Articles | Volume 12, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-977-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-977-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Feb 2015
Research article |
| 17 Feb 2015
Frozen ponds: production and storage of methane during the Arctic winter in a lowland tundra landscape in northern Siberia, Lena River delta
M. Langer
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Periglacial Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
S. Westermann
Department of Geography, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
K. Walter Anthony
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center, Fairbanks, USA
K. Wischnewski
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Periglacial Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Periglacial Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
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Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2016-117, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2016-117, 2016
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This paper aims to quantify pools of inorganic nitrogen in permafrost soils of arctic Siberia and to estimate annual release rates of this nitrogen due to permafrost thaw. We report for the first time stores of inorganic nitrogen in Siberian permafrost soils. These nitrogen stores are important as permafrost thaw can mobilize substantial amounts of nitrogen, potentially changing the nutrient balance of these soils and representing a significant non-carbon permafrost climate feedback.
J. Boike, C. Georgi, G. Kirilin, S. Muster, K. Abramova, I. Fedorova, A. Chetverova, M. Grigoriev, N. Bornemann, and M. Langer
Biogeosciences, 12, 5941–5965, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5941-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5941-2015, 2015
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We show that lakes in northern Siberia are very efficient with respect to energy absorption and mixing using measurements as well as numerical modeling. We show that (i) the lakes receive substantial energy for warming from net short-wave radiation; (ii) convective mixing occurs beneath the ice cover, follow beneath the ice cover, following ice break-up, summer, and fall (iii) modeling suggests that the annual mean net heat flux across the bottom sediment boundary is approximately zero.
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The Cryosphere, 9, 1505–1521, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1505-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1505-2015, 2015
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In this paper we use a global land-surface model to study the dynamics of Arctic permafrost. We examine the impact of new and improved processes in the model, namely soil depth and resolution, organic soils, moss and the representation of snow. These improvements make the simulated soil temperatures and thaw depth significantly more realistic. Simulations under future climate scenarios show that permafrost thaws more slowly in the new model version, but still a large amount is lost by 2100.
A. Ekici, S. Chadburn, N. Chaudhary, L. H. Hajdu, A. Marmy, S. Peng, J. Boike, E. Burke, A. D. Friend, C. Hauck, G. Krinner, M. Langer, P. A. Miller, and C. Beer
The Cryosphere, 9, 1343–1361, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015, 2015
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This paper compares the performance of different land models in estimating soil thermal regimes at distinct cold region landscape types. Comparing models with different processes reveal the importance of surface insulation (snow/moss layer) and soil internal processes (heat/water transfer). The importance of model processes also depend on site conditions such as high/low snow cover, dry/wet soil types.
S. Chadburn, E. Burke, R. Essery, J. Boike, M. Langer, M. Heikenfeld, P. Cox, and P. Friedlingstein
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1493–1508, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1493-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1493-2015, 2015
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Permafrost, ground that is frozen for 2 or more years, is found extensively in the Arctic. It stores large quantities of carbon, which may be released under climate warming, so it is important to include it in climate models. Here we improve the representation of permafrost in a climate model land-surface scheme, both in the numerical representation of soil and snow, and by adding the effects of organic soils and moss. Site simulations show significantly improved soil temperature and thaw depth.
S. Yi, K. Wischnewski, M. Langer, S. Muster, and J. Boike
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 1671–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1671-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1671-2014, 2014
Joana Pedro Baptista, Goncalo Brito Guapo Teles Vieira, Hyoungseok Lee, António Manuel de Carvalho Soares Correia, and Sebastian Westermann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-150, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-150, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Permafrost underlies ice-free areas of Antarctica, but its response to long-term warming is unclear due to a limited number of monitoring sites. To address this, we used the CryoGrid model, forced with climate data, to estimate permafrost temperatures and active layer thickness at King Sejong Station since 1950. The results show ground temperatures rising 0.25 °C per decade and the active layer thickening by 2 m. Warming has accelerated since 2015, highlighting the need for continued monitoring.
Ephraim Erkens, Michael Angelopoulos, Jens Tronicke, Scott R. Dallimore, Dustin Whalen, Julia Boike, and Pier Paul Overduin
The Cryosphere, 19, 997–1012, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-997-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-997-2025, 2025
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We investigate the depth of subsea permafrost formed by inundation of terrestrial permafrost due to marine transgression around the rapidly disappearing, permafrost-cored Tuktoyaktuk Island (Beaufort Sea, NWT, Canada). We use geoelectrical surveys with floating electrodes to identify the boundary between unfrozen and frozen sediment. Our findings indicate that permafrost thaw depths beneath the seabed can be explained by coastal erosion rates and landscape features before inundation.
Jacqueline Kay Knutson, François Clayer, Peter Dörsch, Sebastian Westermann, and Heleen A. de Wit
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-184, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-184, 2025
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Thawing permafrost at Iškoras in northern Norway is transforming peat plateaus into thermokarst ponds and wetlands. These small ponds show striking oversaturation of dissolved greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), partly due to organic matter processing. Streams nearby emit CO2 driven by turbulence. As permafrost disappears, carbon dynamics will change, potentially increasing emissions of CH4. This study highlights the need to integrate these changes into climate models.
Tabea Rettelbach, Ingmar Nitze, Inge Grünberg, Jennika Hammar, Simon Schäffler, Daniel Hein, Matthias Gessner, Tilman Bucher, Jörg Brauchle, Jörg Hartmann, Torsten Sachs, Julia Boike, and Guido Grosse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5767–5798, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5767-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5767-2024, 2024
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Permafrost landscapes in the Arctic are rapidly changing due to climate warming. Here, we publish aerial images and elevation models with very high spatial detail that help study these landscapes in northwestern Canada and Alaska. The images were collected using the Modular Aerial Camera System (MACS). This dataset has significant implications for understanding permafrost landscape dynamics in response to climate change. It is publicly available for further research.
Lotte Wendt, Line Rouyet, Hanne H. Christiansen, Tom Rune Lauknes, and Sebastian Westermann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2972, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2972, 2024
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In permafrost environments, the ground surface moves due to the formation and melt of ice in the ground. This study compares ground surface displacements measured from satellite images against field data of ground ice contents. We find good agreement between the detected seasonal subsidence and observed ground ice melt. Our results show the potential of satellite remote sensing for mapping ground ice variability, but also indicate that ice in excess of the pore space must be considered.
Robin Benjamin Zweigel, Avirmed Dashtseren, Khurelbaatar Temuujin, Anarmaa Sharkhuu, Clare Webster, Hanna Lee, and Sebastian Westermann
Biogeosciences, 21, 5059–5077, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5059-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5059-2024, 2024
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Intense grazing at grassland sites removes vegetation, reduces the snow cover, and inhibits litter layers from forming. Grazed sites generally have a larger annual ground surface temperature amplitude than ungrazed sites, but the net effect depends on effects in the transitional seasons. Our results also suggest that seasonal use of pastures can reduce ground temperatures, which can be a strategy to protect currently degrading grassland permafrost.
Sigrid Trier Kjær, Sebastian Westermann, Nora Nedkvitne, and Peter Dörsch
Biogeosciences, 21, 4723–4737, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4723-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4723-2024, 2024
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Permafrost peatlands are thawing due to climate change, releasing large quantities of carbon that degrades upon thawing and is released as CO2, CH4 or dissolved organic carbon (DOC). We incubated thawed Norwegian permafrost peat plateaus and thermokarst pond sediment found next to permafrost for up to 350 d to measure carbon loss. CO2 production was initially the highest, whereas CH4 production increased over time. The largest carbon loss was measured at the top of the peat plateau core as DOC.
Juditha Aga, Livia Piermattei, Luc Girod, Kristoffer Aalstad, Trond Eiken, Andreas Kääb, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 1049–1070, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1049-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1049-2024, 2024
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Coastal rock cliffs on Svalbard are considered to be fairly stable; however, long-term trends in coastal-retreat rates remain unknown. This study examines changes in the coastline position along Brøggerhalvøya, Svalbard, using aerial images from 1970, 1990, 2010, and 2021. Our analysis shows that coastal-retreat rates accelerate during the period 2010–2021, which coincides with increasing storminess and retreating sea ice.
Soraya Kaiser, Julia Boike, Guido Grosse, and Moritz Langer
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3719–3753, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3719-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3719-2024, 2024
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Arctic warming, leading to permafrost degradation, poses primary threats to infrastructure and secondary ecological hazards from possible infrastructure failure. Our study created a comprehensive Alaska inventory combining various data sources with which we improved infrastructure classification and data on contaminated sites. This resource is presented as a GeoPackage allowing planning of infrastructure damage and possible implications for Arctic communities facing permafrost challenges.
Frederieke Miesner, William Lambert Cable, Pier Paul Overduin, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 18, 2603–2611, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2603-2024, 2024
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The temperature in the sediment below Arctic lakes determines the stability of the permafrost and microbial activity. However, measurements are scarce because of the remoteness. We present a robust and portable device to fill this gap. Test campaigns have demonstrated its utility in a range of environments during winter and summer. The measured temperatures show a great variability within and across locations. The data can be used to validate models and estimate potential emissions.
Marco Mazzolini, Kristoffer Aalstad, Esteban Alonso-González, Sebastian Westermann, and Désirée Treichler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1404, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1404, 2024
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In this work, we use the satellite laser altimeter ICESat-2 to retrieve snow depth in areas where snow amounts are still poorly estimated despite the high societal importance. We explore how to update snow models with these observations through algorithms that spatially propagate the information beyond the narrow satellite profiles. The positive results show the potential of this approach for improving snow simulations, both in terms of average snow depth and spatial distribution.
Victoria R. Dutch, Nick Rutter, Leanne Wake, Oliver Sonnentag, Gabriel Hould Gosselin, Melody Sandells, Chris Derksen, Branden Walker, Gesa Meyer, Richard Essery, Richard Kelly, Phillip Marsh, Julia Boike, and Matteo Detto
Biogeosciences, 21, 825–841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-825-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-825-2024, 2024
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We undertake a sensitivity study of three different parameters on the simulation of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) during the snow-covered non-growing season at an Arctic tundra site. Simulations are compared to eddy covariance measurements, with near-zero NEE simulated despite observed CO2 release. We then consider how to parameterise the model better in Arctic tundra environments on both sub-seasonal timescales and cumulatively throughout the snow-covered non-growing season.
Moritz Langer, Jan Nitzbon, Brian Groenke, Lisa-Marie Assmann, Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Simone Maria Stuenzi, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 18, 363–385, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-363-2024, 2024
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Using a model that can simulate the evolution of Arctic permafrost over centuries to millennia, we find that post-industrialization permafrost warming has three "hotspots" in NE Canada, N Alaska, and W Siberia. The extent of near-surface permafrost has decreased substantially since 1850, with the largest area losses occurring in the last 50 years. The simulations also show that volcanic eruptions have in some cases counteracted the loss of near-surface permafrost for a few decades.
Bernd Etzelmüller, Ketil Isaksen, Justyna Czekirda, Sebastian Westermann, Christin Hilbich, and Christian Hauck
The Cryosphere, 17, 5477–5497, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5477-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5477-2023, 2023
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Permafrost (permanently frozen ground) is widespread in the mountains of Norway and Iceland. Several boreholes were drilled after 1999 for long-term permafrost monitoring. We document a strong warming of permafrost, including the development of unfrozen bodies in the permafrost. Warming and degradation of mountain permafrost may lead to more natural hazards.
Esteban Alonso-González, Kristoffer Aalstad, Norbert Pirk, Marco Mazzolini, Désirée Treichler, Paul Leclercq, Sebastian Westermann, Juan Ignacio López-Moreno, and Simon Gascoin
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4637–4659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4637-2023, 2023
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Here we explore how to improve hyper-resolution (5 m) distributed snowpack simulations using sparse observations, which do not provide information from all the areas of the simulation domain. We propose a new way of propagating information throughout the simulations adapted to the hyper-resolution, which could also be used to improve simulations of other nature. The method has been implemented in an open-source data assimilation tool that is readily accessible to everyone.
