| 1. |
- Abbott, Benjamin W., et al.
(författare)
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Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire : an expert assessment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 11:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of the critical factors driving carbon balance are unlikely in the near future, so to address this gap, we present estimates from 98 permafrost-region experts of the response of biomass, wildfire, and hydrologic carbon flux to climate change. Results suggest that contrary to model projections, total permafrost-region biomass could decrease due to water stress and disturbance, factors that are not adequately incorporated in current models. Assessments indicate that end-of-the-century organic carbon release from Arctic rivers and collapsing coastlines could increase by 75% while carbon loss via burning could increase four-fold. Experts identified water balance, shifts in vegetation community, and permafrost degradation as the key sources of uncertainty in predicting future system response. In combination with previous findings, results suggest the permafrost region will become a carbon source to the atmosphere by 2100 regardless of warming scenario but that 65%-85% of permafrost carbon release can still be avoided if human emissions are actively reduced.
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| 2. |
- Feng, Xiaojuan, et al.
(författare)
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Differential mobilization of terrestrial carbon pools in Eurasian Arctic river basins
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 110:35, s. 14168-14173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mobilization of Arctic permafrost carbon is expected to increase with warming-induced thawing. However, this effect is challenging to assess due to the diverse processes controlling the release of various organic carbon (OC) pools from heterogeneous Arctic landscapes. Here, by radiocarbon dating various terrestrial OC components in fluvially and coastally integrated estuarine sediments, we present a unique framework for deconvoluting the contrasting mobilization mechanisms of surface vs. deep (permafrost) carbon pools across the climosequence of the Eurasian Arctic. Vascular plant-derived lignin phenol C-14 contents reveal significant inputs of young carbon from surface sources whose delivery is dominantly controlled by river runoff. In contrast, plant wax lipids predominantly trace ancient (permafrost) OC that is preferentially mobilized from discontinuous permafrost regions, where hydrological conduits penetrate deeper into soils and thermokarst erosion occurs more frequently. Because river runoff has significantly increased across the Eurasian Arctic in recent decades, we estimate from an isotopic mixing model that, in tandem with an increased transfer of young surface carbon, the proportion of mobilized terrestrial OC accounted for by ancient carbon has increased by 3-6% between 1985 and 2004. These findings suggest that although partly masked by surface carbon export, climate change-induced mobilization of old permafrost carbon is well underway in the Arctic.
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| 3. |
- Feng, Xiaojuan, et al.
(författare)
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Multimolecular tracers of terrestrial carbon transfer across the pan-Arctic : C-14 characteristics of sedimentary carbon components and their environmental controls
- 2015
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Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 29:11, s. 1855-1873
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Distinguishing the sources, ages, and fate of various terrestrial organic carbon (OC) pools mobilized from heterogeneous Arctic landscapes is key to assessing climatic impacts on the fluvial release of carbon from permafrost. Through molecular C-14 measurements, including novel analyses of suberin- and/or cutin-derived diacids (DAs) and hydroxy fatty acids (FAs), we compared the radiocarbon characteristics of a comprehensive suite of terrestrial markers (including plant wax lipids, cutin, suberin, lignin, and hydroxy phenols) in the sedimentary particles from nine major arctic and subarctic rivers in order to establish a benchmark assessment of the mobilization patterns of terrestrial OC pools across the pan-Arctic. Terrestrial lipids, including suberin-derived longer-chain DAs (C-24,C-26,C-28), plant wax FAs (C(24,26,2)8), and n-alkanes (C-27,C-29,C-31), incorporated significant inputs of aged carbon, presumably from deeper soil horizons. Mobilization and translocation of these old terrestrial carbon components was dependent on nonlinear processes associated with permafrost distributions. By contrast, shorter-chain (C-16,C-18) DAs and lignin phenols (as well as hydroxy phenols in rivers outside eastern Eurasian Arctic) were much more enriched in C-14, suggesting incorporation of relatively young carbon supplied by runoff processes from recent vegetation debris and surface layers. Furthermore, the radiocarbon content of terrestrial markers is heavily influenced by specific OC sources and degradation status. Overall, multitracer molecular C-14 analysis sheds new light on the mobilization of terrestrial OC from arctic watersheds. Our findings of distinct ages for various terrestrial carbon components may aid in elucidating fate of different terrestrial OC pools in the face of increasing arctic permafrost thaw.
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| 4. |
- Wegner, Carolyn, et al.
