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Permafrost Carbon: Progress on Understanding Stocks and Fluxes Across Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023jg007638· OSTI ID:2322510
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  1. Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam (Germany). Alfred Wegener Institute
  2. Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States); Stockholm University (Sweden)
  3. Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter (United Kingdom)
  4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States)
  5. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Jet Propulsion Lab. (JPL)
  6. Chapman University, Orange, CA (United States)
  7. University of Oslo (Norway)
  8. Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA (United States)
  9. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
  10. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  11. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  12. University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD (United States)
  13. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)
  14. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (Germany)
  15. GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam (Germany)
  16. University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio (Finland)
  17. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States); University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  18. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Uppsala University (Sweden)
  19. University of Montreal, QC (Canada)
  20. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  21. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ (United States)
  22. Stockholm University (Sweden)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Significant progress in permafrost carbon science made over the past decades include the identification of vast permafrost carbon stocks, the development of new pan-Arctic permafrost maps, an increase in terrestrial measurement sites for CO2 and methane fluxes, and important factors affecting carbon cycling, including vegetation changes, periods of soil freezing and thawing, wildfire, and other disturbance events. Process-based modeling studies now include key elements of permafrost carbon cycling and advances in statistical modeling and inverse modeling enhance understanding of permafrost region C budgets. By combining existing data syntheses and model outputs, the permafrost region is likely a wetland methane source and small terrestrial ecosystem CO2 sink with lower net CO2 uptake toward higher latitudes, excluding wildfire emissions. For 2002–2014, the strongest CO2 sink was located in western Canada (median: -52 g C m-2 y-1) and smallest sinks in Alaska, Canadian tundra, and Siberian tundra (medians: -5 to -9 g C m-2 y-1). Eurasian regions had the largest median wetland methane fluxes (16–18 g CH4 m-2 y-1). Quantifying the regional scale carbon balance remains challenging because of high spatial and temporal variability and relatively low density of observations. More accurate permafrost region carbon fluxes require: (a) the development of better maps characterizing wetlands and dynamics of vegetation and disturbances, including abrupt permafrost thaw; (b) the establishment of new year-round CO2 and methane flux sites in underrepresented areas; and (c) improved models that better represent important permafrost carbon cycle dynamics, including non-growing season emissions and disturbance effects.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
EU Horizon 2020; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Minderoo Foundation; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Research Council of Norway; Swedish Research Council; Swiss National Science Foundation; USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
2322510
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA--195592
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 129; ISSN 2169-8953
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CH4
co2
permafrost
synthesis