Jennika Hammar, Inge Grünberg, Steven V. Kokelj, Jurjen van der Sluijs, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 17, 5357–5372, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5357-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5357-2023, 2023
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Roads on permafrost have significant environmental effects. This study assessed the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) in Canada and its impact on snow accumulation, albedo and snowmelt timing. Our findings revealed that snow accumulation increased by up to 36 m from the road, 12-day earlier snowmelt within 100 m due to reduced albedo, and altered snowmelt patterns in seemingly undisturbed areas. Remote sensing aids in understanding road impacts on permafrost.
Anatoly O. Sinitsyn, Sara Bazin, Rasmus Benestad, Bernd Etzelmüller, Ketil Isaksen, Hanne Kvitsand, Julia Lutz, Andrea L. Popp, Lena Rubensdotter, and Sebastian Westermann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2950, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2950, 2023
Preprint archived
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This study looked at under the ground on Svalbard, an archipelago close to the North Pole. We found something very surprising – there is water under the all year around frozen soil. This was not known before. This water could be used for drinking if we manage it carefully. This is important because getting clean drinking water is very difficult in Svalbard, and other Arctic places. Also, because the climate is getting warmer, there might be even more water underground in the future.
Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Michele Magni, Fanny Brun, Joel Fiddes, Yanbin Lei, Philip Kraaijenbrink, Tamara Mathys, Moritz Langer, Simon Allen, and Walter W. Immerzeel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4409–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, 2023
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Across the Tibetan Plateau, many large lakes have been changing level during the last decades as a response to climate change. In high-mountain environments, water fluxes from the land to the lakes are linked to the ground temperature of the land and to the energy fluxes between the ground and the atmosphere, which are modified by climate change. With a numerical model, we test how these water and energy fluxes have changed over the last decades and how they influence the lake level variations.
Juditha Aga, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 17, 4179–4206, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4179-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4179-2023, 2023
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This study presents a new model scheme for simulating ice segregation and thaw consolidation in permafrost environments, depending on ground properties and climatic forcing. It is embedded in the CryoGrid community model, a land surface model for the terrestrial cryosphere. We describe the model physics and functionalities, followed by a model validation and a sensitivity study of controlling factors.
Matan Ben-Asher, Florence Magnin, Sebastian Westermann, Josué Bock, Emmanuel Malet, Johan Berthet, Ludovic Ravanel, and Philip Deline
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 899–915, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-899-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-899-2023, 2023
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Quantitative knowledge of water availability on high mountain rock slopes is very limited. We use a numerical model and field measurements to estimate the water balance at a steep rock wall site. We show that snowmelt is the main source of water at elevations >3600 m and that snowpack hydrology and sublimation are key factors. The new information presented here can be used to improve the understanding of thermal, hydrogeological, and mechanical processes on steep mountain rock slopes.
Brian Groenke, Moritz Langer, Jan Nitzbon, Sebastian Westermann, Guillermo Gallego, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 17, 3505–3533, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3505-2023, 2023
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It is now well known from long-term temperature measurements that Arctic permafrost, i.e., ground that remains continuously frozen for at least 2 years, is warming in response to climate change. Temperature, however, only tells half of the story. In this study, we use computer modeling to better understand how the thawing and freezing of water in the ground affects the way permafrost responds to climate change and what temperature trends can and cannot tell us about how permafrost is changing.
Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Erin Emily Thomas, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 17, 2941–2963, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2941-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2941-2023, 2023
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Here, we present high-resolution simulations of glacier mass balance (the gain and loss of ice over a year) and runoff on Svalbard from 1991–2022, one of the fastest warming regions in the Arctic. The simulations are created using the CryoGrid community model. We find a small overall loss of mass over the simulation period of −0.08 m yr−1 but with no statistically significant trend. The average runoff was found to be 41 Gt yr−1, with a significant increasing trend of 6.3 Gt per decade.
Justyna Czekirda, Bernd Etzelmüller, Sebastian Westermann, Ketil Isaksen, and Florence Magnin
The Cryosphere, 17, 2725–2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2725-2023, 2023
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We assess spatio-temporal permafrost variations in selected rock walls in Norway over the last 120 years. Ground temperature is modelled using the two-dimensional ground heat flux model CryoGrid 2D along nine profiles. Permafrost probably occurs at most sites. All simulations show increasing ground temperature from the 1980s. Our simulations show that rock wall permafrost with a temperature of −1 °C at 20 m depth could thaw at this depth within 50 years.
Norbert Pirk, Kristoffer Aalstad, Yeliz A. Yilmaz, Astrid Vatne, Andrea L. Popp, Peter Horvath, Anders Bryn, Ane Victoria Vollsnes, Sebastian Westermann, Terje Koren Berntsen, Frode Stordal, and Lena Merete Tallaksen
Biogeosciences, 20, 2031–2047, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2031-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2031-2023, 2023
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We measured the land–atmosphere exchange of CO2 and water vapor in alpine Norway over 3 years. The extremely snow-rich conditions in 2020 reduced the total annual evapotranspiration to 50 % and reduced the growing-season carbon assimilation to turn the ecosystem from a moderate annual carbon sink to an even stronger source. Our analysis suggests that snow cover anomalies are driving the most consequential short-term responses in this ecosystem’s functioning.
Sebastian Westermann, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Johanna Scheer, Kristoffer Aalstad, Juditha Aga, Nitin Chaudhary, Bernd Etzelmüller, Simon Filhol, Andreas Kääb, Cas Renette, Louise Steffensen Schmidt, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Robin B. Zweigel, Léo Martin, Sarah Morard, Matan Ben-Asher, Michael Angelopoulos, Julia Boike, Brian Groenke, Frederieke Miesner, Jan Nitzbon, Paul Overduin, Simone M. Stuenzi, and Moritz Langer
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 2607–2647, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-2607-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-2607-2023, 2023
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The CryoGrid community model is a new tool for simulating ground temperatures and the water and ice balance in cold regions. It is a modular design, which makes it possible to test different schemes to simulate, for example, permafrost ground in an efficient way. The model contains tools to simulate frozen and unfrozen ground, snow, glaciers, and other massive ice bodies, as well as water bodies.
Cas Renette, Kristoffer Aalstad, Juditha Aga, Robin Benjamin Zweigel, Bernd Etzelmüller, Karianne Staalesen Lilleøren, Ketil Isaksen, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 33–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-33-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-33-2023, 2023
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One of the reasons for lower ground temperatures in coarse, blocky terrain is a low or varying soil moisture content, which most permafrost modelling studies did not take into account. We used the CryoGrid community model to successfully simulate this effect and found markedly lower temperatures in well-drained, blocky deposits compared to other set-ups. The inclusion of this drainage effect is another step towards a better model representation of blocky mountain terrain in permafrost regions.
Norbert Pirk, Kristoffer Aalstad, Sebastian Westermann, Astrid Vatne, Alouette van Hove, Lena Merete Tallaksen, Massimo Cassiani, and Gabriel Katul
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7293–7314, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7293-2022, 2022
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In this study, we show how sparse and noisy drone measurements can be combined with an ensemble of turbulence-resolving wind simulations to estimate uncertainty-aware surface energy exchange. We demonstrate the feasibility of this drone data assimilation framework in a series of synthetic and real-world experiments. This new framework can, in future, be applied to estimate energy and gas exchange in heterogeneous landscapes more representatively than conventional methods.
Victoria R. Dutch, Nick Rutter, Leanne Wake, Melody Sandells, Chris Derksen, Branden Walker, Gabriel Hould Gosselin, Oliver Sonnentag, Richard Essery, Richard Kelly, Phillip Marsh, Joshua King, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 16, 4201–4222, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4201-2022, 2022
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Measurements of the properties of the snow and soil were compared to simulations of the Community Land Model to see how well the model represents snow insulation. Simulations underestimated snow thermal conductivity and wintertime soil temperatures. We test two approaches to reduce the transfer of heat through the snowpack and bring simulated soil temperatures closer to measurements, with an alternative parameterisation of snow thermal conductivity being more appropriate.
Juri Palmtag, Jaroslav Obu, Peter Kuhry, Andreas Richter, Matthias B. Siewert, Niels Weiss, Sebastian Westermann, and Gustaf Hugelius
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4095–4110, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4095-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4095-2022, 2022
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The northern permafrost region covers 22 % of the Northern Hemisphere and holds almost twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. This paper presents data from 651 soil pedons encompassing more than 6500 samples from 16 different study areas across the northern permafrost region. We use this dataset together with ESA's global land cover dataset to estimate soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage up to 300 cm soil depth, with estimated values of 813 Pg for carbon and 55 Pg for nitrogen.
Jan Nitzbon, Damir Gadylyaev, Steffen Schlüter, John Maximilian Köhne, Guido Grosse, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 16, 3507–3515, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3507-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3507-2022, 2022
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The microstructure of permafrost soils contains clues to its formation and its preconditioning to future change. We used X-ray computed tomography (CT) to measure the composition of a permafrost drill core from Siberia. By combining CT with laboratory measurements, we determined the the proportions of pore ice, excess ice, minerals, organic matter, and gas contained in the core at an unprecedented resolution. Our work demonstrates the potential of CT to study permafrost properties and processes.
Lutz Beckebanze, Benjamin R. K. Runkle, Josefine Walz, Christian Wille, David Holl, Manuel Helbig, Julia Boike, Torsten Sachs, and Lars Kutzbach
Biogeosciences, 19, 3863–3876, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3863-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3863-2022, 2022
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In this study, we present observations of lateral and vertical carbon fluxes from a permafrost-affected study site in the Russian Arctic. From this dataset we estimate the net ecosystem carbon balance for this study site. We show that lateral carbon export has a low impact on the net ecosystem carbon balance during the complete study period (3 months). Nevertheless, our results also show that lateral carbon export can exceed vertical carbon uptake at the beginning of the growing season.
Noah D. Smith, Eleanor J. Burke, Kjetil Schanke Aas, Inge H. J. Althuizen, Julia Boike, Casper Tai Christiansen, Bernd Etzelmüller, Thomas Friborg, Hanna Lee, Heather Rumbold, Rachael H. Turton, Sebastian Westermann, and Sarah E. Chadburn
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 3603–3639, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3603-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3603-2022, 2022
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The Arctic has large areas of small mounds that are caused by ice lifting up the soil. Snow blown by wind gathers in hollows next to these mounds, insulating them in winter. The hollows tend to be wetter, and thus the soil absorbs more heat in summer. The warm wet soil in the hollows decomposes, releasing methane. We have made a model of this, and we have tested how it behaves and whether it looks like sites in Scandinavia and Siberia. Sometimes we get more methane than a model without mounds.
Stefan Kruse, Simone M. Stuenzi, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, Josias Gloy, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 2395–2422, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-2395-2022, 2022
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We coupled established models for boreal forest (LAVESI) and permafrost dynamics (CryoGrid) in Siberia to investigate interactions of the diverse vegetation layer with permafrost soils. Our tests showed improved active layer depth estimations and newly included species growth according to their species-specific limits. We conclude that the new model system can be applied to simulate boreal forest dynamics and transitions under global warming and disturbances, expanding our knowledge.
Sarah E. Chadburn, Eleanor J. Burke, Angela V. Gallego-Sala, Noah D. Smith, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Dan J. Charman, Julia Drewer, Colin W. Edgar, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Krzysztof Fortuniak, Yao Gao, Mahdi Nakhavali, Włodzimierz Pawlak, Edward A. G. Schuur, and Sebastian Westermann
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1633–1657, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1633-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1633-2022, 2022
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We present a new method to include peatlands in an Earth system model (ESM). Peatlands store huge amounts of carbon that accumulates very slowly but that can be rapidly destabilised, emitting greenhouse gases. Our model captures the dynamic nature of peat by simulating the change in surface height and physical properties of the soil as carbon is added or decomposed. Thus, we model, for the first time in an ESM, peat dynamics and its threshold behaviours that can lead to destabilisation.
