Articles | Volume 15, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6033-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6033-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
15 Oct 2018
Research article |
| 15 Oct 2018
| 15 Oct 2018
Organic matter characteristics in yedoma and thermokarst deposits on Baldwin Peninsula, west Alaska
Loeka L. Jongejans
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine
Research, Permafrost Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
Jens Strauss
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine
Research, Permafrost Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
Josefine Lenz
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine
Research, Permafrost Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Northern Engineering,
Fairbanks, AK, USA
Francien Peterse
Utrecht University, Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Kai Mangelsdorf
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – German Research Centre for Geosciences,
Potsdam, Germany
Matthias Fuchs
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine
Research, Permafrost Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
University of Potsdam, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Potsdam, Germany
Guido Grosse
Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine
Research, Permafrost Research Section, Potsdam, Germany
University of Potsdam, Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Potsdam, Germany
Related authors
Loeka L. Jongejans, Kai Mangelsdorf, Cornelia Karger, Thomas Opel, Sebastian Wetterich, Jérémy Courtin, Hanno Meyer, Alexander I. Kizyakov, Guido Grosse, Andrei G. Shepelev, Igor I. Syromyatnikov, Alexander N. Fedorov, and Jens Strauss
The Cryosphere, 16, 3601–3617, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3601-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3601-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Large parts of Arctic Siberia are underlain by permafrost. Climate warming leads to permafrost thaw. At the Batagay megaslump, permafrost sediments up to ~ 650 kyr old are exposed. We took sediment samples and analysed the organic matter (e.g. plant remains). We found distinct differences in the biomarker distributions between the glacial and interglacial deposits with generally stronger microbial activity during interglacial periods. Further permafrost thaw enhances greenhouse gas emissions.
Charlotte Haugk, Loeka L. Jongejans, Kai Mangelsdorf, Matthias Fuchs, Olga Ogneva, Juri Palmtag, Gesine Mollenhauer, Paul J. Mann, P. Paul Overduin, Guido Grosse, Tina Sanders, Robyn E. Tuerena, Lutz Schirrmeister, Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Cornelia Karger, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 19, 2079–2094, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Buried animal and plant remains (carbon) from the last ice age were freeze-locked in permafrost. At an extremely fast eroding permafrost cliff in the Lena Delta (Siberia), we found this formerly frozen carbon well preserved. Our results show that ongoing degradation releases substantial amounts of this carbon, making it available for future carbon emissions. This mobilisation at the studied cliff and also similarly eroding sites bear the potential to affect rivers and oceans negatively.
Torben Windirsch, Guido Grosse, Mathias Ulrich, Lutz Schirrmeister, Alexander N. Fedorov, Pavel Y. Konstantinov, Matthias Fuchs, Loeka L. Jongejans, Juliane Wolter, Thomas Opel, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 17, 3797–3814, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3797-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3797-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
To extend the knowledge on circumpolar deep permafrost carbon storage, we examined two deep permafrost deposit types (Yedoma and alas) in central Yakutia. We found little but partially undecomposed organic carbon as a result of largely changing sedimentation processes. The carbon stock of the examined Yedoma deposits is about 50 % lower than the general Yedoma domain mean, implying a very hetererogeneous Yedoma composition, while the alas is approximately 80 % below the thermokarst deposit mean.
Jingjing Guo, Martin Ziegler, Louise Fuchs, Youbin Sun, and Francien Peterse
Clim. Past, 21, 343–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-343-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-343-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we use the distribution of soil bacterial membrane lipids stored on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) to quantitatively reconstruct variations in precipitation amount over the past 130 kyr. The precipitation record shows orbital- and millennial-scale variations and varies at precession and obliquity scale. The application of this precipitation proxy across the CLP indicates a more pronounced spatial gradient during glacials, when the western CLP experiences more arid conditions.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Katharina Jentzsch, Lona van Delden, Matthias Fuchs, and Claire C. Treat
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-381, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-381, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, but we do not fully understand how much is released from natural sources like wetlands. To measure methane over large areas, many measurements are needed, often from small chambers that are placed on the ground. However, different researchers use different measurement setups, making it hard to combine data. We surveyed 36 researchers about their methods, summarized the responses, and identified ways to make the data more comparable.
