance and corresponding resource allocation to lower elevations. |
format |
Text |
author |
Knowles, John F Blanken, Peter D Lawrence, Corey R Williams, Mark W |
spellingShingle |
Knowles, John F Blanken, Peter D Lawrence, Corey R Williams, Mark W Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
author_facet |
Knowles, John F Blanken, Peter D Lawrence, Corey R Williams, Mark W |
author_sort |
Knowles, John F |
title |
Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
title_short |
Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
title_full |
Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
title_fullStr |
Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
title_sort |
evidence for non-steady-state carbon emissions from snow-scoured alpine tundra. |
publisher |
CU Scholar |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/108 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=libr_oafund |
genre |
permafrost Tundra |
genre_facet |
permafrost Tundra |
op_source |
University Libraries Open Access Fund Supported Publications |
op_relation |
https://scholar.colorado.edu/libr_oafund/108 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=libr_oafund |
_version_ |
1766165081417056256 |