(författare)
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Variability in transport of terrigenous material on the shelves and the deep Arctic Ocean during the Holocene
- 2015
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Ingår i: Polar Research. - : Norwegian Polar Institute. - 0800-0395 .- 1751-8369. ; 34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arctic coastal zones serve as a sensitive filter for terrigenous matter input onto the shelves via river discharge and coastal erosion. This material is further distributed across the Arctic by ocean currents and sea ice. The coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to changes related to recent climate change. We compiled a pan-Arctic review that looks into the changing Holocene sources, transport processes and sinks of terrigenous sediment in the Arctic Ocean. Existing palaeoceanographic studies demonstrate how climate warming and the disappearance of ice sheets during the early Holocene initiated eustatic sea-level rise that greatly modified the physiography of the Arctic Ocean. Sedimentation rates over the shelves and slopes were much greater during periods of rapid sea-level rise in the early and middle Holocene, as a result of the relative distance to the terrestrial sediment sources. However, estimates of suspended sediment delivery through major Arctic rivers do not indicate enhanced delivery during this time, which suggests enhanced rates of coastal erosion. The increased supply of terrigenous material to the outer shelves and deep Arctic Ocean in the early and middle Holocene might serve as analogous to forecast changes in the future Arctic.
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| 5. |
- Alling, Vanja, et al.
(författare)
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Non-conservative behavior of dissolved organic carbon across the Laptev and East Siberian Seas
- 2010
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Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 24, s. GB4033-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is expected to have a strong effect on the Eastern Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) region, which includes 40% of the Arctic shelves and comprises the Laptev and East Siberian seas. The largest organic carbon pool, the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), may change significantly due to changes in both riverine inputs and transformation rates; however, the present DOC inventories and transformation patterns are poorly understood. Using samples from the International Siberian Shelf Study 2008, this study examines for the first time DOC removal in Arctic shelf waters with residence times that range from months to years. Removals of up to 10%–20% were found in the Lena River estuary, consistent with earlier studies in this area, where surface waters were shown to have a residence time of approximately 2 months. In contrast, the DOC concentrations showed a strong nonconservative pattern in areas with freshwater residence times of several years. The average losses of DOC were estimated to be 30%–50% during mixing along the shelf, corresponding to a first-order removal rate constant of 0.3 yr−1. These data provide the first observational evidence for losses of DOC in the Arctic shelf seas, and the calculated DOC deficit reflects DOC losses that are higher than recent model estimates for the region. Overall, a large proportion of riverine DOC is removed from the surface waters across the Arctic shelves. Such significant losses must be included in models of the carbon cycle for the Arctic Ocean, especially since the breakdown of terrestrial DOC to CO2 in Arctic shelf seas may constitute a positive feedback mechanism for Arctic climate warming. These data also provide a baseline for considering the effects of future changes in carbon fluxes, as the vast northern carbon-rich permafrost areas draining into the Arctic are affected by global warming.
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| 6. |
- Bruhn, Anders Dalhoff, et al.
(författare)
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Terrestrial Dissolved Organic Matter Mobilized From Eroding Permafrost Controls Microbial Community Composition and Growth in Arctic Coastal Zones
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Earth Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-6463. ; 9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate warming is accelerating erosion along permafrost-dominated Arctic coasts. This results in the additional supply of organic matter (OM) and nutrients into the coastal zone. In this study we investigate the impact of coastal erosion on the marine microbial community composition and growth rates in the coastal Beaufort Sea. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from three representative glacial deposit types (fluvial, lacustrine, and moraine) along the Yukon coastal plain, Canada, were used as substrate to cultivate marine bacteria using a chemostat setup. Our results show that DOM composition (inferred from UV-Visible spectroscopy) and biodegradability (inferred from DOC concentration, bacterial production and respiration) significantly differ between the three glacial deposit types. DOM derived from fluvial and moraine types show clear terrestrial characteristics with low aromaticity (Sr: 0.63 ± 0.02 and SUVA254: 1.65 ± 0.06 L mg C−1 m−1 & Sr: 0.68 ± 0.01 and SUVA254: 1.17 ± 0.06 L mg C−1 m−1, respectively) compared to the lacustrine soil type (Sr: 0.71 ± 0.02 and SUVA254: 2.15 ± 0.05 L mg C−1 m−1). The difference in composition of DOM leads to the development of three different microbial communities. Whereas Alphaproteobacteria dominate in fluvial and lacustrine deposit types (67 and 87% relative abundance, respectively), Gammaproteobacteria is the most abundant class for moraine deposit type (88% relative abundance). Bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) is 66% for DOM from moraine deposit type, while 13 and 28% for DOM from fluvial and lacustrine deposit types, respectively. The three microbial communities therefore differ strongly in their net effect on DOM utilization depending on the eroded landscape type. The high BGE value for moraine-derived DOM is probably caused by a larger proportion of labile colorless DOM. These results indicate that the substrate controls marine microbial community composition and activities in coastal waters. This suggests that biogeochemical changes in the Arctic coastal zone will depend on the DOM character of adjacent deposit types, which determine the speed and extent of DOM mineralization and thereby carbon channeling into the microbial food web. We conclude that marine microbes strongly respond to the input of terrestrial DOM released by coastal erosion and that the landscape type differently influence marine microbes.
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| 7. |
- Klaminder, Jonatan, et al.
