As high latitudes warm, carbon and nitrogen stored in permafrost soil will be vulnerable to erosion and transport to Arctic streams and rivers. We sampled outflow from 83 permafrost collapse features in Alaska. Permafrost collapse caused substantial increases in dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen but decreased methane concentration by 90%. Upland thermokarst may be a dominant linkage transferring carbon and nutrients from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems as the Arctic warms.