Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14338· OSTI ID:1335316
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [6];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [14];  [15]
  1. Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States); Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  2. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States)
  3. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar Marine Research, Potsdam (Germany)
  4. U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  6. Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden)
  7. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  8. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
  9. Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States)
  10. Univ. of Guelph, Guelph, ON (Canada); Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)
  11. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States); Tyumen State Oil and Gas Univ., Tyumen (Russia)
  12. National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, CO (United States)
  13. Univ. of Guelph, Guelph, ON (Canada)
  14. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  15. Utrecht Univ., Utrecht (The Netherlands)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Large quantities of organic carbon are stored in frozen soils (permafrost) within Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Awarming climate can induce environmental changes that accelerate the microbial breakdown of organic carbon and the release of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane. Furthermore, this feedback can accelerate climate change, but the magnitude and timing of greenhouse gas emission from these regions and their impact on climate change remain uncertain. Here we find that current evidence suggests a gradual and prolonged release of greenhouse gas emissions in a warming climate and present a research strategy with which to target poorly understood aspects of permafrost carbon dynamics.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1335316
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Journal Name: Nature (London) Journal Issue: 7546 Vol. 520; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (82)

A shift of thermokarst lakes from carbon sources to sinks during the Holocene epoch journal July 2014
Geochemical and geophysical evidence of methane release over the East Siberian Arctic Shelf journal January 2010
Empirical estimates to reduce modeling uncertainties of soil organic carbon in permafrost regions: a review of recent progress and remaining challenges journal July 2013
High stocks of soil organic carbon in the North American Arctic region journal August 2008
Temperature and peat type control CO 2 and CH 4 production in Alaskan permafrost peats journal April 2014
CO 2 and CH 4 exchanges between land ecosystems and the atmosphere in northern high latitudes over the 21st century journal January 2006
Sensitivity of the carbon cycle in the Arctic to climate change journal November 2009
Long-term CO2 production following permafrost thaw journal July 2013
An assessment of the carbon balance of Arctic tundra: comparisons among observations, process models, and atmospheric inversions journal January 2012
High risk of permafrost thaw journal November 2011
Permafrost carbon: Stock and decomposability of a globally significant carbon pool journal January 2006
Global Warming and Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Conceptual Framework for Analysis journal January 2000
Amount and timing of permafrost carbon release in response to climate warming: AMOUNT AND TIMING OF PERMAFROST CARBON RELEASE journal February 2011
The deep permafrost carbon pool of the Yedoma region in Siberia and Alaska: DEEP CARBON OF SIBERIA AND ALASKA journal December 2013
Circumpolar assessment of permafrost C quality and its vulnerability over time using long-term incubation data journal October 2013
Expert assessment of vulnerability of permafrost carbon to climate change journal March 2013
Disappearing Arctic Lakes journal June 2005
High-resolution mapping of ecosystem carbon storage and potential effects of permafrost thaw in periglacial terrain, European Russian Arctic journal January 2011
Thermokarst Lakes as a Source of Atmospheric CH 4 During the Last Deglaciation journal October 2007
Estimating the near-surface permafrost-carbon feedback on global warming journal January 2012
Response of tundra CH4 and CO2 flux tomanipulation of temperature and vegetation journal January 1998
Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle journal September 2008
Enhanced terrestrial carbon uptake in the Northern High Latitudes in the 21st century from the Coupled Carbon Cycle Climate Model Intercomparison Project model projections journal February 2010
Shrinking ponds in subarctic Alaska based on 1950-2002 remotely sensed images: SHRINKING PONDS ACROSS BOREAL ALASKA journal October 2006
Estimated stocks of circumpolar permafrost carbon with quantified uncertainty ranges and identified data gaps journal January 2014
Ebullition and storm-induced methane release from the East Siberian Arctic Shelf journal November 2013
CLIMATE CHANGE: Permafrost and the Global Carbon Budget journal June 2006
Diagnosing Present and Future Permafrost from Climate Models journal August 2013
Fossil organic matter characteristics in permafrost deposits of the northeast Siberian Arctic journal January 2011
Report from the International Permafrost Association: state of permafrost in the first decade of the 21st century journal January 2008
Predicting long-term carbon mineralization and trace gas production from thawing permafrost of Northeast Siberia journal January 2013
The Vertical Distribution of soil Organic Carbon and its Relation to Climate and Vegetation journal April 2000
Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region: SOIL ORGANIC CARBON POOLS journal June 2009