Bernd Etzelmüller, Justyna Czekirda, Florence Magnin, Pierre-Allain Duvillard, Ludovic Ravanel, Emanuelle Malet, Andreas Aspaas, Lene Kristensen, Ingrid Skrede, Gudrun D. Majala, Benjamin Jacobs, Johannes Leinauer, Christian Hauck, Christin Hilbich, Martina Böhme, Reginald Hermanns, Harald Ø. Eriksen, Tom Rune Lauknes, Michael Krautblatter, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 97–129, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-97-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-97-2022, 2022
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This paper is a multi-authored study documenting the possible existence of permafrost in permanently monitored rockslides in Norway for the first time by combining a multitude of field data, including geophysical surveys in rock walls. The paper discusses the possible role of thermal regime and rockslide movement, and it evaluates the possible impact of atmospheric warming on rockslide dynamics in Norwegian mountains.
Anna-Maria Virkkala, Susan M. Natali, Brendan M. Rogers, Jennifer D. Watts, Kathleen Savage, Sara June Connon, Marguerite Mauritz, Edward A. G. Schuur, Darcy Peter, Christina Minions, Julia Nojeim, Roisin Commane, Craig A. Emmerton, Mathias Goeckede, Manuel Helbig, David Holl, Hiroki Iwata, Hideki Kobayashi, Pasi Kolari, Efrén López-Blanco, Maija E. Marushchak, Mikhail Mastepanov, Lutz Merbold, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Matthias Peichl, Torsten Sachs, Oliver Sonnentag, Masahito Ueyama, Carolina Voigt, Mika Aurela, Julia Boike, Gerardo Celis, Namyi Chae, Torben R. Christensen, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Sigrid Dengel, Han Dolman, Colin W. Edgar, Bo Elberling, Eugenie Euskirchen, Achim Grelle, Juha Hatakka, Elyn Humphreys, Järvi Järveoja, Ayumi Kotani, Lars Kutzbach, Tuomas Laurila, Annalea Lohila, Ivan Mammarella, Yojiro Matsuura, Gesa Meyer, Mats B. Nilsson, Steven F. Oberbauer, Sang-Jong Park, Roman Petrov, Anatoly S. Prokushkin, Christopher Schulze, Vincent L. St. Louis, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, William Quinton, Andrej Varlagin, Donatella Zona, and Viacheslav I. Zyryanov
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 179–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-179-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-179-2022, 2022
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The effects of climate warming on carbon cycling across the Arctic–boreal zone (ABZ) remain poorly understood due to the relatively limited distribution of ABZ flux sites. Fortunately, this flux network is constantly increasing, but new measurements are published in various platforms, making it challenging to understand the ABZ carbon cycle as a whole. Here, we compiled a new database of Arctic–boreal CO2 fluxes to help facilitate large-scale assessments of the ABZ carbon cycle.
Katharina Jentzsch, Julia Boike, and Thomas Foken
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7291–7296, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7291-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7291-2021, 2021
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Very small CO2 fluxes are measured at night in Arctic regions. If the sensible heat flux is not close to zero under these conditions, the WPL correction will take values on the order of the flux. A special quality control is proposed for these cases.
McKenzie A. Kuhn, Ruth K. Varner, David Bastviken, Patrick Crill, Sally MacIntyre, Merritt Turetsky, Katey Walter Anthony, Anthony D. McGuire, and David Olefeldt
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5151–5189, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5151-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5151-2021, 2021
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Methane (CH4) emissions from the boreal–Arctic region are globally significant, but the current magnitude of annual emissions is not well defined. Here we present a dataset of surface CH4 fluxes from northern wetlands, lakes, and uplands that was built alongside a compatible land cover dataset, sharing the same classifications. We show CH4 fluxes can be split by broad land cover characteristics. The dataset is useful for comparison against new field data and model parameterization or validation.
Léo C. P. Martin, Jan Nitzbon, Johanna Scheer, Kjetil S. Aas, Trond Eiken, Moritz Langer, Simon Filhol, Bernd Etzelmüller, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 15, 3423–3442, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3423-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3423-2021, 2021
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It is important to understand how permafrost landscapes respond to climate changes because their thaw can contribute to global warming. We investigate how a common permafrost morphology degrades using both field observations of the surface elevation and numerical modeling. We show that numerical models accounting for topographic changes related to permafrost degradation can reproduce the observed changes in nature and help us understand how parameters such as snow influence this phenomenon.
Lydia Stolpmann, Caroline Coch, Anne Morgenstern, Julia Boike, Michael Fritz, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Yury Dvornikov, Birgit Heim, Josefine Lenz, Amy Larsen, Katey Walter Anthony, Benjamin Jones, Karen Frey, and Guido Grosse
Biogeosciences, 18, 3917–3936, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3917-2021, 2021
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Our new database summarizes DOC concentrations of 2167 water samples from 1833 lakes in permafrost regions across the Arctic to provide insights into linkages between DOC and environment. We found increasing lake DOC concentration with decreasing permafrost extent and higher DOC concentrations in boreal permafrost sites compared to tundra sites. Our study shows that DOC concentration depends on the environmental properties of a lake, especially permafrost extent, ecoregion, and vegetation.
Juditha Undine Schmidt, Bernd Etzelmüller, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Florence Magnin, Julia Boike, Moritz Langer, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 15, 2491–2509, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2491-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2491-2021, 2021
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This study presents rock surface temperatures (RSTs) of steep high-Arctic rock walls on Svalbard from 2016 to 2020. The field data show that coastal cliffs are characterized by warmer RSTs than inland locations during winter seasons. By running model simulations, we analyze factors leading to that effect, calculate the surface energy balance and simulate different future scenarios. Both field data and model results can contribute to a further understanding of RST in high-Arctic rock walls.
Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Hanna Lee, Thomas Ingeman-Nielsen, Sebastian Westermann, Vladimir Romanovsky, Scott Lamoureux, Donald A. Walker, Sarah Chadburn, Erin Trochim, Lei Cai, Jan Nitzbon, Stephan Jacobi, and Moritz Langer
The Cryosphere, 15, 2451–2471, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2451-2021, 2021
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Climate warming puts infrastructure built on permafrost at risk of failure. There is a growing need for appropriate model-based risk assessments. Here we present a modelling study and show an exemplary case of how a gravel road in a cold permafrost environment in Alaska might suffer from degrading permafrost under a scenario of intense climate warming. We use this case study to discuss the broader-scale applicability of our model for simulating future Arctic infrastructure failure.
Jan Nitzbon, Moritz Langer, Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Thomas Schneider von Deimling, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 15, 1399–1422, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1399-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1399-2021, 2021
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We used a numerical model to investigate how small-scale landscape heterogeneities affect permafrost thaw under climate-warming scenarios. Our results show that representing small-scale heterogeneities in the model can decide whether a landscape is water-logged or well-drained in the future. This in turn affects how fast permafrost thaws under warming. Our research emphasizes the importance of considering small-scale processes in model assessments of permafrost thaw under climate change.
Simone Maria Stuenzi, Julia Boike, William Cable, Ulrike Herzschuh, Stefan Kruse, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Thomas Schneider von Deimling, Sebastian Westermann, Evgenii S. Zakharov, and Moritz Langer
Biogeosciences, 18, 343–365, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-343-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-343-2021, 2021
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Boreal forests in eastern Siberia are an essential component of global climate patterns. We use a physically based model and field measurements to study the interactions between forests, permanently frozen ground and the atmosphere. We find that forests exert a strong control on the thermal state of permafrost through changing snow cover dynamics and altering the surface energy balance, through absorbing most of the incoming solar radiation and suppressing below-canopy turbulent fluxes.
Frederic Thalasso, Katey Walter Anthony, Olya Irzak, Ethan Chaleff, Laughlin Barker, Peter Anthony, Philip Hanke, and Rodrigo Gonzalez-Valencia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 6047–6058, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-6047-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-6047-2020, 2020
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Methane (CH4) seepage is the steady or episodic flow of gaseous hydrocarbons from subsurface reservoirs that has been identified as a significant source of atmospheric CH4. The monitoring of these emissions is important and despite several available methods, large macroseeps are still difficult to measure due to a lack of a lightweight and inexpensive method deployable in remote environments. Here, we report the development of a mobile chamber for measuring intense CH4 macroseepage in lakes.
Lei Cai, Hanna Lee, Kjetil Schanke Aas, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 14, 4611–4626, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4611-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4611-2020, 2020
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A sub-grid representation of excess ground ice in the Community Land Model (CLM) is developed as novel progress in modeling permafrost thaw and its impacts under the warming climate. The modeled permafrost degradation with sub-grid excess ice follows the pathway that continuous permafrost transforms into discontinuous permafrost before it disappears, including surface subsidence and talik formation, which are highly permafrost-relevant landscape changes excluded from most land models.
Jean-Louis Bonne, Hanno Meyer, Melanie Behrens, Julia Boike, Sepp Kipfstuhl, Benjamin Rabe, Toni Schmidt, Lutz Schönicke, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, and Martin Werner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10493–10511, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10493-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10493-2020, 2020
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This study introduces 2 years of continuous near-surface in situ observations of the stable isotopic composition of water vapour in parallel with precipitation in north-eastern Siberia. We evaluate the atmospheric transport of moisture towards the region of our observations with simulations constrained by meteorological reanalyses and use this information to interpret the temporal variations of the vapour isotopic composition from seasonal to synoptic timescales.
Inge Grünberg, Evan J. Wilcox, Simon Zwieback, Philip Marsh, and Julia Boike
Biogeosciences, 17, 4261–4279, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4261-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4261-2020, 2020
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Based on topsoil temperature data for different vegetation types at a low Arctic tundra site, we found large small-scale variability. Winter temperatures were strongly influenced by vegetation through its effects on snow. Summer temperatures were similar below most vegetation types and not consistently related to late summer permafrost thaw depth. Given that vegetation type defines the relationship between winter and summer soil temperature and thaw depth, it controls permafrost vulnerability.
Jaroslav Obu, Sebastian Westermann, Gonçalo Vieira, Andrey Abramov, Megan Ruby Balks, Annett Bartsch, Filip Hrbáček, Andreas Kääb, and Miguel Ramos
The Cryosphere, 14, 497–519, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-497-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-497-2020, 2020
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Little is known about permafrost in the Antarctic outside of the few research stations. We used a simple equilibrium permafrost model to estimate permafrost temperatures in the whole Antarctic. The lowest permafrost temperature on Earth is −36 °C in the Queen Elizabeth Range in the Transantarctic Mountains. Temperatures are commonly between −23 and −18 °C in mountainous areas rising above the Antarctic Ice Sheet, between −14 and −8 °C in coastal areas, and up to 0 °C on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Joel Fiddes, Kristoffer Aalstad, and Sebastian Westermann
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4717–4736, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4717-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4717-2019, 2019
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In this paper we address one of the big challenges in snow hydrology, namely the accurate simulation of the seasonal snowpack in ungauged regions. We do this by assimilating satellite observations of snow cover into a modelling framework. Importantly (and a novelty of the paper), we include a clustering approach that permits highly efficient ensemble simulations. Efficiency gains and dependency on purely global datasets, means that this method can be applied over large areas anywhere on Earth.
Florence Magnin, Bernd Etzelmüller, Sebastian Westermann, Ketil Isaksen, Paula Hilger, and Reginald L. Hermanns
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 1019–1040, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-1019-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-1019-2019, 2019
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This study proposes the first permafrost (i.e. ground with temperature permanently < 0 °C) map covering the steep rock slopes of Norway. It was created by using rock temperature data collected at the near surface of 25 rock walls spread across the country between 2010 and 2018. The map shows that permafrost mostly exists above 1300–1400 m a.s.l. in southern Norway and close to sea level in northern Norway. The results have strong potential for the study of rock wall sliding and failure.