(författare)
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Lead Contamination of Subarctic Lakes and Its Response to Reduced Atmospheric Fallout : Can the Recovery Process Be Counteracted by the Ongoing Climate Change?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 44:7, s. 2335-2340
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Can a climate-triggered export of old contaminants from the soil alter the lead (Pb) contaminant burden of subarctic lakes? To address this question, we reconstructed the pollution history of three high latitude lakes situated in a region where a recent climatic shift has occurred. Dated sediment records were used as archives of past Pb inputs to the lakes, where the difference in the Pb-206/Pb-207 ratio between atmospheric contaminants (Pb-206/Pb-207 ratio <1.16) and geogenic Pb in the catchment soil (Pb-206/Pb-207 ratio >1.22) were used to trace fluxes of Pb contaminants. Lead contaminants were found in sediments deposited since Roman times. A significant export of Pb from the soil contaminant pool is indicated in two of the lakes surrounded by near-shore permafrost soils. Here, levels of Pb contaminants and Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios of sediments deposited after the 1970s appear not to have been strongly affected by the >= 90% reduction in atmospheric deposition rates and increasing Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios of atmospheric Pb since the 1990s. We concluded that soil processes stimulated by the ongoing climate change at high latitudes might work counteractive to efforts to reduce contaminant levels in subarctic lakes.
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| 8. |
- Parmentier, Frans Jan W, et al.
(författare)
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A synthesis of the arctic terrestrial and marine carbon cycles under pressure from a dwindling cryosphere
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447. ; 46, s. 53-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current downturn of the arctic cryosphere, such as the strong loss of sea ice, melting of ice sheets and glaciers, and permafrost thaw, affects the marine and terrestrial carbon cycles in numerous interconnected ways. Nonetheless, processes in the ocean and on land have been too often considered in isolation while it has become increasingly clear that the two environments are strongly connected: Sea ice decline is one of the main causes of the rapid warming of the Arctic, and the flow of carbon from rivers into the Arctic Ocean affects marine processes and the air–sea exchange of CO2. This review, therefore, provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of the arctic terrestrial and marine carbon cycle, connections in between, and how this complex system is affected by climate change and a declining cryosphere. Ultimately, better knowledge of biogeochemical processes combined with improved model representations of ocean–land interactions are essential to accurately predict the development of arctic ecosystems and associated climate feedbacks.
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| 9. |
- Sanchez-Garcia, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Characterisation of Three Regimes of Collapsing Arctic Ice Complex Deposits on the SE Laptev Sea Coast using Biomarkers and Dual Carbon Isotopes
- 2014
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Ingår i: Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. - : Wiley. - 1045-6740 .- 1099-1530. ; 25:3, s. 172-183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arctic amplification of climate warming is intensifying the thaw and coastal erosion of the widespread and carbon-rich Siberian Ice Complex Deposits (ICD). Despite the potential for altering long-term carbon dynamics in the Arctic, the susceptibility of organic carbon (OC) to degradation as the ICD thaw is poorly characterised. This study identifies signs of OC degradation in three Siberian ICD regimes of coastal erosion through elemental, isotopic and molecular analyses. The degree of erosion appears to determine the extent of degradation. The moisture-limited and beach-protected ICD bluff near Buor-Khaya Cape, characterised by thermokarst mounds (baydzherakhs), represents a dormant regime with limited ongoing degradation. Conversely, the more exposed ICD scarps on eroding riverbanks (Olenek Channel, Lena Delta) and coastal slopes (Muostakh Island) showed more pronounced signs of ongoing OC decay. Different parameters suggest that degradation can partially explain the shift of the OC signature with C-14 age in the thawing ICD. Exposure time, degree of erosion, slope gradient and moisture conditions appear to be key factors determining the degradation propensity of OC in exposed ICD. These field results document the lability of OC in ICD upon thaw and illustrate the potential for transferring old OC into the rapidly cycling atmosphere-biosphere carbon pools.
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| 10. |
- Sayedi, Sayedeh Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Subsea permafrost carbon stocks and climate change sensitivity estimated by expert assessment
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 15:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The continental shelves of the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas contain large stocks of organic matter (OM) and methane (CH4), representing a potential ecosystem feedback to climate change not included in international climate agreements. We performed a structured expert assessment with 25 permafrost researchers to combine quantitative estimates of the stocks and sensitivity of organic carbon in the subsea permafrost domain (i.e. unglaciated portions of the continental shelves exposed during the last glacial period). Experts estimated that the subsea permafrost domain contains similar to 560 gigatons carbon (GtC; 170-740, 90% confidence interval) in OM and 45 GtC (10-110) in CH4. Current fluxes of CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2) to the water column were estimated at 18 (2-34) and 38 (13-110) megatons C yr(-1), respectively. Under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) RCP8.5, the subsea permafrost domain could release 43 Gt CO2-equivalent (CO(2)e) by 2100 (14-110) and 190 Gt CO(2)e by 2300 (45-590), with similar to 30% fewer emissions under RCP2.6. The range of uncertainty demonstrates a serious knowledge gap but provides initial estimates of the magnitude and timing of the subsea permafrost climate feedback.
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