Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff
Thicker snow cover in permafrost areas causes deeper active layers and thaw subsidence, which alter local hydrology and may amplify the loss of soil carbon. However, the potential for changes in snow cover and surface runoff to mobilize permafrost carbon remains poorly quantified. In this study, we...
Published in: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33773 https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108020 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/33773 2024-06-23T07:50:55+00:00 Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff Parmentier, Frans-Jan W. Nilsen, Lennart Tømmervik, Hans Meisel, Ove H. Bröder, Lisa Vonk, Jorien E. Westermann, Sebastian Semenchuk, Phillip R. Cooper, Elisabeth J. 2024-06-16 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33773 https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108020 eng eng Wiley Geophysical Research Letters Norges forskningsråd: 230970 Andre: FRAM- Terrestrial flagship 362255 Andre: FRAM- Terrestrial flagship 642018 FRIDAID 2274403 doi:10.1029/2023GL108020 0094-8276 1944-8007 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33773 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2024 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Basale biofag: 470 VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Basic biosciences: 470 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2024 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108020 2024-06-11T23:56:25Z Thicker snow cover in permafrost areas causes deeper active layers and thaw subsidence, which alter local hydrology and may amplify the loss of soil carbon. However, the potential for changes in snow cover and surface runoff to mobilize permafrost carbon remains poorly quantified. In this study, we show that a snow fence experiment on High‐Arctic Svalbard inadvertently led to surface subsidence through warming, and extensive downstream erosion due to increased surface runoff. Within a decade of artificially raised snow depths, several ice wedges collapsed, forming a 50 m long and 1.5 m deep thermo‐erosion gully in the landscape. We estimate that 1.1–3.3 tons C may have eroded, and that the gully is a hotspot for processing of mobilized aquatic carbon. Our results show that interactions among snow, runoff and permafrost thaw form an important driver of soil carbon loss, highlighting the need for improved model representation. Snow cover is steadily disappearing as a result of climate change, but in areas that remain below 0°C we can still expect an increase in snow depth in the middle of winter. Since snow acts akin to a blanket, this warms the soil and accelerates the thaw of permafrost—thereby potentially contributing to carbon release from these frozen soils. Ice wedges, which are typical for permafrost landscapes, are particularly vulnerable to thaw because they hold a large amount of ice. When this ice melts, the surface sinks down, and soil carbon may be lost. In this study, we show how experimentally raised snow cover triggered the collapse of several ice wedges, not only through a warming effect of the snow but also due to an increase in the flow of water through the ice wedge network. As a result, we estimate that 1.1–3.3 tons of carbon were removed from this location, of which a portion could have entered the atmosphere as CO2. We emphasize the importance of studying the interactions among snow, runoff, and permafrost thaw to better understand how this may affect the release of greenhouse gases to the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Ice permafrost Svalbard wedge* University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Svalbard The Gully ENVELOPE(-57.731,-57.731,51.567,51.567) Geophysical Research Letters 51 11 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Basale biofag: 470 VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Basic biosciences: 470 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Basale biofag: 470 VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Basic biosciences: 470 Parmentier, Frans-Jan W. Nilsen, Lennart Tømmervik, Hans Meisel, Ove H. Bröder, Lisa Vonk, Jorien E. Westermann, Sebastian Semenchuk, Phillip R. Cooper, Elisabeth J. Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff |
topic_facet |
VDP::Matematikk og naturvitenskap: 400::Basale biofag: 470 VDP::Mathematics and natural scienses: 400::Basic biosciences: 470 |
description |
Thicker snow cover in permafrost areas causes deeper active layers and thaw subsidence, which alter local hydrology and may amplify the loss of soil carbon. However, the potential for changes in snow cover and surface runoff to mobilize permafrost carbon remains poorly quantified. In this study, we show that a snow fence experiment on High‐Arctic Svalbard inadvertently led to surface subsidence through warming, and extensive downstream erosion due to increased surface runoff. Within a decade of artificially raised snow depths, several ice wedges collapsed, forming a 50 m long and 1.5 m deep thermo‐erosion gully in the landscape. We estimate that 1.1–3.3 tons C may have eroded, and that the gully is a hotspot for processing of mobilized aquatic carbon. Our results show that interactions among snow, runoff and permafrost thaw form an important driver of soil carbon loss, highlighting the need for improved model representation. Snow cover is steadily disappearing as a result of climate change, but in areas that remain below 0°C we can still expect an increase in snow depth in the middle of winter. Since snow acts akin to a blanket, this warms the soil and accelerates the thaw of permafrost—thereby potentially contributing to carbon release from these frozen soils. Ice wedges, which are typical for permafrost landscapes, are particularly vulnerable to thaw because they hold a large amount of ice. When this ice melts, the surface sinks down, and soil carbon may be lost. In this study, we show how experimentally raised snow cover triggered the collapse of several ice wedges, not only through a warming effect of the snow but also due to an increase in the flow of water through the ice wedge network. As a result, we estimate that 1.1–3.3 tons of carbon were removed from this location, of which a portion could have entered the atmosphere as CO2. We emphasize the importance of studying the interactions among snow, runoff, and permafrost thaw to better understand how this may affect the release of greenhouse gases to the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Parmentier, Frans-Jan W. Nilsen, Lennart Tømmervik, Hans Meisel, Ove H. Bröder, Lisa Vonk, Jorien E. Westermann, Sebastian Semenchuk, Phillip R. Cooper, Elisabeth J. |
author_facet |
Parmentier, Frans-Jan W. Nilsen, Lennart Tømmervik, Hans Meisel, Ove H. Bröder, Lisa Vonk, Jorien E. Westermann, Sebastian Semenchuk, Phillip R. Cooper, Elisabeth J. |
author_sort |
Parmentier, Frans-Jan W. |
title |
Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff |
title_short |
Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff |
title_full |
Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff |
title_fullStr |
Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff |
title_sort |
rapid ice‐wedge collapse and permafrost carbon loss triggered by increased snow depth and surface runoff |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33773 https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108020 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.731,-57.731,51.567,51.567) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard The Gully |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard The Gully |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Ice permafrost Svalbard wedge* |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Ice permafrost Svalbard wedge* |
op_relation |
Geophysical Research Letters Norges forskningsråd: 230970 Andre: FRAM- Terrestrial flagship 362255 Andre: FRAM- Terrestrial flagship 642018 FRIDAID 2274403 doi:10.1029/2023GL108020 0094-8276 1944-8007 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/33773 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2024 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108020 |
container_title |
Geophysical Research Letters |
container_volume |
51 |
container_issue |
11 |
_version_ |
1802641865616392192 |