Lei Cai, Hanna Lee, Sebastian Westermann, and Kjetil Schanke Aas
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-230, 2019
Preprint withdrawn
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We develop a sub-grid representation of excess ground ice in the Community Land Model (CLM) by adding three landunits to the original CLM sub-grid hierarchy, in order to prescribe three different excess ice conditions in one grid cell. Single-grid simulations verify the potential of the model development on better projecting excess ice melt in a warming climate. Global simulations recommend the proper way of applying the model development with the existing excess ice dataset.
Jan Nitzbon, Moritz Langer, Sebastian Westermann, Léo Martin, Kjetil Schanke Aas, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 13, 1089–1123, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1089-2019, 2019
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We studied the stability of ice wedges (massive bodies of ground ice in permafrost) under recent climatic conditions in the Lena River delta of northern Siberia. For this we used a novel modelling approach that takes into account lateral transport of heat, water, and snow and the subsidence of the ground surface due to melting of ground ice. We found that wetter conditions have a destabilizing effect on the ice wedges and associated our simulation results with observations from the study area.
Julia Boike, Jan Nitzbon, Katharina Anders, Mikhail Grigoriev, Dmitry Bolshiyanov, Moritz Langer, Stephan Lange, Niko Bornemann, Anne Morgenstern, Peter Schreiber, Christian Wille, Sarah Chadburn, Isabelle Gouttevin, Eleanor Burke, and Lars Kutzbach
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 261–299, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-261-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-261-2019, 2019
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Long-term observational data are available from the Samoylov research site in northern Siberia, where meteorological parameters, energy balance, and subsurface observations have been recorded since 1998. This paper presents the temporal data set produced between 2002 and 2017, explaining the instrumentation, calibration, processing, and data quality control. Furthermore, we present a merged dataset of the parameters, which were measured from 1998 onwards.
David Holl, Christian Wille, Torsten Sachs, Peter Schreiber, Benjamin R. K. Runkle, Lutz Beckebanze, Moritz Langer, Julia Boike, Eva-Maria Pfeiffer, Irina Fedorova, Dimitry Y. Bolshianov, Mikhail N. Grigoriev, and Lars Kutzbach
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 221–240, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-221-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-221-2019, 2019
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We present a multi-annual time series of land–atmosphere carbon dioxide fluxes measured in situ with the eddy covariance technique in the Siberian Arctic. In arctic permafrost regions, climate–carbon feedbacks are amplified. Therefore, increased efforts to better represent these regions in global climate models have been made in recent years. Up to now, the available database of in situ measurements from the Arctic was biased towards Alaska and records from the Eurasian Arctic were scarce.
Kjetil S. Aas, Léo Martin, Jan Nitzbon, Moritz Langer, Julia Boike, Hanna Lee, Terje K. Berntsen, and Sebastian Westermann
The Cryosphere, 13, 591–609, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-591-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-591-2019, 2019
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Many permafrost landscapes contain large amounts of excess ground ice, which gives rise to small-scale elevation differences. This results in lateral fluxes of snow, water, and heat, which we investigate and show how it can be accounted for in large-scale models. Using a novel model technique which can account for these differences, we are able to model both the current state of permafrost and how these landscapes change as permafrost thaws, in a way that could not previously be achieved.
Gerhard Krinner, Chris Derksen, Richard Essery, Mark Flanner, Stefan Hagemann, Martyn Clark, Alex Hall, Helmut Rott, Claire Brutel-Vuilmet, Hyungjun Kim, Cécile B. Ménard, Lawrence Mudryk, Chad Thackeray, Libo Wang, Gabriele Arduini, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Paul Bartlett, Julia Boike, Aaron Boone, Frédérique Chéruy, Jeanne Colin, Matthias Cuntz, Yongjiu Dai, Bertrand Decharme, Jeff Derry, Agnès Ducharne, Emanuel Dutra, Xing Fang, Charles Fierz, Josephine Ghattas, Yeugeniy Gusev, Vanessa Haverd, Anna Kontu, Matthieu Lafaysse, Rachel Law, Dave Lawrence, Weiping Li, Thomas Marke, Danny Marks, Martin Ménégoz, Olga Nasonova, Tomoko Nitta, Masashi Niwano, John Pomeroy, Mark S. Raleigh, Gerd Schaedler, Vladimir Semenov, Tanya G. Smirnova, Tobias Stacke, Ulrich Strasser, Sean Svenson, Dmitry Turkov, Tao Wang, Nander Wever, Hua Yuan, Wenyan Zhou, and Dan Zhu
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 5027–5049, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5027-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5027-2018, 2018
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This paper provides an overview of a coordinated international experiment to determine the strengths and weaknesses in how climate models treat snow. The models will be assessed at point locations using high-quality reference measurements and globally using satellite-derived datasets. How well climate models simulate snow-related processes is important because changing snow cover is an important part of the global climate system and provides an important freshwater resource for human use.
Isabelle Gouttevin, Moritz Langer, Henning Löwe, Julia Boike, Martin Proksch, and Martin Schneebeli
The Cryosphere, 12, 3693–3717, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3693-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3693-2018, 2018
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Snow insulates the ground from the cold air in the Arctic winter, majorly affecting permafrost. This insulation depends on snow characteristics and is poorly quantified. Here, we characterize it at a carbon-rich permafrost site, using a recent technique that retrieves the 3-D structure of snow and its thermal properties. We adapt a snowpack model enabling the simulation of this insulation over a whole winter. We estimate that local snow variations induce up to a 6 °C spread in soil temperatures.
Julia Boike, Inge Juszak, Stephan Lange, Sarah Chadburn, Eleanor Burke, Pier Paul Overduin, Kurt Roth, Olaf Ippisch, Niko Bornemann, Lielle Stern, Isabelle Gouttevin, Ernst Hauber, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 355–390, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-355-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-355-2018, 2018
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A 20-year data record from the Bayelva site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, is presented on meteorology, energy balance components, surface and subsurface observations. This paper presents the data set, instrumentation, calibration, processing and data quality control. The data show that mean annual, summer and winter soil temperature data from shallow to deeper depths have been warming over the period of record, indicating the degradation and loss of permafrost at this site.
Simon Zwieback, Steven V. Kokelj, Frank Günther, Julia Boike, Guido Grosse, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 12, 549–564, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-549-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-549-2018, 2018
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We analyse elevation losses at thaw slumps, at which icy sediments are exposed. As ice requires a large amount of energy to melt, one would expect that mass wasting is governed by the available energy. However, we observe very little mass wasting in June, despite the ample energy supply. Also, in summer, mass wasting is not always energy limited. This highlights the importance of other processes, such as the formation of a protective veneer, in shaping mass wasting at sub-seasonal scales.
Kristoffer Aalstad, Sebastian Westermann, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Julia Boike, and Laurent Bertino
The Cryosphere, 12, 247–270, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-247-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-247-2018, 2018
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We demonstrate how snow cover data from satellites can be used to constrain estimates of snow distributions at sites in the Arctic. In this effort, we make use of data assimilation to combine the information contained in the snow cover data with a simple snow model. By comparing our snow distribution estimates to independent observations, we find that this method performs favorably. Being modular, this method could be applied to other areas as a component of a larger reanalysis system.
Sarah E. Chadburn, Gerhard Krinner, Philipp Porada, Annett Bartsch, Christian Beer, Luca Belelli Marchesini, Julia Boike, Altug Ekici, Bo Elberling, Thomas Friborg, Gustaf Hugelius, Margareta Johansson, Peter Kuhry, Lars Kutzbach, Moritz Langer, Magnus Lund, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Shushi Peng, Ko Van Huissteden, Tao Wang, Sebastian Westermann, Dan Zhu, and Eleanor J. Burke
Biogeosciences, 14, 5143–5169, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5143-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5143-2017, 2017
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Earth system models (ESMs) are our main tools for understanding future climate. The Arctic is important for the future carbon cycle, particularly due to the large carbon stocks in permafrost. We evaluated the performance of the land component of three major ESMs at Arctic tundra sites, focusing on the fluxes and stocks of carbon.
We show that the next steps for model improvement are to better represent vegetation dynamics, to include mosses and to improve below-ground carbon cycle processes.
Sabrina Marx, Katharina Anders, Sofia Antonova, Inga Beck, Julia Boike, Philip Marsh, Moritz Langer, and Bernhard Höfle
Earth Surf. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2017-49, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2017-49, 2017
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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Global climate warming causes permafrost to warm and thaw, and, consequently, to release the carbon into the atmosphere. Terrestrial laser scanning is evaluated and current methods are extended in the context of monitoring subsidence in Arctic permafrost regions. The extracted information is important to gain a deeper understanding of permafrost-related subsidence processes and provides highly accurate ground-truth data which is necessary for further developing area-wide monitoring methods.
Sebastian Westermann, Maria Peter, Moritz Langer, Georg Schwamborn, Lutz Schirrmeister, Bernd Etzelmüller, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 11, 1441–1463, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1441-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1441-2017, 2017
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We demonstrate a remote-sensing-based scheme estimating the evolution of ground temperature and active layer thickness by means of a ground thermal model. A comparison to in situ observations from the Lena River delta in Siberia indicates that the model is generally capable of reproducing the annual temperature regime and seasonal thawing of the ground. The approach could hence be a first step towards remote detection of ground thermal conditions in permafrost areas.
Sina Muster, Kurt Roth, Moritz Langer, Stephan Lange, Fabio Cresto Aleina, Annett Bartsch, Anne Morgenstern, Guido Grosse, Benjamin Jones, A. Britta K. Sannel, Ylva Sjöberg, Frank Günther, Christian Andresen, Alexandra Veremeeva, Prajna R. Lindgren, Frédéric Bouchard, Mark J. Lara, Daniel Fortier, Simon Charbonneau, Tarmo A. Virtanen, Gustaf Hugelius, Juri Palmtag, Matthias B. Siewert, William J. Riley, Charles D. Koven, and Julia Boike
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 9, 317–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-317-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-317-2017, 2017
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Waterbodies are abundant in Arctic permafrost lowlands. Most waterbodies are ponds with a surface area smaller than 100 x 100 m. The Permafrost Region Pond and Lake Database (PeRL) for the first time maps ponds as small as 10 x 10 m. PeRL maps can be used to document changes both by comparing them to historical and future imagery. The distribution of waterbodies in the Arctic is important to know in order to manage resources in the Arctic and to improve climate predictions in the Arctic.
Amund F. Borge, Sebastian Westermann, Ingvild Solheim, and Bernd Etzelmüller
The Cryosphere, 11, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1-2017, 2017
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Palsas and peat plateaus are permafrost landforms in subarctic mires which constitute sensitive ecosystems with strong significance for vegetation, wildlife, hydrology and carbon cycle. We have systematically mapped the occurrence of palsas and peat plateaus in northern Norway by interpretation of aerial images from the 1950s until today. The results show that about half of the area of palsas and peat plateaus has disappeared due to lateral erosion and melting of ground ice in the last 50 years.
Kjersti Gisnås, Sebastian Westermann, Thomas Vikhamar Schuler, Kjetil Melvold, and Bernd Etzelmüller
The Cryosphere, 10, 1201–1215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1201-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1201-2016, 2016
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In wind exposed areas snow redistribution results in large spatial variability in ground temperatures. In these areas, the ground temperature of a grid cell must be determined based on the distribution, and not the average, of snow depths. We employ distribution functions of snow in a regional permafrost model, showing highly improved representation of ground temperatures. By including snow distributions, we find the permafrost area to be nearly twice as large as what is modelled without.