Frieda P. Giest, Maren Jenrich, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, Kai Mangelsdorf, Torben Windirsch, and Jens Strauss
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3683, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3683, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
Climate warming causes permafrost to thaw, releasing greenhouse gases and affecting ecosystems. We studied sediments from Arctic coastal landscapes, including land, lakes, lagoons, and the ocean, finding that organic carbon storage and quality vary with landscape features and saltwater influence. Freshwater and land areas store more carbon, while saltwater reduces its quality. These findings improve predictions of Arctic responses to climate change and their impact on global carbon cycling.
Felix L. Arens, Alessandro Airo, Christof Sager, Hans-Peter Grossart, Kai Mangelsdorf, Rainer U. Meckenstock, Mark Pannekens, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, Jenny Uhl, Bernardita Valenzuela, Pedro Zamorano, Luca Zoccarato, and Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Biogeosciences, 21, 5305–5320, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5305-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5305-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We studied unique nitrate-rich soils in the hyperarid Atacama Desert that form brines at night under high relative humidity. Despite providing water for microorganisms, these soils exhibit extremely low microbial activity, indicating that the high nitrate levels inhibit microbial life. On the other hand, enriched organic matter indicates their potential preservation. This research helps to understand the limits of life in extreme environments and aids in the search for signs of life on Mars.
Lutz Schirrmeister, Margret C. Fuchs, Thomas Opel, Andrei Andreev, Frank Kienast, Andrea Schneider, Larisa Nazarova, Larisa Frolova, Svetlana Kuzmina, Tatiana Kuznetsova, Vladimir Tumskoy, Heidrun Matthes, Gerit Lohmann, Guido Grosse, Viktor Kunitsky, Hanno Meyer, Heike H. Zimmermann, Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Boehmer, Stuart Umbo, Sevi Modestou, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Anfisa Pismeniuk, Georg Schwamborn, Stephanie Kusch, and Sebastian Wetterich
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-74, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-74, 2024
Preprint under review for CP
Short summary
Short summary
The strong ecosystem response to the Last Interglacial warming, reflected in the high diversity of proxies, shows the sensitivity of permafrost regions to rising temperatures. In particular, the development of thermokarst landscapes created a mosaic of terrestrial, wetland, and aquatic habitats, fostering an increase in biodiversity. This biodiversity is evident in the rich variety of terrestrial insects, vegetation, and aquatic invertebrates preserved in these deposits.
Lydia Stolpmann, Ingmar Nitze, Ingeborg Bussmann, Benjamin M. Jones, Josefine Lenz, Hanno Meyer, Juliane Wolter, and Guido Grosse
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2822, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2822, 2024
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
Short summary
Short summary
We combine hydrochemical and lake change data to show consequences of permafrost thaw induced lake changes on hydrochemistry, which are relevant for the global carbon cycle. We found higher methane concentrations in lakes that do not freeze to the ground and show that lagoons have lower methane concentrations than lakes. Our detailed lake sampling approach show higher concentrations in Dissolved Organic Carbon in areas of higher erosion rates, that might increase under the climate warming.
Nina Nesterova, Marina Leibman, Alexander Kizyakov, Hugues Lantuit, Ilya Tarasevich, Ingmar Nitze, Alexandra Veremeeva, and Guido Grosse
The Cryosphere, 18, 4787–4810, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4787-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4787-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) are widespread in the Arctic permafrost landforms. RTSs present a big interest for researchers because of their expansion due to climate change. There are currently different scientific schools and terminology used in the literature on this topic. We have critically reviewed existing concepts and terminology and provided clarifications to present a useful base for experts in the field and ease the introduction to the topic for scientists who are new to it.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Amelie Stieg, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ulrike Herzschuh, Andreas Marent, Jens Strauss, Dorothee Wilhelms–Dick, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, and Hanno Meyer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2470, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2470, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Globally, lake ecosystems have undergone significant shifts since the 1950s due to human activities. This study offers a unique 220-year sediment record from a remote Siberian boreal lake, revealing the impacts of climate warming and pollution. Multi-proxy analyses, including diatom taxonomy, silicon isotopes, carbon and nitrogen proxies, reveal complex biogeochemical interactions, highlighting the need for further research to mitigate anthropogenic effects on these vital water resources.
