Methane emissions proportional to permafrost carbon thawed in Arctic lakes since the 1950s


Contact
guido.grosse [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

Permafrost thaw exposes previously frozen soil organic matter to microbial decomposition. This process generates methane and carbon dioxide, and thereby fuels a positive feedback process that leads to further warming and thaw. Despite widespread permafrost degradation during the past â 1/440 years, the degree to which permafrost thaw may be contributing to a feedback between warming and thaw in recent decades is not well understood. Radiocarbon evidence of modern emissions of ancient permafrost carbon is also sparse. Here we combine radiocarbon dating of lake bubble trace-gas methane (113 measurements) and soil organic carbon (289 measurements) for lakes in Alaska, Canada, Sweden and Siberia with numerical modelling of thaw and remote sensing of thermokarst shore expansion. Methane emissions from thermokarst areas of lakes that have expanded over the past 60 years were directly proportional to the mass of soil carbon inputs to the lakes from the erosion of thawing permafrost. Radiocarbon dating indicates that methane age from lakes is nearly identical to the age of permafrost soil carbon thawing around them. Based on this evidence of landscape-scale permafrost carbon feedback, we estimate that 0.2 to 2.5 Pg permafrost carbon was released as methane and carbon dioxide in thermokarst expansion zones of pan-Arctic lakes during the past 60 years.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
41738
DOI https://www.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2795

Cite as
Walter Anthony, K. , Daanen, R. , Anthony, P. , Schneider von Deimling, T. , Ping, C. L. , Chanton, J. P. and Grosse, G. (2016): Methane emissions proportional to permafrost carbon thawed in Arctic lakes since the 1950s , Nature Geoscience, 9 (9), pp. 679-682 . doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2795


Share


Citation

Geographical region

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A

Funded by
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/338335


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item