Kimberley L. Davies, Richard D. Pancost, Mary E. Edwards, Katey M. Walter Anthony, Peter G. Langdon, and Lidia Chaves Torres
Biogeosciences, 13, 2611–2621, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2611-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2611-2016, 2016
Fabian Beermann, Moritz Langer, Sebastian Wetterich, Jens Strauss, Julia Boike, Claudia Fiencke, Lutz Schirrmeister, Eva-Maria Pfeiffer, and Lars Kutzbach
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2016-117, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2016-117, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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This paper aims to quantify pools of inorganic nitrogen in permafrost soils of arctic Siberia and to estimate annual release rates of this nitrogen due to permafrost thaw. We report for the first time stores of inorganic nitrogen in Siberian permafrost soils. These nitrogen stores are important as permafrost thaw can mobilize substantial amounts of nitrogen, potentially changing the nutrient balance of these soils and representing a significant non-carbon permafrost climate feedback.
S. Westermann, M. Langer, J. Boike, M. Heikenfeld, M. Peter, B. Etzelmüller, and G. Krinner
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 523–546, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-523-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-523-2016, 2016
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Thawing of permafrost is governed by a complex interplay of different processes, of which only conductive heat transfer is taken into account in most model studies. We present a new land-surface scheme designed for permafrost applications, CryoGrid 3, which constitutes a flexible platform to explore new parameterizations for a range of permafrost processes.
P. R. Lindgren, G. Grosse, K. M. Walter Anthony, and F. J. Meyer
Biogeosciences, 13, 27–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-27-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-27-2016, 2016
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We mapped and characterized methane ebullition bubbles trapped in lake ice, and estimated whole-lake methane emission using high-resolution aerial images of a lake acquired following freeze-up. We identified the location and relative sizes of high- and low-flux seepage zones within the lake. A large number of seeps showed spatiotemporal stability over our study period. Our approach is applicable to other regions to improve the estimation of methane emission from lakes at the regional scale.
J. E. Vonk, S. E. Tank, W. B. Bowden, I. Laurion, W. F. Vincent, P. Alekseychik, M. Amyot, M. F. Billet, J. Canário, R. M. Cory, B. N. Deshpande, M. Helbig, M. Jammet, J. Karlsson, J. Larouche, G. MacMillan, M. Rautio, K. M. Walter Anthony, and K. P. Wickland
Biogeosciences, 12, 7129–7167, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7129-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7129-2015, 2015
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In this review, we give an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding how permafrost thaw affects aquatic systems. We describe the general impacts of thaw on aquatic ecosystems, pathways of organic matter and contaminant release and degradation, resulting emissions and burial, and effects on ecosystem structure and functioning. We conclude with an overview of potential climate effects and recommendations for future research.
J. Boike, C. Georgi, G. Kirilin, S. Muster, K. Abramova, I. Fedorova, A. Chetverova, M. Grigoriev, N. Bornemann, and M. Langer
Biogeosciences, 12, 5941–5965, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5941-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5941-2015, 2015
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We show that lakes in northern Siberia are very efficient with respect to energy absorption and mixing using measurements as well as numerical modeling. We show that (i) the lakes receive substantial energy for warming from net short-wave radiation; (ii) convective mixing occurs beneath the ice cover, follow beneath the ice cover, following ice break-up, summer, and fall (iii) modeling suggests that the annual mean net heat flux across the bottom sediment boundary is approximately zero.
I. Beck, R. Ludwig, M. Bernier, T. Strozzi, and J. Boike
Earth Surf. Dynam., 3, 409–421, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-409-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-409-2015, 2015
S. E. Chadburn, E. J. Burke, R. L. H. Essery, J. Boike, M. Langer, M. Heikenfeld, P. M. Cox, and P. Friedlingstein
The Cryosphere, 9, 1505–1521, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1505-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1505-2015, 2015
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In this paper we use a global land-surface model to study the dynamics of Arctic permafrost. We examine the impact of new and improved processes in the model, namely soil depth and resolution, organic soils, moss and the representation of snow. These improvements make the simulated soil temperatures and thaw depth significantly more realistic. Simulations under future climate scenarios show that permafrost thaws more slowly in the new model version, but still a large amount is lost by 2100.
K. Martinez-Cruz, A. Sepulveda-Jauregui, K. Walter Anthony, and F. Thalasso
Biogeosciences, 12, 4595–4606, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4595-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4595-2015, 2015
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We assessed the importance of aerobic CH4 oxidation in Alaskan lakes. We conducted field measurement of dissolved CH4 and O2 together with determination of the CH4 oxidation rate. We found that during winter, CH4 oxidation was limited by O2 concentration and during summer, by CH4 concentration. In addition to seasonal variations, the type of permafrost on which the lakes were located was identified as a key factor, indicating that landscape processes play an important role in lake CH4 cycling.
J. K. Heslop, K. M. Walter Anthony, A. Sepulveda-Jauregui, K. Martinez-Cruz, A. Bondurant, G. Grosse, and M. C. Jones
Biogeosciences, 12, 4317–4331, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4317-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4317-2015, 2015
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The relative magnitude of thermokarst lake CH4 production in surface sediments vs. deeper-thawed permafrost is not well understood. We assessed CH4 production potentials from a lake sediment core and adjacent permafrost tunnel in interior Alaska. CH4 production was highest in the organic-rich surface lake sediments and recently thawed permafrost at the bottom of the talik, implying CH4 production is highly variable and that both modern and ancient OM are important to lake CH4 production.
A. Ekici, S. Chadburn, N. Chaudhary, L. H. Hajdu, A. Marmy, S. Peng, J. Boike, E. Burke, A. D. Friend, C. Hauck, G. Krinner, M. Langer, P. A. Miller, and C. Beer
The Cryosphere, 9, 1343–1361, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1343-2015, 2015
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This paper compares the performance of different land models in estimating soil thermal regimes at distinct cold region landscape types. Comparing models with different processes reveal the importance of surface insulation (snow/moss layer) and soil internal processes (heat/water transfer). The importance of model processes also depend on site conditions such as high/low snow cover, dry/wet soil types.
S. Westermann, T. I. Østby, K. Gisnås, T. V. Schuler, and B. Etzelmüller
The Cryosphere, 9, 1303–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1303-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-1303-2015, 2015
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We use remotely sensed land surface temperature and land cover in conjunction with air temperature and snowfall from a reanalysis product as input for a simple permafrost model. The scheme is applied to the permafrost regions bordering the North Atlantic. A comparison with ground temperatures in boreholes suggests a modeling accuracy of 2 to 2.5 °C.
T. Schneider von Deimling, G. Grosse, J. Strauss, L. Schirrmeister, A. Morgenstern, S. Schaphoff, M. Meinshausen, and J. Boike
Biogeosciences, 12, 3469–3488, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3469-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3469-2015, 2015
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We have modelled the carbon release from thawing permafrost soils under various scenarios of future warming. Our results suggests that up to about 140Pg of carbon could be released under strong warming by end of the century. We have shown that abrupt thaw processes under thermokarst lakes can unlock large amounts of perennially frozen carbon stored in deep deposits (which extend many metres into the soil).
A. Sepulveda-Jauregui, K. M. Walter Anthony, K. Martinez-Cruz, S. Greene, and F. Thalasso
Biogeosciences, 12, 3197–3223, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3197-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3197-2015, 2015
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This study of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission modes from 40 lakes along a latitudinal transect in Alaska revealed that thermokarst lakes formed in Pleistocene-aged icy, organic-rich yedoma-type permafrost had the highest emissions. Ebullition and diffusion were the dominant modes of CH4 and CO2 emissions, respectively. Accounting for the global warming potentials of the gases, the climate warming impact of lake CH4 emissions was 2 times higher than that of CO2.
S. Chadburn, E. Burke, R. Essery, J. Boike, M. Langer, M. Heikenfeld, P. Cox, and P. Friedlingstein
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1493–1508, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1493-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1493-2015, 2015
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Permafrost, ground that is frozen for 2 or more years, is found extensively in the Arctic. It stores large quantities of carbon, which may be released under climate warming, so it is important to include it in climate models. Here we improve the representation of permafrost in a climate model land-surface scheme, both in the numerical representation of soil and snow, and by adding the effects of organic soils and moss. Site simulations show significantly improved soil temperature and thaw depth.
S. Westermann, B. Elberling, S. Højlund Pedersen, M. Stendel, B. U. Hansen, and G. E. Liston
The Cryosphere, 9, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-719-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-719-2015, 2015
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The development of ground temperatures in permafrost areas is influenced by many factors varying on different spatial and temporal scales. We present numerical simulations of ground temperatures for the Zackenberg valley in NE Greenland, which take into account the spatial variability of snow depths, surface and ground properties at a scale of 10m. The ensemble of the model grid cells suggests a spatial variability of annual average ground temperatures of up to 5°C.
I. Fedorova, A. Chetverova, D. Bolshiyanov, A. Makarov, J. Boike, B. Heim, A. Morgenstern, P. P. Overduin, C. Wegner, V. Kashina, A. Eulenburg, E. Dobrotina, and I. Sidorina
Biogeosciences, 12, 345–363, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-345-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-345-2015, 2015
S. Greene, K. M. Walter Anthony, D. Archer, A. Sepulveda-Jauregui, and K. Martinez-Cruz
Biogeosciences, 11, 6791–6811, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6791-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6791-2014, 2014
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Methane (CH4) bubbles emitted from the anoxic sediments of northern lakes constitute a significant methane flux to the atmosphere, but entrapment by seasonal lake ice impedes bubble release to the atmosphere. Using numerical modeling and field measurement of a lake in Alaska, we found that 80% of CH4 in ice-trapped bubbles dissolves into the water column. Microbes consume half of that CH4. Emission by bubbling is greatest in summer but continues in winter through some open holes in lake ice.