Long-term warming restructures Arctic tundra without changing net soil carbon storage journal May 2013
Forests on thawing permafrost: fragmentation, edge effects, and net forest loss journal January 2014
Recent changes in shelf hydrography in the Siberian Arctic: Potential for subsea permafrost instability journal January 2011
Contribution of permafrost soils to the global carbon budget journal February 2013
Global carbon budget 2013 journal January 2014
Arctic: Speed of methane release journal August 2013
Presence of Eriophorum scheuchzeri enhances substrate availability and methane emission in an Arctic wetland journal February 2012
Differential mobilization of terrestrial carbon pools in Eurasian Arctic river basins journal August 2013
The Northern Circumpolar Soil Carbon Database: spatially distributed datasets of soil coverage and soil carbon storage in the northern permafrost regions journal January 2013
Uncertainties in the global temperature change caused by carbon release from permafrost thawing journal January 2012
The impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate journal August 2014
Modeling sub-sea permafrost in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf: The Laptev Sea region: MODELING SUB-SEA PERMAFROST EVOLUTION journal September 2012
Decadal vegetation changes in a northern peatland, greenhouse gas fluxes and net radiative forcing journal December 2006
Potential carbon release from permafrost soils of Northeastern Siberia journal December 2006
Significant contribution to climate warming from the permafrost carbon feedback journal September 2012
Cumulative geoecological effects of 62 years of infrastructure and climate change in ice-rich permafrost landscapes, Prudhoe Bay Oilfield, Alaska journal February 2014
Analysis of Permafrost Thermal Dynamics and Response to Climate Change in the CMIP5 Earth System Models journal March 2013
Vast costs of Arctic change journal July 2013
Abrupt increase in permafrost degradation in Arctic Alaska journal January 2006
Surface exposure to sunlight stimulates CO 2 release from permafrost soil carbon in the Arctic journal February 2013
Warming-induced destabilization of peat plateau/thermokarst lake complexes journal January 2011
Modern thermokarst lake dynamics in the continuous permafrost zone, northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska journal January 2011
The impact of lower sea-ice extent on Arctic greenhouse-gas exchange journal February 2013
Methane bubbling from Siberian thaw lakes as a positive feedback to climate warming journal September 2006
On the spatial distribution of high winds off southeast Greenland: DISTRIBUTION OF GREENLAND BARRIER WINDS journal July 2012
Characteristics of the recent warming of permafrost in Alaska journal January 2007
Upscaling terrestrial carbon dioxide fluxes in Alaska with satellite remote sensing and support vector regression: UPSCALING CO journal July 2013
Estimating the Permafrost-Carbon Climate Response in the CMIP5 Climate Models Using a Simplified Approach journal July 2013
High biolability of ancient permafrost carbon upon thaw: BIOLABILITY OF ANCIENT PERMAFROST CARBON journal June 2013
Arctic: Uncertainties in methane link journal August 2013
Thermal state of permafrost in Russia journal April 2010
Offshore permafrost and gas hydrate stability zone on the shelf of East Siberian Seas journal March 2005
Tundra ecosystems observed to be CO 2 sources due to differential amplification of the carbon cycle journal August 2013
Simulation of Present-Day and Future Permafrost and Seasonally Frozen Ground Conditions in CCSM4 journal April 2012
Thawing sub-arctic permafrost: Effects on vegetation and methane emissions journal January 2004
Increased CO 2 loss from vegetated drained lake tundra ecosystems due to flooding : INCREASED TUNDRA CO journal April 2012
Temperature dependence of organic matter decomposition: a critical review using literature data analyzed with different models journal July 1998
Permafrost carbon-climate feedbacks accelerate global warming journal August 2011
Cryostratigraphy of late Pleistocene syngenetic permafrost (yedoma) in northern Alaska, Itkillik River exposure journal May 2011
Will changes in soil organic carbon act as a positive or negative feedback on global warming? journal January 2000
Using the deuterium isotope composition of permafrost meltwater to constrain thermokarst lake contributions to atmospheric CH 4 during the last deglaciation journal February 2012
Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental records from the western Lena Delta, Arctic Siberia journal January 2011
Permafrost conditions in peatlands regulate magnitude, timing, and chemical composition of catchment dissolved organic carbon export journal May 2014
Activation of old carbon by erosion of coastal and subsea permafrost in Arctic Siberia journal August 2012
Environmental and physical controls on northern terrestrial methane emissions across permafrost zones journal November 2012
Mechanisms influencing changes in lake area in Alaskan boreal forest: MECHANISMS FOR LAKE AREA CHANGE IN ALASKA journal May 2011
Causes of variation in soil carbon simulations from CMIP5 Earth system models and comparison with observations journal January 2013
Permafrost-carbon complexities journal August 2013
Reduction in areal extent of high-latitude wetlands in response to permafrost thaw journal June 2011

Similar Records

Permafrost and Climate Change: Carbon Cycle Feedbacks From the Warming Arctic
Journal Article · Mon Oct 17 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · OSTI ID:1899837
Permafrost Meta-Omics and Climate Change
Journal Article · Wed Jun 29 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · OSTI ID:1602277
Permafrost Meta-Omics and Climate Change
Journal Article · Wed Jun 29 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · OSTI ID:1326138

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES