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Methane Efflux Measured by Eddy Covariance in Alaskan Upland Tundra Undergoing Permafrost Degradation

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jg004444· OSTI ID:1539766
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2]
  1. Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States)
  3. Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States); Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States)
  4. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

Greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost in arctic ecosystems may amplify global warming, yet estimates of the rate of carbon release, and the proportion of carbon released as methane (CH4) or carbon dioxide (CO2), have a high degree of uncertainty. There are many areas where no measurements exist, and few year-round or long-term records. Existing year-round eddy covariance measurements of arctic CH4 fluxes suggest that nongrowing season emissions make up a significant proportion of tundra systems emissions on an annual basis. Here we present continuous CH4 flux measurements made at Eight Mile Lake, an upland tundra ecosystem undergoing permafrost degradation in Interior Alaska. We found net CH4 emissions throughout the year (1.2 ∓ 0.011 g C-CH4 m2/yr) that made up 61% of total radiative forcing from annual C emissions (CO2 and CH4; 32.3 g C m2/yr) when taking into account the greenhouse warming potential of CH4 relative to CO2. Nongrowing season emissions accounted for 50% of the annual CH4 budget, characterized by large pulse emissions. These were related to abrupt increases in air and shallow soil temperatures rather than consistent emissions during the zero curtain—a period of the fall/early winter season when subsurface soil temperatures remain near the 0 °C freezing point. Weekly growing season CH4 emissions in 2016 and 2017 were significantly related with thaw depth, and the magnitude of CH4 emissions between these seasons was proportional to the rate of active layer thaw throughout the season.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0006982; SC0014085
OSTI ID:
1539766
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1469221
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 123; ISSN 2169-8953
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (4)

Advances in the Eddy Covariance Approach to CH 4 Monitoring Over Two and a Half Decades journal March 2019
Sensitivity of Methane Emissions to Later Soil Freezing in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems journal August 2019
Responses of tundra soil microbial communities to half a decade of experimental warming at two critical depths journal July 2019
Quantifying the impact of emission outbursts and non-stationary flow on eddy-covariance CH4 flux measurements using wavelet techniques journal January 2019

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