J. Lüers, S. Westermann, K. Piel, and J. Boike
Biogeosciences, 11, 6307–6322, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6307-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6307-2014, 2014
K. Gisnås, S. Westermann, T. V. Schuler, T. Litherland, K. Isaksen, J. Boike, and B. Etzelmüller
The Cryosphere, 8, 2063–2074, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-2063-2014, 2014
S. Yi, K. Wischnewski, M. Langer, S. Muster, and J. Boike
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 1671–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1671-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1671-2014, 2014
M. Engram, K. W. Anthony, F. J. Meyer, and G. Grosse
The Cryosphere, 7, 1741–1752, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1741-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1741-2013, 2013
S. Westermann, T. V. Schuler, K. Gisnås, and B. Etzelmüller
The Cryosphere, 7, 719–739, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-719-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-719-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Greenhouse Gases
Modelling decadal trends and the impact of extreme events on carbon fluxes in a temperate deciduous forest using a terrestrial biosphere model
Surface CO2 gradients challenge conventional CO2 emission quantification in lentic water bodies under calm conditions
Spatiotemporal variability of CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes from a semi-deciduous tropical forest soil in the Congo Basin
Eddy-covariance fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O in a drained peatland forest after clear-cutting
Eddy covariance evaluation of ecosystem fluxes at a temperate saltmarsh in Victoria, Australia, shows large CO2 uptake
Interferences caused by the biogeochemical methane cycle in peats during the assessment of abandoned oil wells
Carbon sequestration in different urban vegetation types in Southern Finland
Proglacial methane emissions driven by meltwater and groundwater flushing in a high-Arctic glacial catchment
Seasonal and interannual variability in CO2 fluxes in southern Africa seen by GOSAT
Air temperature and precipitation constraining the modelled wetland methane emissions in a boreal region in northern Europe
Ensemble estimates of global wetland methane emissions over 2000–2020
Seasonal carbon fluxes from vegetation and soil in a Mediterranean non-tidal salt marsh
Explainable machine learning for modeling of net ecosystem exchange in boreal forests
Dynamics of CO2 and CH4 fluxes in Red Sea mangrove soils
Nitrous oxide (N2O) in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania
Technical note: A low-cost, automatic soil–plant–atmosphere enclosure system to investigate CO2 and evapotranspiration flux dynamics
Tidal influence on carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from tree stems and soils in mangrove forests
Drought conditions disrupt atmospheric carbon uptake in a Mediterranean saline lake
Physicochemical perturbation increases nitrous oxide production from denitrification in soils and sediments
Carbon degradation and mobilisation potentials of thawing permafrost peatlands in northern Norway inferred from laboratory incubations
Seasonal dynamics and regional distribution patterns of CO2 and CH4 in the north-eastern Baltic Sea
Rising Arctic Seas and Thawing Permafrost: Uncovering the Carbon Cycle Impact in a Thermokarst Lagoon System in the outer Mackenzie Delta, Canada
Interannual and seasonal variability of the air–sea CO2 exchange at Utö in the coastal region of the Baltic Sea
CO2 emissions of drained coastal peatlands in the Netherlands and potential emission reduction by water infiltration systems
Intercomparison of biogenic CO2 flux models in four urban parks in the city of Zurich
Influence of wind strength and direction on diffusive methane fluxes and atmospheric methane concentrations above the North Sea
Using eddy covariance observations to determine the carbon sequestration characteristics of subalpine forests in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
Isotopomer labeling and oxygen dependence of hybrid nitrous oxide production
The emission of CO from tropical rainforest soils
CO2 flux characteristics of the grassland ecosystem and its response to environmental factors in the dry-hot valley of Jinsha River, China
Modelling CO2 and N2O emissions from soils in silvopastoral systems of the West African Sahelian band
A case study on topsoil removal and rewetting for paludiculture: effect on biogeochemistry and greenhouse gas emissions from Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia, and Azolla filiculoides
Observations of methane net sinks in the Arctic tundra
Assessing improvements in global ocean pCO2 machine learning reconstructions with Southern Ocean autonomous sampling
Timescale dependence of airborne fraction and underlying climate–carbon-cycle feedbacks for weak perturbations in CMIP5 models
Technical note: Preventing CO2 overestimation from mercuric or copper(II) chloride preservation of dissolved greenhouse gases in freshwater samples
Exploring temporal and spatial variation of nitrous oxide flux using several years of peatland forest automatic chamber data
Diurnal versus spatial variability of greenhouse gas emissions from an anthropogenically modified lowland river in Germany
Regional assessment and uncertainty analysis of carbon and nitrogen balances at cropland scale using the ecosystem model LandscapeDNDC
Resolving heterogeneous fluxes from tundra halves the growing season carbon budget
Lawns and meadows in urban green space – a comparison from perspectives of greenhouse gases, drought resilience and plant functional types
Large contribution of soil N2O emission to the global warming potential of a large-scale oil palm plantation despite changing from conventional to reduced management practices
Identifying landscape hot and cold spots of soil greenhouse gas fluxes by combining field measurements and remote sensing data
Enhanced Southern Ocean CO2 outgassing as a result of stronger and poleward shifted southern hemispheric westerlies
Spatial and temporal variability of methane emissions and environmental conditions in a hyper-eutrophic fishpond
Optical and radar Earth observation data for upscaling methane emissions linked to permafrost degradation in sub-Arctic peatlands in northern Sweden
Herbivore–shrub interactions influence ecosystem respiration and biogenic volatile organic compound composition in the subarctic
Methane emissions due to reservoir flushing: a significant emission pathway?
Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from mounds of African fungus-growing termites
Diel and seasonal methane dynamics in the shallow and turbulent Wadden Sea
Tea Thum, Tuuli Miinalainen, Outi Seppälä, Holly Croft, Cheryl Rogers, Ralf Staebler, Silvia Caldararu, and Sönke Zaehle
Biogeosciences, 22, 1781–1807, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1781-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1781-2025, 2025
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Climate change has the potential to influence the carbon sequestration potential of terrestrial ecosystems, and here the nitrogen cycle is also important. We used the terrestrial biosphere model QUINCY (QUantifying Interactions between terrestrial Nutrient CYcles and the climate system) in a mixed deciduous forest in Canada. We investigated the usefulness of using the leaf area index and leaf chlorophyll content to improve the parameterization of the model. This work paves the way for using spaceborne observations in model parameterizations, also including information on the nitrogen cycle.
Patrick Aurich, Uwe Spank, and Matthias Koschorreck
Biogeosciences, 22, 1697–1709, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1697-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1697-2025, 2025
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Lakes can be sources and sinks of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The gas exchange between the atmosphere and the water can be measured by taking gas samples from them. However, the depth of water samples is not well defined, which may cause errors. We hypothesized that gradients of CO2 concentrations develop under the surface when wind speeds are very low. Our measurements show that such a gradient can occur on calm nights, potentially shifting lakes from a CO2 sink to a source.
Roxanne Daelman, Marijn Bauters, Matti Barthel, Emmanuel Bulonza, Lodewijk Lefevre, José Mbifo, Johan Six, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Benjamin Wolf, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 22, 1529–1542, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1529-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1529-2025, 2025
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The increase in atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases (GHGs) since 1750 is attributed to human activity. However, natural ecosystems, such as tropical forests, also contribute to GHG budgets. The Congo Basin hosts the second largest tropical forest and is understudied. In this study, measurements of soil GHG exchange were carried out during 16 months in a tropical forest in the Congo Basin. Overall, the soil acted as a major source of CO2 and N2O and a minor sink of CH4.
Olli-Pekka Tikkasalo, Olli Peltola, Pavel Alekseychik, Juha Heikkinen, Samuli Launiainen, Aleksi Lehtonen, Qian Li, Eduardo Martínez-García, Mikko Peltoniemi, Petri Salovaara, Ville Tuominen, and Raisa Mäkipää
Biogeosciences, 22, 1277–1300, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1277-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1277-2025, 2025
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The emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were measured from a clear-cut peatland forest site. The measurements covered the whole year of 2022, which was the second growing season after the clear-cut. The site was a strong GHG source, and the highest emissions came from CO2, followed by N2O and CH4. A statistical model that included information on different surfaces at the site was developed to unravel surface-type-specific GHG fluxes.
Ruth Reef, Edoardo Daly, Tivanka Anandappa, Eboni-Jane Vienna-Hallam, Harriet Robertson, Matthew Peck, and Adrien Guyot
Biogeosciences, 22, 1149–1162, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1149-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1149-2025, 2025
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Studies show that saltmarshes excel at capturing carbon from the atmosphere. In this study, we measured CO2 flux in an Australian temperate saltmarsh on French Island. The temperate saltmarsh exhibited strong seasonality. During the warmer growing season, the saltmarsh absorbed 10.5 g CO2 m−2 on average daily from the atmosphere. Even in winter, when plants were dormant, it continued to be a CO2 sink, albeit a smaller one. Cool temperatures and high cloud cover inhibit carbon sequestration.
Sebastian F. A. Jordan, Stefan Schloemer, Martin Krüger, Tanja Heffner, Marcus A. Horn, and Martin Blumenberg
Biogeosciences, 22, 809–830, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-809-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-809-2025, 2025
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Using a multilayer approach, we studied the methane flux, soil gas composition, and isotopic signatures of soil methane and carbon dioxide at eight cut and buried abandoned oil wells in a peat-rich area of northern Germany. The detected methane emissions were of biogenic, peat origin and were not associated with the abandoned wells. Additional microbial analysis and methane oxidation rate measurements demonstrated a high methane emission mitigation potential in the studied peat soils.
Laura Thölix, Leif Backman, Minttu Havu, Esko Karvinen, Jesse Soininen, Justine Trémeau, Olli Nevalainen, Joyson Ahongshangbam, Leena Järvi, and Liisa Kulmala
Biogeosciences, 22, 725–749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-725-2025, 2025
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Cities aim for carbon neutrality and seek to understand urban vegetation's role as a carbon sink. Direct measurements are challenging, so models are used to estimate the urban carbon cycle. We evaluated model performance at estimating carbon sequestration in lawns, park trees, and urban forests in Helsinki, Finland. Models captured seasonal and annual variations well. Trees had higher sequestration rates than lawns, and irrigation often enhanced carbon sinks.
Gabrielle E. Kleber, Leonard Magerl, Alexandra V. Turchyn, Stefan Schloemer, Mark Trimmer, Yizhu Zhu, and Andrew Hodson
Biogeosciences, 22, 659–674, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-659-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-659-2025, 2025
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Our research on Svalbard shows that glacier melt rivers can transport large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By studying a glacier over one summer, we found that its river was highly concentrated in methane, suggesting that rivers could provide a significant source of methane emissions as the Arctic warms and glaciers melt. This is the first time such emissions have been measured on Svalbard, indicating a wider environmental concern as such processes are occurring across the Arctic.
Eva-Marie Metz, Sanam Noreen Vardag, Sourish Basu, Martin Jung, and André Butz
Biogeosciences, 22, 555–584, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-555-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-555-2025, 2025
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We estimate CO2 fluxes in semiarid southern Africa from 2009 to 2018 based on satellite CO2 measurements and atmospheric inverse modeling. By selecting process-based vegetation models, which agree with the satellite CO2 fluxes, we find that soil respiration mainly drives the seasonality, whereas photosynthesis substantially influences the interannual variability. Our study emphasizes the need for better representation of the response of semiarid ecosystems to soil rewetting in vegetation models.
Tuula Aalto, Aki Tsuruta, Jarmo Mäkelä, Jurek Müller, Maria Tenkanen, Eleanor Burke, Sarah Chadburn, Yao Gao, Vilma Mannisenaho, Thomas Kleinen, Hanna Lee, Antti Leppänen, Tiina Markkanen, Stefano Materia, Paul A. Miller, Daniele Peano, Olli Peltola, Benjamin Poulter, Maarit Raivonen, Marielle Saunois, David Wårlind, and Sönke Zaehle
Biogeosciences, 22, 323–340, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-323-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-323-2025, 2025
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Wetland methane responses to temperature and precipitation were studied in a boreal wetland-rich region in northern Europe using ecosystem models, atmospheric inversions, and upscaled flux observations. The ecosystem models differed in their responses to temperature and precipitation and in their seasonality. However, multi-model means, inversions, and upscaled fluxes had similar seasonality, and they suggested co-limitation by temperature and precipitation.
Zhen Zhang, Benjamin Poulter, Joe R. Melton, William J. Riley, George H. Allen, David J. Beerling, Philippe Bousquet, Josep G. Canadell, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Philippe Ciais, Nicola Gedney, Peter O. Hopcroft, Akihiko Ito, Robert B. Jackson, Atul K. Jain, Katherine Jensen, Fortunat Joos, Thomas Kleinen, Sara H. Knox, Tingting Li, Xin Li, Xiangyu Liu, Kyle McDonald, Gavin McNicol, Paul A. Miller, Jurek Müller, Prabir K. Patra, Changhui Peng, Shushi Peng, Zhangcai Qin, Ryan M. Riggs, Marielle Saunois, Qing Sun, Hanqin Tian, Xiaoming Xu, Yuanzhi Yao, Yi Xi, Wenxin Zhang, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, and Qianlai Zhuang
Biogeosciences, 22, 305–321, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-305-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-305-2025, 2025
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This study assesses global methane emissions from wetlands between 2000 and 2020 using multiple models. We found that wetland emissions increased by 6–7 Tg CH4 yr-1 in the 2010s compared to the 2000s. Rising temperatures primarily drove this increase, while changes in precipitation and CO2 levels also played roles. Our findings highlight the importance of wetlands in the global methane budget and the need for continuous monitoring to understand their impact on climate change.
Lorena Carrasco-Barea, Dolors Verdaguer, Maria Gispert, Xavier D. Quintana, Hélène Bourhis, and Laura Llorens
Biogeosciences, 22, 289–304, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-289-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-289-2025, 2025
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Carbon dioxide fluxes have been measured seasonally in four plant species in a Mediterranean non-tidal salt marsh, highlighting the high carbon removal potential that these species have. Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from soil showed high variability among the habitats studied, and they were generally higher than those observed in tidal salt marshes. Our results are important for making more accurate predictions regarding carbon emissions from these ecosystems.
