Long-term CO2 production following permafrost thaw

Bo Elberling; Anders Michelsen; Christina Schädel; Edward A.G. Schuur; Hanne H. Christiansen; Louise Berg; Mikkel P. Tamstorf; Charlotte Sigsgaard

doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE1955

Long-term CO₂ production following permafrost thaw

Bo Elberling, Anders Michelsen, Christina Schädel, Edward A.G. Schuur, Hanne H. Christiansen, Louise Berg, Mikkel P. Tamstorf, Charlotte Sigsgaard

130 Citationer (Scopus)

196 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Thawing permafrost represents a poorly understood feedback mechanism of climate change in the Arctic, but with a potential impact owing to stored carbon being mobilized. We have quantified the long-term loss of carbon (C) from thawing permafrost in Northeast Greenland from 1996 to 2008 by combining repeated sediment sampling to assess changes in C stock and >12 years of CO₂ production in incubated permafrost samples. Field observations show that the active-layer thickness has increased by >1 cm yr -1 but thawing has not resulted in a detectable decline in C stocks. Laboratory mineralization rates at 5°C resulted in a C loss between 9 and 75%, depending on drainage, highlighting the potential of fast mobilization of permafrost C under aerobic conditions, but also that C at near-saturated conditions may remain largely immobilized over decades. This is confirmed by a three-pool C dynamics model that projects a potential C loss between 13 and 77% for 50 years of incubation at 5°C.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Tidsskrift	Nature Climate Change
Vol/bind	3
Sider (fra-til)	890-894
Antal sider	5
ISSN	1758-678X
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1955
Status	Udgivet - okt. 2013

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10.1038/NCLIMATE1955

2013 Final MS Nature Climate ChangeAccepteret manuskript, 166 KB
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2013 Fig2 Nature Climate ChangeAccepteret manuskript, 478 KB
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Citationsformater

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abstract = "Thawing permafrost represents a poorly understood feedback mechanism of climate change in the Arctic, but with a potential impact owing to stored carbon being mobilized. We have quantified the long-term loss of carbon (C) from thawing permafrost in Northeast Greenland from 1996 to 2008 by combining repeated sediment sampling to assess changes in C stock and >12 years of CO2 production in incubated permafrost samples. Field observations show that the active-layer thickness has increased by >1 cm yr -1 but thawing has not resulted in a detectable decline in C stocks. Laboratory mineralization rates at 5°C resulted in a C loss between 9 and 75%, depending on drainage, highlighting the potential of fast mobilization of permafrost C under aerobic conditions, but also that C at near-saturated conditions may remain largely immobilized over decades. This is confirmed by a three-pool C dynamics model that projects a potential C loss between 13 and 77% for 50 years of incubation at 5°C.",

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AU - Elberling, Bo

AU - Michelsen, Anders

AU - Schädel, Christina

AU - Schuur, Edward A.G.

AU - Christiansen, Hanne H.

AU - Berg, Louise

AU - Tamstorf, Mikkel P.

AU - Sigsgaard, Charlotte

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N2 - Thawing permafrost represents a poorly understood feedback mechanism of climate change in the Arctic, but with a potential impact owing to stored carbon being mobilized. We have quantified the long-term loss of carbon (C) from thawing permafrost in Northeast Greenland from 1996 to 2008 by combining repeated sediment sampling to assess changes in C stock and >12 years of CO2 production in incubated permafrost samples. Field observations show that the active-layer thickness has increased by >1 cm yr -1 but thawing has not resulted in a detectable decline in C stocks. Laboratory mineralization rates at 5°C resulted in a C loss between 9 and 75%, depending on drainage, highlighting the potential of fast mobilization of permafrost C under aerobic conditions, but also that C at near-saturated conditions may remain largely immobilized over decades. This is confirmed by a three-pool C dynamics model that projects a potential C loss between 13 and 77% for 50 years of incubation at 5°C.

AB - Thawing permafrost represents a poorly understood feedback mechanism of climate change in the Arctic, but with a potential impact owing to stored carbon being mobilized. We have quantified the long-term loss of carbon (C) from thawing permafrost in Northeast Greenland from 1996 to 2008 by combining repeated sediment sampling to assess changes in C stock and >12 years of CO2 production in incubated permafrost samples. Field observations show that the active-layer thickness has increased by >1 cm yr -1 but thawing has not resulted in a detectable decline in C stocks. Laboratory mineralization rates at 5°C resulted in a C loss between 9 and 75%, depending on drainage, highlighting the potential of fast mobilization of permafrost C under aerobic conditions, but also that C at near-saturated conditions may remain largely immobilized over decades. This is confirmed by a three-pool C dynamics model that projects a potential C loss between 13 and 77% for 50 years of incubation at 5°C.

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