Allix J. Baxter, Francien Peterse, Dirk Verschuren, Aihemaiti Maitituerdi, Nicolas Waldmann, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 21, 2877–2908, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2877-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2877-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the impact of long-term lake-system evolution on the climate signal recorded by glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), a popular biomarker in paleoclimate research. It compares downcore changes in GDGTs in the 250 000 year sediment sequence of Lake Chala (Kenya/Tanzania) to independent data for lake mixing and water-column chemistry. These factors influence the GDGT proxies in the earliest depositional phases (before ~180 ka), confounding the climate signal.
Chris D. Fokkema, Tobias Agterhuis, Danielle Gerritsma, Myrthe de Goeij, Xiaoqing Liu, Pauline de Regt, Addison Rice, Laurens Vennema, Claudia Agnini, Peter K. Bijl, Joost Frieling, Matthew Huber, Francien Peterse, and Appy Sluijs
Clim. Past, 20, 1303–1325, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1303-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1303-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Polar amplification (PA) is a key uncertainty in climate projections. The factors that dominantly control PA are difficult to separate. Here we provide an estimate for the non-ice-related PA by reconstructing tropical ocean temperature variability from the ice-free early Eocene, which we compare to deep-ocean-derived high-latitude temperature variability across short-lived warming periods. We find a PA factor of 1.7–2.3 on 20 kyr timescales, which is somewhat larger than model estimates.
Amelie Stieg, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ulrike Herzschuh, Jens Strauss, Luidmila Pestryakova, and Hanno Meyer
Clim. Past, 20, 909–933, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-909-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-909-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Siberia is impacted by recent climate warming and experiences extreme hydroclimate events. We present a 220-year-long sub-decadal stable oxygen isotope record of diatoms from Lake Khamra. Our analysis identifies winter precipitation as the key process impacting the isotope variability. Two possible hydroclimatic anomalies were found to coincide with significant changes in lake internal conditions and increased wildfire activity in the region.
Yord W. Yedema, Timme Donders, Francien Peterse, and Francesca Sangiorgi
J. Micropalaeontol., 42, 257–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-257-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-42-257-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The pollen and dinoflagellate cyst content of 21 surface sediments from the northern Gulf of Mexico is used to test the applicability of three palynological ratios (heterotroph/autotroph, pollen/dinocyst, and pollen/bisaccate ratio) as proxies for marine productivity and distance to the coast/river. Redundancy analysis confirms the suitability of these three ratios, where the H/A ratio can be used as an indicator of primary production, and the P/B ratio best tracks the distance to the coast.
Frida S. Hoem, Adrián López-Quirós, Suzanna van de Lagemaat, Johan Etourneau, Marie-Alexandrine Sicre, Carlota Escutia, Henk Brinkhuis, Francien Peterse, Francesca Sangiorgi, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 19, 1931–1949, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1931-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1931-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present two new sea surface temperature (SST) records in comparison with available SST records to reconstruct South Atlantic paleoceanographic evolution. Our results show a low SST gradient in the Eocene–early Oligocene due to the persistent gyral circulation. A higher SST gradient in the Middle–Late Miocene infers a stronger circumpolar current. The southern South Atlantic was the coldest region in the Southern Ocean and likely the main deep-water formation location in the Middle Miocene.
Mélissa Laurent, Matthias Fuchs, Tanja Herbst, Alexandra Runge, Susanne Liebner, and Claire C. Treat
Biogeosciences, 20, 2049–2064, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2049-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2049-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we investigated the effect of different parameters (temperature, landscape position) on the production of greenhouse gases during a 1-year permafrost thaw experiment. For very similar carbon and nitrogen contents, our results show a strong heterogeneity in CH4 production, as well as in microbial abundance. According to our study, these differences are mainly due to the landscape position and the hydrological conditions established as a result of the topography.
