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Title: Large CO2 and CH4 emissions from polygonal tundra during spring thaw in northern Alaska

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071220· OSTI ID:1352811
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy and Resources Group
  3. Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States). Biological Systems Engineering Dept.
  4. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States). Water and Environmental Research Center
  5. Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States). Geophysical Inst.
  6. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Environmental Science Division
  7. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Environmental Sciences Division
+ Show Author Affiliations

©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. The few prethaw observations of tundra carbon fluxes suggest that there may be large spring releases, but little is known 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 2 week period prior to snowmelt in 2014, large fluxes were measured, reducing net summer uptake of CO 2 by 46% and adding 6% to cumulative CH 4 emissions. Emission pulses were linked to unique rain-on-snow events enhancing soil 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 CO 2 and CH 4 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:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Contributing Organization:
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States); Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1352811
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1379682
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 1; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 52 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (6)

Nutrient Release From Permafrost Thaw Enhances CH 4 Emissions From Arctic Tundra Wetlands journal June 2019
Species interactions and distinct microbial communities in high Arctic permafrost affected cryosols are associated with the CH 4 and CO 2 gas fluxes journal July 2019
Impacts of temperature and soil characteristics on methane production and oxidation in Arctic tundra journal January 2018
Scaling and balancing carbon dioxide fluxes in a heterogeneous tundra ecosystem of the Lena River Delta posted_content February 2019
Large carbon cycle sensitivities to climate across a permafrost thaw gradient in subarctic Sweden journal January 2019
Scaling and balancing carbon dioxide fluxes in a heterogeneous tundra ecosystem of the Lena River Delta journal January 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Arctic
tundra
carbon fluxes
thaw
pulse
eddy covariance