Ekaterina Ezhova, Topi Laanti, Anna Lintunen, Pasi Kolari, Tuomo Nieminen, Ivan Mammarella, Keijo Heljanko, and Markku Kulmala
Biogeosciences, 22, 257–288, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-257-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-257-2025, 2025
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Machine learning (ML) models are gaining popularity in biogeosciences. They are applied as gap-filling methods and used to upscale carbon fluxes to larger areas. Here we use explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods to elucidate the performance of machine learning models for carbon dioxide fluxes in boreal forests. We show that statistically equal models treat input variables differently. XAI methods can help scientists make informed decisions when applying ML models in their research.
Jessica Breavington, Alexandra Steckbauer, Chuancheng Fu, Mongi Ennasri, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 22, 117–134, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-117-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-117-2025, 2025
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Mangrove carbon storage in the Red Sea is lower than average due to challenging growth conditions. We collected mangrove soil cores over multiple seasons to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) flux of carbon dioxide and methane. GHG emissions are a small offset to mangrove carbon storage overall but punctuated by periods of high emission. This variation is linked to environmental and soil properties, which were also measured. The findings aid understanding of GHG dynamics in arid mangrove ecosystems.
Johnathan Daniel Maxey, Neil D. Hartstein, Hermann W. Bange, and Moritz Müller
Biogeosciences, 21, 5613–5637, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5613-2024, 2024
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The distribution of N2O in fjord-like estuaries is poorly described in the Southern Hemisphere. Our study describes N2O distribution and its drivers in one such system in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania. Water samples were collected seasonally in 2022 and 2023. Results show the system removes atmospheric N2O when river flow is high, whereas the system emits N2O when the river flow is low. N2O generated in basins is intercepted by the surface water and exported to the ocean during high river flow.
Wael Al Hamwi, Maren Dubbert, Jörg Schaller, Matthias Lück, Marten Schmidt, and Mathias Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 21, 5639–5651, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5639-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5639-2024, 2024
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We present a fully automatic, low-cost soil–plant enclosure system to monitor CO2 and evapotranspiration fluxes within greenhouse experiments. It operates in two modes: independent, using low-cost sensors, and dependent, where multiple chambers connect to a single gas analyzer via a low-cost multiplexer. This system provides precise, accurate measurements and high temporal resolution, enabling comprehensive monitoring of plant–soil responses to various treatments and conditions.
Zhao-Jun Yong, Wei-Jen Lin, Chiao-Wen Lin, and Hsing-Juh Lin
Biogeosciences, 21, 5247–5260, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5247-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5247-2024, 2024
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We measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes from mangrove stems and soils of Avicennia marina and Kandelia obovata during tidal cycles. Both stem types served as CO2 and CH4 sources, emitting less CH4 than soils, with no difference in CO2 flux. While A. marina stems showed increased CO2 fluxes from low to high tides, they acted as a CH4 sink before flooding and as a source after ebbing. However, K. obovata stems showed no flux pattern. This study highlights the need to consider tidal influence and species.
Ihab Alfadhel, Ignacio Peralta-Maraver, Isabel Reche, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Sergio Aranda-Barranco, Eva Rodríguez-Velasco, Andrew S. Kowalski, and Penélope Serrano-Ortiz
Biogeosciences, 21, 5117–5129, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5117-2024, 2024
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Inland saline lakes are crucial in the global carbon cycle, but increased droughts may alter their carbon exchange capacity. We measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes in a Mediterranean saline lake using the eddy covariance method under dry and wet conditions. We found the lake acts as a carbon sink during wet periods but not during droughts. These results highlight the importance of saline lakes in carbon sequestration and their vulnerability to climate-change-induced droughts.
Nathaniel B. Weston, Cynthia Troy, Patrick J. Kearns, Jennifer L. Bowen, William Porubsky, Christelle Hyacinthe, Christof Meile, Philippe Van Cappellen, and Samantha B. Joye
Biogeosciences, 21, 4837–4851, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4837-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4837-2024, 2024
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Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse and ozone-depleting gas produced largely from microbial nitrogen cycling processes, and human activities have resulted in increases in atmospheric N2O. We investigate the role of physical and chemical disturbances to soils and sediments in N2O production. We demonstrate that physicochemical perturbation increases N2O production, microbial community adapts over time, and initial perturbation appears to confer resilience to subsequent disturbance.
Sigrid Trier Kjær, Sebastian Westermann, Nora Nedkvitne, and Peter Dörsch
Biogeosciences, 21, 4723–4737, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4723-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4723-2024, 2024
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Permafrost peatlands are thawing due to climate change, releasing large quantities of carbon that degrades upon thawing and is released as CO2, CH4 or dissolved organic carbon (DOC). We incubated thawed Norwegian permafrost peat plateaus and thermokarst pond sediment found next to permafrost for up to 350 d to measure carbon loss. CO2 production was initially the highest, whereas CH4 production increased over time. The largest carbon loss was measured at the top of the peat plateau core as DOC.
Silvie Lainela, Erik Jacobs, Stella-Theresa Luik, Gregor Rehder, and Urmas Lips
Biogeosciences, 21, 4495–4519, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4495-2024, 2024
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We evaluate the variability of carbon dioxide and methane in the surface layer of the north-eastern basins of the Baltic Sea in 2018. We show that the shallower coastal areas have considerably higher spatial variability and seasonal amplitude of surface layer pCO2 and cCH4 than measured in the offshore areas of the Baltic Sea. Despite this high variability, caused mostly by coastal physical processes, the average annual air–sea CO2 fluxes differed only marginally between the sub-basins.
Maren Jenrich, Juliane Wolter, Susanne Liebner, Christian Knoblauch, Guido Grosse, Fiona Giebeler, Dustin Whalen, and Jens Strauss
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2891, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2891, 2024
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Climate warming in the Arctic is causing the erosion of permafrost coasts and the transformation of permafrost lakes into lagoons. To understand how this affects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we studied carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) production in lagoons with varying sea connections. Younger lagoons produce more CH₄, while CO₂ increases in more marine conditions. Flooding of permafrost lowlands due to rising sea levels may lead to higher GHG emissions from Arctic coasts in the future.
Martti Honkanen, Mika Aurela, Juha Hatakka, Lumi Haraguchi, Sami Kielosto, Timo Mäkelä, Jukka Seppälä, Simo-Matti Siiriä, Ken Stenbäck, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pasi Ylöstalo, and Lauri Laakso
Biogeosciences, 21, 4341–4359, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4341-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4341-2024, 2024
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The exchange of CO2 between the sea and the atmosphere was studied in the Archipelago Sea, Baltic Sea, in 2017–2021, using an eddy covariance technique. The sea acted as a net source of CO2 with an average yearly emission of 27.1 gC m-2 yr-1, indicating that the marine ecosystem respired carbon that originated elsewhere. The yearly CO2 emission varied between 18.2–39.2 gC m-2 yr-1, mostly due to the yearly variation of ecosystem carbon uptake.
Ralf C. H. Aben, Daniël van de Craats, Jim Boonman, Stijn H. Peeters, Bart Vriend, Coline C. F. Boonman, Ype van der Velde, Gilles Erkens, and Merit van den Berg
Biogeosciences, 21, 4099–4118, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4099-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4099-2024, 2024
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Drained peatlands cause high CO2 emissions. We assessed the effectiveness of subsurface water infiltration systems (WISs) in reducing CO2 emissions related to increases in water table depth (WTD) on 12 sites for up to 4 years. Results show WISs markedly reduced emissions by 2.1 t CO2-C ha-1 yr-1. The relationship between the amount of carbon above the WTD and CO2 emission was stronger than the relationship between WTD and emission. Long-term monitoring is crucial for accurate emission estimates.
Stavros Stagakis, Dominik Brunner, Junwei Li, Leif Backman, Anni Karvonen, Lionel Constantin, Leena Järvi, Minttu Havu, Jia Chen, Sophie Emberger, and Liisa Kulmala
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2475, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2475, 2024
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The balance between CO2 uptake and emissions from urban green areas is still not well understood. This study evaluated for the first time the urban park CO2 exchange simulations by four different types of biosphere models by comparing them with observations. Even though some advantages and disadvantages of the different model types were identified, there was no strong evidence that more complex models performed better than simple ones.
Ingeborg Bussmann, Eric P. Achterberg, Holger Brix, Nicolas Brüggemann, Götz Flöser, Claudia Schütze, and Philipp Fischer
Biogeosciences, 21, 3819–3838, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3819-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3819-2024, 2024
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Methane (CH4) is an important greenhouse gas and contributes to climate warming. However, the input of CH4 from coastal areas to the atmosphere is not well defined. Dissolved and atmospheric CH4 was determined at high spatial resolution in or above the North Sea. The atmospheric CH4 concentration was mainly influenced by wind direction. With our detailed study on the spatial distribution of CH4 fluxes we were able to provide a detailed and more realistic estimation of coastal CH4 fluxes.
Niu Zhu, Jinniu Wang, Dongliang Luo, Xufeng Wang, Cheng Shen, and Ning Wu
Biogeosciences, 21, 3509–3522, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3509-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3509-2024, 2024
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Our study delves into the vital role of subalpine forests in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau as carbon sinks in the context of climate change. Utilizing advanced eddy covariance systems, we uncover their significant carbon sequestration potential, observing distinct seasonal patterns influenced by temperature, humidity, and radiation. Notably, these forests exhibit robust carbon absorption, with potential implications for global carbon balance.
Colette L. Kelly, Nicole M. Travis, Pascale Anabelle Baya, Claudia Frey, Xin Sun, Bess B. Ward, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 21, 3215–3238, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3215-2024, 2024
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Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, accumulates in regions of the ocean that are low in dissolved oxygen. We used a novel combination of chemical tracers to determine how nitrous oxide is produced in one of these regions, the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Our experiments showed that the two most important sources of nitrous oxide under low-oxygen conditions are denitrification, an anaerobic process, and a novel “hybrid” process performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea.
Hella van Asperen, Thorsten Warneke, Alessandro Carioca de Araújo, Bruce Forsberg, Sávio José Filgueiras Ferreira, Thomas Röckmann, Carina van der Veen, Sipko Bulthuis, Leonardo Ramos de Oliveira, Thiago de Lima Xavier, Jailson da Mata, Marta de Oliveira Sá, Paulo Ricardo Teixeira, Julie Andrews de França e Silva, Susan Trumbore, and Justus Notholt
Biogeosciences, 21, 3183–3199, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3183-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3183-2024, 2024
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Carbon monoxide (CO) is regarded as an important indirect greenhouse gas. Soils can emit and take up CO, but, until now, uncertainty remains as to which process dominates in tropical rainforests. We present the first soil CO flux measurements from a tropical rainforest. Based on our observations, we report that tropical rainforest soils are a net source of CO. In addition, we show that valley streams and inundated areas are likely additional hot spots of CO in the ecosystem.
Chaolei Yang, Yufeng Tian, Jingqi Cui, Guangxiong He, Jingyuan Li, Canfeng Li, Haichuang Duan, Zong Wei, Liu Yan, Xin Xia, Yong Huang, and Aihua Jiang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1226, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1226, 2024
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The environmental factors and CO2 flux of the grassland ecosystem in the dry-hot valley of the Jinsha River exhibited highly seasonal characteristics. During the rainy season, the grassland showed a carbon sink feature, while during the dry season, it exhibited carbon emission status. Throughout the entire year, the grassland ecosystem acted as a weak carbon source, exhibiting a carbon-neutral. The CO2 flux was most influenced by vapor pressure deficit, relative humidity, and soil water content.
Yélognissè Agbohessou, Claire Delon, Manuela Grippa, Eric Mougin, Daouda Ngom, Espoir Koudjo Gaglo, Ousmane Ndiaye, Paulo Salgado, and Olivier Roupsard
Biogeosciences, 21, 2811–2837, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2811-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2811-2024, 2024
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Emissions of greenhouse gases in the Sahel are not well represented because they are considered weak compared to the rest of the world. However, natural areas in the Sahel emit carbon dioxide and nitrous oxides, which need to be assessed because of extended surfaces. We propose an assessment of such emissions in Sahelian silvopastoral systems and of how they are influenced by environmental characteristics. These results are essential to inform climate change strategies in the region.