Boris K. Biskaborn, Amy Forster, Gregor Pfalz, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Kathleen Stoof-Leichsenring, Jens Strauss, Tim Kröger, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Biogeosciences, 20, 1691–1712, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1691-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1691-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Lake sediment from the Russian Arctic was studied for microalgae and organic matter chemistry dated back to the last glacial 28 000 years. Species and chemistry responded to environmental changes such as the Younger Dryas cold event and the Holocene thermal maximum. Organic carbon accumulation correlated with rates of microalgae deposition only during warm episodes but not during the cold glacial.
Olga Ogneva, Gesine Mollenhauer, Bennet Juhls, Tina Sanders, Juri Palmtag, Matthias Fuchs, Hendrik Grotheer, Paul J. Mann, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 20, 1423–1441, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1423-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic warming accelerates permafrost thaw and release of terrestrial organic matter (OM) via rivers to the Arctic Ocean. We compared particulate organic carbon (POC), total suspended matter, and C isotopes (δ13C and Δ14C of POC) in the Lena delta and Lena River along a ~1600 km transect. We show that the Lena delta, as an interface between the Lena River and the Arctic Ocean, plays a crucial role in determining the qualitative and quantitative composition of OM discharged into the Arctic Ocean.
Suning Hou, Foteini Lamprou, Frida S. Hoem, Mohammad Rizky Nanda Hadju, Francesca Sangiorgi, Francien Peterse, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 19, 787–802, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-787-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-787-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Neogene climate cooling is thought to be accompanied by increased Equator-to-pole temperature gradients, but mid-latitudes are poorly represented. We use biomarkers to reconstruct a 23 Myr continuous sea surface temperature record of the mid-latitude Southern Ocean. We note a profound mid-latitude cooling which narrowed the latitudinal temperature gradient with the northward expansion of subpolar conditions. We surmise that this reflects the strengthening of the ACC and the expansion of sea ice.
Peter Stimmler, Mathias Goeckede, Bo Elberling, Susan Natali, Peter Kuhry, Nia Perron, Fabrice Lacroix, Gustaf Hugelius, Oliver Sonnentag, Jens Strauss, Christina Minions, Michael Sommer, and Jörg Schaller
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1059–1075, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1059-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1059-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Arctic soils store large amounts of carbon and nutrients. The availability of nutrients, such as silicon, calcium, iron, aluminum, phosphorus, and amorphous silica, is crucial to understand future carbon fluxes in the Arctic. Here, we provide, for the first time, a unique dataset of the availability of the abovementioned nutrients for the different soil layers, including the currently frozen permafrost layer. We relate these data to several geographical and geological parameters.
Simeon Lisovski, Alexandra Runge, Iuliia Shevtsova, Nele Landgraf, Anne Morgenstern, Ronald Reagan Okoth, Matthias Fuchs, Nikolay Lashchinskiy, Carl Stadie, Alison Beamish, Ulrike Herzschuh, Guido Grosse, and Birgit Heim
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-36, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-36, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
The Lena Delta is the largest river delta in the Arctic, and represents a biodiversity hotspot. Here, we describe multiple field datasets and a detailed habitat classification map for the Lena Delta. We present context and methods of these openly available datasets and show how they can improve our understanding of the rapidly changing Arctic tundra system.
Yord W. Yedema, Francesca Sangiorgi, Appy Sluijs, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 20, 663–686, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-663-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-663-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Terrestrial organic matter (TerrOM) is transported to the ocean by rivers, where its burial can potentially form a long-term carbon sink. This burial is dependent on the type and characteristics of the TerrOM. We used bulk sediment properties, biomarkers, and palynology to identify the dispersal patterns of plant-derived, soil–microbial, and marine OM in the northern Gulf of Mexico and show that plant-derived OM is transported further into the coastal zone than soil and marine-produced TerrOM.
Mauricio Arboleda-Zapata, Michael Angelopoulos, Pier Paul Overduin, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, and Jens Tronicke
The Cryosphere, 16, 4423–4445, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4423-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4423-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate how we can reliably estimate the thawed–frozen permafrost interface with its associated uncertainties in subsea permafrost environments using 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. In addition, we show how further analyses considering 1D inversion and sensitivity assessments can help quantify and better understand 2D ERT inversion results. Our results illustrate the capabilities of the ERT method to get insights into the development of the subsea permafrost.
