Large CO 2 and CH 4 emissions from polygonal tundra during spring thaw in northern Alaska: Spring Pulse Emission
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- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California USA
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California USA; Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley California USA
- Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln Nebraska USA
- Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks Alaska USA
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks Alaska USA
- Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont Illinois USA
- Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Tennessee USA
The few prethaw observations of tundra carbon fluxes suggest that there may be large spring releases, but little Is lmown about the scale and underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon. To address these questions, we combined ecosystem eddy flux measurements from two towers near Barrow, Alaska, with mechanistic soil-core thawing experiment During a 2week period prior to snowmelt In 2014, large fluxes were measured, reducing net summer uptake of CO2 by 46% and adding 6% to cumulative CH4 emissions. Emission pulses were linked to unique rain-on-snow events enhancing soli cracking. Controlled laboratory experiment revealed that as surface Ice thaws, an immediate, large pulse of trapped gases Is emitted. These results suggest that the Arctic C02 and CH4 spring pulse is a delayed release of biogenic gas production from the previous fall and that the pulse can be large enough to offset a significant fraction of the moderate Arctic tundra carbon sink.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science - Office of Biological and Environmental Research - Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program; Department of the Interior - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1360152
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 1; ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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