Merit van den Berg, Thomas M. Gremmen, Renske J. E. Vroom, Jacobus van Huissteden, Jim Boonman, Corine J. A. van Huissteden, Ype van der Velde, Alfons J. P. Smolders, and Bas P. van de Riet
Biogeosciences, 21, 2669–2690, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2669-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2669-2024, 2024
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Drained peatlands emit 3 % of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Paludiculture is a way to reduce CO2 emissions while at the same time generating an income for landowners. The side effect is the potentially high methane emissions. We found very high methane emissions for broadleaf cattail compared with narrowleaf cattail and water fern. The rewetting was, however, effective to stop CO2 emissions for all species. The highest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions had narrowleaf cattail.
Antonio Donateo, Daniela Famulari, Donato Giovannelli, Arturo Mariani, Mauro Mazzola, Stefano Decesari, and Gianluca Pappaccogli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1440, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1440, 2024
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This study focuses on direct measurements of CO2 and CH4 turbulent eddy covariance fluxes in tundra ecosystems in the Svalbard Islands over a two-year period. Our results reveal dynamic interactions between climatic conditions and ecosystem activities such as photosynthesis and microbial activity. The observed net summertime methane uptake is correlated with the activation and aeration of soil microorganisms. High temperature anomalies increase CO2 and CH4 emissions.
Thea H. Heimdal, Galen A. McKinley, Adrienne J. Sutton, Amanda R. Fay, and Lucas Gloege
Biogeosciences, 21, 2159–2176, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2159-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2159-2024, 2024
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Measurements of ocean carbon are limited in time and space. Machine learning algorithms are therefore used to reconstruct ocean carbon where observations do not exist. Improving these reconstructions is important in order to accurately estimate how much carbon the ocean absorbs from the atmosphere. In this study, we find that a small addition of observations from the Southern Ocean, obtained by autonomous sampling platforms, could significantly improve the reconstructions.
Guilherme L. Torres Mendonça, Julia Pongratz, and Christian H. Reick
Biogeosciences, 21, 1923–1960, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1923-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1923-2024, 2024
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We study the timescale dependence of airborne fraction and underlying feedbacks by a theory of the climate–carbon system. Using simulations we show the predictive power of this theory and find that (1) this fraction generally decreases for increasing timescales and (2) at all timescales the total feedback is negative and the model spread in a single feedback causes the spread in the airborne fraction. Our study indicates that those are properties of the system, independently of the scenario.
François Clayer, Jan Erik Thrane, Kuria Ndungu, Andrew King, Peter Dörsch, and Thomas Rohrlack
Biogeosciences, 21, 1903–1921, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1903-2024, 2024
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Determination of dissolved greenhouse gas (GHG) in freshwater allows us to estimate GHG fluxes. Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) is used to preserve water samples prior to GHG analysis despite its environmental and health impacts and interferences with water chemistry in freshwater. Here, we tested the effects of HgCl2, two substitutes and storage time on GHG in water from two boreal lakes. Preservation with HgCl2 caused overestimation of CO2 concentration with consequences for GHG flux estimation.
Helena Rautakoski, Mika Korkiakoski, Jarmo Mäkelä, Markku Koskinen, Kari Minkkinen, Mika Aurela, Paavo Ojanen, and Annalea Lohila
Biogeosciences, 21, 1867–1886, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1867-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1867-2024, 2024
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Current and future nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are difficult to estimate due to their high variability in space and time. Several years of N2O fluxes from drained boreal peatland forest indicate high importance of summer precipitation, winter temperature, and snow conditions in controlling annual N2O emissions. The results indicate increasing year-to-year variation in N2O emissions in changing climate with more extreme seasonal weather conditions.
Matthias Koschorreck, Norbert Kamjunke, Uta Koedel, Michael Rode, Claudia Schuetze, and Ingeborg Bussmann
Biogeosciences, 21, 1613–1628, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1613-2024, 2024
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We measured the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) from different sites at the river Elbe in Germany over 3 days to find out what is more important for quantification: small-scale spatial variability or diurnal temporal variability. We found that CO2 emissions were very different between day and night, while CH4 emissions were more different between sites. Dried out river sediments contributed to CO2 emissions, while the side areas of the river were important CH4 sources.
Odysseas Sifounakis, Edwin Haas, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, and Maria P. Papadopoulou
Biogeosciences, 21, 1563–1581, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1563-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1563-2024, 2024
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We performed a full assessment of the carbon and nitrogen cycles of a cropland ecosystem. An uncertainty analysis and quantification of all carbon and nitrogen fluxes were deployed. The inventory simulations include greenhouse gas emissions of N2O, NH3 volatilization and NO3 leaching from arable land cultivation in Greece. The inventory also reports changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in arable soils.
Sarah M. Ludwig, Luke Schiferl, Jacqueline Hung, Susan M. Natali, and Roisin Commane
Biogeosciences, 21, 1301–1321, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1301-2024, 2024
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Landscapes are often assumed to be homogeneous when using eddy covariance fluxes, which can lead to biases when calculating carbon budgets. In this study we report eddy covariance carbon fluxes from heterogeneous tundra. We used the footprints of each flux observation to unmix the fluxes coming from components of the landscape. We identified and quantified hot spots of carbon emissions in the landscape. Accurately scaling with landscape heterogeneity yielded half as much regional carbon uptake.
Justine Trémeau, Beñat Olascoaga, Leif Backman, Esko Karvinen, Henriikka Vekuri, and Liisa Kulmala
Biogeosciences, 21, 949–972, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-949-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-949-2024, 2024
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We studied urban lawns and meadows in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland. We found that meadows are more resistant to drought events but that they do not increase carbon sequestration compared with lawns. Moreover, the transformation from lawns to meadows did not demonstrate any negative climate effects in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Even though social and economic aspects also steer urban development, these results can guide planning to consider carbon-smart options.
Guantao Chen, Edzo Veldkamp, Muhammad Damris, Bambang Irawan, Aiyen Tjoa, and Marife D. Corre
Biogeosciences, 21, 513–529, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-513-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-513-2024, 2024
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We established an oil palm management experiment in a large-scale oil palm plantation in Jambi, Indonesia. We recorded oil palm fruit yield and measured soil CO2, N2O, and CH4 fluxes. After 4 years of treatment, compared with conventional fertilization with herbicide weeding, reduced fertilization with mechanical weeding did not reduce yield and soil greenhouse gas emissions, which highlights the legacy effects of over a decade of conventional management prior to the start of the experiment.
Elizabeth Gachibu Wangari, Ricky Mwangada Mwanake, Tobias Houska, David Kraus, Gretchen Maria Gettel, Ralf Kiese, Lutz Breuer, and Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
Biogeosciences, 20, 5029–5067, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5029-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5029-2023, 2023
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Agricultural landscapes act as sinks or sources of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4, or N2O. Various physicochemical and biological processes control the fluxes of these GHGs between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Therefore, fluxes depend on environmental conditions such as soil moisture, soil temperature, or soil parameters, which result in large spatial and temporal variations of GHG fluxes. Here, we describe an example of how this variation may be studied and analyzed.
Laurie C. Menviel, Paul Spence, Andrew E. Kiss, Matthew A. Chamberlain, Hakase Hayashida, Matthew H. England, and Darryn Waugh
Biogeosciences, 20, 4413–4431, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4413-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4413-2023, 2023
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As the ocean absorbs 25% of the anthropogenic emissions of carbon, it is important to understand the impact of climate change on the flux of carbon between the ocean and the atmosphere. Here, we use a very high-resolution ocean, sea-ice, carbon cycle model to show that the capability of the Southern Ocean to uptake CO2 has decreased over the last 40 years due to a strengthening and poleward shift of the southern hemispheric westerlies. This trend is expected to continue over the coming century.
Petr Znachor, Jiří Nedoma, Vojtech Kolar, and Anna Matoušů
Biogeosciences, 20, 4273–4288, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4273-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4273-2023, 2023
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We conducted intensive spatial sampling of the hypertrophic fishpond to better understand the spatial dynamics of methane fluxes and environmental heterogeneity in fishponds. The diffusive fluxes of methane accounted for only a minor fraction of the total fluxes and both varied pronouncedly within the pond and over the studied summer season. This could be explained only by the water depth. Wind substantially affected temperature, oxygen and chlorophyll a distribution in the pond.
Sofie Sjögersten, Martha Ledger, Matthias Siewert, Betsabé de la Barreda-Bautista, Andrew Sowter, David Gee, Giles Foody, and Doreen S. Boyd
Biogeosciences, 20, 4221–4239, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4221-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4221-2023, 2023
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Permafrost thaw in Arctic regions is increasing methane emissions, but quantification is difficult given the large and remote areas impacted. We show that UAV data together with satellite data can be used to extrapolate emissions across the wider landscape as well as detect areas at risk of higher emissions. A transition of currently degrading areas to fen type vegetation can increase emission by several orders of magnitude, highlighting the importance of quantifying areas at risk.
Cole G. Brachmann, Tage Vowles, Riikka Rinnan, Mats P. Björkman, Anna Ekberg, and Robert G. Björk
Biogeosciences, 20, 4069–4086, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4069-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4069-2023, 2023
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Herbivores change plant communities through grazing, altering the amount of CO2 and plant-specific chemicals (termed VOCs) emitted. We tested this effect by excluding herbivores and studying the CO2 and VOC emissions. Herbivores reduced CO2 emissions from a meadow community and altered VOC composition; however, community type had the strongest effect on the amount of CO2 and VOCs released. Herbivores can mediate greenhouse gas emissions, but the effect is marginal and community dependent.
Ole Lessmann, Jorge Encinas Fernández, Karla Martínez-Cruz, and Frank Peeters
Biogeosciences, 20, 4057–4068, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4057-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4057-2023, 2023
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Based on a large dataset of seasonally resolved methane (CH4) pore water concentrations in a reservoir's sediment, we assess the significance of CH4 emissions due to reservoir flushing. In the studied reservoir, CH4 emissions caused by one flushing operation can represent 7 %–14 % of the annual CH4 emissions and depend on the timing of the flushing operation. In reservoirs with high sediment loadings, regular flushing may substantially contribute to the overall CH4 emissions.
Matti Räsänen, Risto Vesala, Petri Rönnholm, Laura Arppe, Petra Manninen, Markus Jylhä, Jouko Rikkinen, Petri Pellikka, and Janne Rinne
Biogeosciences, 20, 4029–4042, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4029-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4029-2023, 2023
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Fungus-growing termites recycle large parts of dead plant material in African savannas and are significant sources of greenhouse gases. We measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes from their mounds and surrounding soils in open and closed habitats. The fluxes scale with mound volume. The results show that emissions from mounds of fungus-growing termites are more stable than those from other termites. The soil fluxes around the mound are affected by the termite colonies at up to 2 m distance from the mound.
Tim René de Groot, Anne Margriet Mol, Katherine Mesdag, Pierre Ramond, Rachel Ndhlovu, Julia Catherine Engelmann, Thomas Röckmann, and Helge Niemann
Biogeosciences, 20, 3857–3872, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3857-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3857-2023, 2023
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This study investigates methane dynamics in the Wadden Sea. Our measurements revealed distinct variations triggered by seasonality and tidal forcing. The methane budget was higher in warmer seasons but surprisingly high in colder seasons. Methane dynamics were amplified during low tides, flushing the majority of methane into the North Sea or releasing it to the atmosphere. Methanotrophic activity was also elevated during low tide but mitigated only a small fraction of the methane efflux.
Cited articles
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Short summary
Methane production rates of Arctic ponds during the freezing period within a typical tundra landscape in northern Siberia are presented. Production rates were inferred by inverse modeling based on measured methane concentrations in the ice cover. Results revealed marked differences in early winter methane production among ponds showing different stages of shore degradation. This suggests that shore erosion can increase methane production of Arctic ponds by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude.
Methane production rates of Arctic ponds during the freezing period within a typical tundra...
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