Loeka L. Jongejans, Kai Mangelsdorf, Cornelia Karger, Thomas Opel, Sebastian Wetterich, Jérémy Courtin, Hanno Meyer, Alexander I. Kizyakov, Guido Grosse, Andrei G. Shepelev, Igor I. Syromyatnikov, Alexander N. Fedorov, and Jens Strauss
The Cryosphere, 16, 3601–3617, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3601-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3601-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Large parts of Arctic Siberia are underlain by permafrost. Climate warming leads to permafrost thaw. At the Batagay megaslump, permafrost sediments up to ~ 650 kyr old are exposed. We took sediment samples and analysed the organic matter (e.g. plant remains). We found distinct differences in the biomarker distributions between the glacial and interglacial deposits with generally stronger microbial activity during interglacial periods. Further permafrost thaw enhances greenhouse gas emissions.
Frédérique M. S. A. Kirkels, Hugo J. de Boer, Paulina Concha Hernández, Chris R. T. Martes, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Sayak Basu, Muhammed O. Usman, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 19, 4107–4127, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4107-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The distinct carbon isotopic values of C3 and C4 plants are widely used to reconstruct past hydroclimate, where more C3 plants reflect wetter and C4 plants drier conditions. Here we examine the impact of regional hydroclimatic conditions on plant isotopic values in the Godavari River basin, India. We find that it is crucial to identify regional plant isotopic values and consider drought stress, which introduces a bias in C3 / C4 plant estimates and associated hydroclimate reconstructions.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Frédérique M. S. A. Kirkels, Huub M. Zwart, Muhammed O. Usman, Suning Hou, Camilo Ponton, Liviu Giosan, Timothy I. Eglinton, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 19, 3979–4010, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3979-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3979-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) that is transferred to the ocean by rivers forms a long-term sink of atmospheric CO2 upon burial on the ocean floor. We here test if certain bacterial membrane lipids can be used to trace SOC through the monsoon-fed Godavari River basin in India. We find that these lipids trace the mobilisation and transport of SOC in the wet season but that these lipids are not transferred far into the sea. This suggests that the burial of SOC on the sea floor is limited here.
Carolien M. H. van der Weijst, Koen J. van der Laan, Francien Peterse, Gert-Jan Reichart, Francesca Sangiorgi, Stefan Schouten, Tjerk J. T. Veenstra, and Appy Sluijs
Clim. Past, 18, 1947–1962, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1947-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1947-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The TEX86 proxy is often used by paleoceanographers to reconstruct past sea-surface temperatures. However, the origin of the TEX86 signal in marine sediments has been debated since the proxy was first proposed. In our paper, we show that TEX86 carries a mixed sea-surface and subsurface temperature signal and should be calibrated accordingly. Using our 15-million-year record, we subsequently show how a TEX86 subsurface temperature record can be used to inform us on past sea-surface temperatures.
Matthias Fuchs, Juri Palmtag, Bennet Juhls, Pier Paul Overduin, Guido Grosse, Ahmed Abdelwahab, Michael Bedington, Tina Sanders, Olga Ogneva, Irina V. Fedorova, Nikita S. Zimov, Paul J. Mann, and Jens Strauss
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2279–2301, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2279-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2279-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We created digital, high-resolution bathymetry data sets for the Lena Delta and Kolyma Gulf regions in northeastern Siberia. Based on nautical charts, we digitized depth points and isobath lines, which serve as an input for a 50 m bathymetry model. The benefit of this data set is the accurate mapping of near-shore areas as well as the offshore continuation of the main deep river channels. This will improve the estimation of river outflow and the nutrient flux output into the coastal zone.
Charlotte Haugk, Loeka L. Jongejans, Kai Mangelsdorf, Matthias Fuchs, Olga Ogneva, Juri Palmtag, Gesine Mollenhauer, Paul J. Mann, P. Paul Overduin, Guido Grosse, Tina Sanders, Robyn E. Tuerena, Lutz Schirrmeister, Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Cornelia Karger, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 19, 2079–2094, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2079-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Buried animal and plant remains (carbon) from the last ice age were freeze-locked in permafrost. At an extremely fast eroding permafrost cliff in the Lena Delta (Siberia), we found this formerly frozen carbon well preserved. Our results show that ongoing degradation releases substantial amounts of this carbon, making it available for future carbon emissions. This mobilisation at the studied cliff and also similarly eroding sites bear the potential to affect rivers and oceans negatively.
Peter K. Bijl, Joost Frieling, Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, Christine Boschman, Appy Sluijs, and Francien Peterse
Clim. Past, 17, 2393–2425, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2393-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2393-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Here, we use the latest insights for GDGT and dinocyst-based paleotemperature and paleoenvironmental reconstructions in late Cretaceous–early Oligocene sediments from ODP Site 1172 (East Tasman Plateau, Australia). We reconstruct strong river runoff during the Paleocene–early Eocene, a progressive decline thereafter with increased wet/dry seasonality in the northward-drifting hinterland. Our critical review leaves the anomalous warmth of the Eocene SW Pacific Ocean unexplained.
David Olefeldt, Mikael Hovemyr, McKenzie A. Kuhn, David Bastviken, Theodore J. Bohn, John Connolly, Patrick Crill, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Sarah A. Finkelstein, Hélène Genet, Guido Grosse, Lorna I. Harris, Liam Heffernan, Manuel Helbig, Gustaf Hugelius, Ryan Hutchins, Sari Juutinen, Mark J. Lara, Avni Malhotra, Kristen Manies, A. David McGuire, Susan M. Natali, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Aleksi Räsänen, Christina Schädel, Oliver Sonnentag, Maria Strack, Suzanne E. Tank, Claire Treat, Ruth K. Varner, Tarmo Virtanen, Rebecca K. Warren, and Jennifer D. Watts
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 5127–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5127-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-5127-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Wetlands, lakes, and rivers are important sources of the greenhouse gas methane to the atmosphere. To understand current and future methane emissions from northern regions, we need maps that show the extent and distribution of specific types of wetlands, lakes, and rivers. The Boreal–Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD) provides maps of five wetland types, seven lake types, and three river types for northern regions and will improve our ability to predict future methane emissions.
Torben Windirsch, Guido Grosse, Mathias Ulrich, Bruce C. Forbes, Mathias Göckede, Juliane Wolter, Marc Macias-Fauria, Johan Olofsson, Nikita Zimov, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2021-227, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2021-227, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
With global warming, permafrost thaw and associated carbon release are of increasing importance. We examined how large herbivorous animals affect Arctic landscapes and how they might contribute to reduction of these emissions. We show that over a short timespan of roughly 25 years, these animals have already changed the vegetation and landscape. On pastures in a permafrost area in Siberia we found smaller thaw depth and higher carbon content than in surrounding non-pasture areas.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Ines Spangenberg, Pier Paul Overduin, Ellen Damm, Ingeborg Bussmann, Hanno Meyer, Susanne Liebner, Michael Angelopoulos, Boris K. Biskaborn, Mikhail N. Grigoriev, and Guido Grosse
The Cryosphere, 15, 1607–1625, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1607-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1607-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Thermokarst lakes are common on ice-rich permafrost. Many studies have shown that they are sources of methane to the atmosphere. Although they are usually covered by ice, little is known about what happens to methane in winter. We studied how much methane is contained in the ice of a thermokarst lake, a thermokarst lagoon and offshore. Methane concentrations differed strongly, depending on water body type. Microbes can also oxidize methane in ice and lower the concentrations during winter.
Sebastian Wetterich, Alexander Kizyakov, Michael Fritz, Juliane Wolter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Hanno Meyer, Matthias Fuchs, Aleksei Aksenov, Heidrun Matthes, Lutz Schirrmeister, and Thomas Opel
The Cryosphere, 14, 4525–4551, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4525-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In the present study, we analysed geochemical and sedimentological properties of relict permafrost and ground ice exposed at the Sobo-Sise Yedoma cliff in the eastern Lena delta in NE Siberia. We obtained insight into permafrost aggradation and degradation over the last approximately 52 000 years and the climatic and morphodynamic controls on regional-scale permafrost dynamics of the central Laptev Sea coastal region.
Arthur Monhonval, Sophie Opfergelt, Elisabeth Mauclet, Benoît Pereira, Aubry Vandeuren, Guido Grosse, Lutz Schirrmeister, Matthias Fuchs, Peter Kuhry, and Jens Strauss
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-359, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-359, 2020
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
With global warming, ice-rich permafrost soils expose organic carbon to microbial degradation and unlock mineral elements as well. Interactions between mineral elements and organic carbon may enhance or mitigate microbial degradation. Here, we provide a large scale ice-rich permafrost mineral concentrations assessment and estimates of mineral element stocks in those deposits. Si is the most abundant mineral element and Fe and Al are present in the same order of magnitude as organic carbon.
Ingmar Nitze, Sarah W. Cooley, Claude R. Duguay, Benjamin M. Jones, and Guido Grosse
The Cryosphere, 14, 4279–4297, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4279-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4279-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In summer 2018, northwestern Alaska was affected by widespread lake drainage which strongly exceeded previous observations. We analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns with remote sensing observations, weather data and lake-ice simulations. The preceding fall and winter season was the second warmest and wettest on record, causing the destabilization of permafrost and elevated water levels which likely led to widespread and rapid lake drainage during or right after ice breakup.
Appy Sluijs, Joost Frieling, Gordon N. Inglis, Klaas G. J. Nierop, Francien Peterse, Francesca Sangiorgi, and Stefan Schouten
Clim. Past, 16, 2381–2400, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2381-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2381-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We revisit 15-year-old reconstructions of sea surface temperatures in the Arctic Ocean for the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs (∼ 57–53 million years ago) based on the distribution of fossil membrane lipids of archaea preserved in Arctic Ocean sediments. We find that improvements in the methods over the past 15 years do not lead to different results. However, data quality is now higher and potential biases better characterized. Results confirm remarkable Arctic warmth during this time.
Loes G. J. van Bree, Francien Peterse, Allix J. Baxter, Wannes De Crop, Sigrid van Grinsven, Laura Villanueva, Dirk Verschuren, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 17, 5443–5463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are used as a paleothermometer based on their temperature dependence in global soils, but aquatic production complicates their use in lakes. BrGDGTs in the water column of Lake Chala, East Africa, respond to oxygen conditions and mixing. Changes in their signal can be linked to bacterial community composition rather than membrane adaptation to changing conditions. Their integrated signal in the sediment reflects mean air temperature.
Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, Lineke Woelders, Emiel P. Huurdeman, Francien Peterse, Stephen J. Gallagher, Jörg Pross, Catherine E. Burgess, Gert-Jan Reichart, Appy Sluijs, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 16, 1667–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1667-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1667-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Phases of past transient warming can be used as a test bed to study the environmental response to climate change independent of tectonic change. Using fossil plankton and organic molecules, here we reconstruct surface ocean temperature and circulation in and around the Tasman Gateway during a warming phase 40 million years ago termed the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum. We find that plankton assemblages track ocean circulation patterns, with superimposed variability being related to temperature.
Erin L. McClymont, Heather L. Ford, Sze Ling Ho, Julia C. Tindall, Alan M. Haywood, Montserrat Alonso-Garcia, Ian Bailey, Melissa A. Berke, Kate Littler, Molly O. Patterson, Benjamin Petrick, Francien Peterse, A. Christina Ravelo, Bjørg Risebrobakken, Stijn De Schepper, George E. A. Swann, Kaustubh Thirumalai, Jessica E. Tierney, Carolien van der Weijst, Sarah White, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Michiel L. J. Baatsen, Esther C. Brady, Wing-Le Chan, Deepak Chandan, Ran Feng, Chuncheng Guo, Anna S. von der Heydt, Stephen Hunter, Xiangyi Li, Gerrit Lohmann, Kerim H. Nisancioglu, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, W. Richard Peltier, Christian Stepanek, and Zhongshi Zhang
Clim. Past, 16, 1599–1615, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1599-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1599-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We examine the sea-surface temperature response to an interval of climate ~ 3.2 million years ago, when CO2 concentrations were similar to today and the near future. Our geological data and climate models show that global mean sea-surface temperatures were 2.3 to 3.2 ºC warmer than pre-industrial climate, that the mid-latitudes and high latitudes warmed more than the tropics, and that the warming was particularly enhanced in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Torben Windirsch, Guido Grosse, Mathias Ulrich, Lutz Schirrmeister, Alexander N. Fedorov, Pavel Y. Konstantinov, Matthias Fuchs, Loeka L. Jongejans, Juliane Wolter, Thomas Opel, and Jens Strauss
Biogeosciences, 17, 3797–3814, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3797-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3797-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
To extend the knowledge on circumpolar deep permafrost carbon storage, we examined two deep permafrost deposit types (Yedoma and alas) in central Yakutia. We found little but partially undecomposed organic carbon as a result of largely changing sedimentation processes. The carbon stock of the examined Yedoma deposits is about 50 % lower than the general Yedoma domain mean, implying a very hetererogeneous Yedoma composition, while the alas is approximately 80 % below the thermokarst deposit mean.
Thomas Krumpen, Florent Birrien, Frank Kauker, Thomas Rackow, Luisa von Albedyll, Michael Angelopoulos, H. Jakob Belter, Vladimir Bessonov, Ellen Damm, Klaus Dethloff, Jari Haapala, Christian Haas, Carolynn Harris, Stefan Hendricks, Jens Hoelemann, Mario Hoppmann, Lars Kaleschke, Michael Karcher, Nikolai Kolabutin, Ruibo Lei, Josefine Lenz, Anne Morgenstern, Marcel Nicolaus, Uwe Nixdorf, Tomash Petrovsky, Benjamin Rabe, Lasse Rabenstein, Markus Rex, Robert Ricker, Jan Rohde, Egor Shimanchuk, Suman Singha, Vasily Smolyanitsky, Vladimir Sokolov, Tim Stanton, Anna Timofeeva, Michel Tsamados, and Daniel Watkins
The Cryosphere, 14, 2173–2187, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2173-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2173-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In October 2019 the research vessel Polarstern was moored to an ice floe in order to travel with it on the 1-year-long MOSAiC journey through the Arctic. Here we provide historical context of the floe's evolution and initial state for upcoming studies. We show that the ice encountered on site was exceptionally thin and was formed on the shallow Siberian shelf. The analyses presented provide the initial state for the analysis and interpretation of upcoming biogeochemical and ecological studies.
Jingjing Guo, Miriam Glendell, Jeroen Meersmans, Frédérique Kirkels, Jack J. Middelburg, and Francien Peterse
Biogeosciences, 17, 3183–3201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3183-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3183-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The fluxes of soil organic carbon (OC) transport from land to sea are poorly constrained, mostly due to the lack of a specific tracer for soil OC. Here we evaluate the use of specific molecules derived from soil bacteria as a tracer for soil OC in a small river catchment. We find that the initial soil signal is lost upon entering the aquatic environment. However, the local environmental history of the catchment is reflected by these molecules in the lake sediments that act as their sink.
Lutz Schirrmeister, Elisabeth Dietze, Heidrun Matthes, Guido Grosse, Jens Strauss, Sebastian Laboor, Mathias Ulrich, Frank Kienast, and Sebastian Wetterich
E&G Quaternary Sci. J., 69, 33–53, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-69-33-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Late Pleistocene Yedoma deposits of Siberia and Alaska are prone to degradation with warming temperatures.
Multimodal grain-size distributions of >700 samples indicate varieties of sediment production, transport, and deposition.
These processes were disentangled using robust endmember modeling analysis.
Nine robust grain-size endmembers characterize these deposits.
The data set was finally classified using cluster analysis.
The polygenetic Yedoma origin is proved.
Elisabeth Dietze, Kai Mangelsdorf, Andrei Andreev, Cornelia Karger, Laura T. Schreuder, Ellen C. Hopmans, Oliver Rach, Dirk Sachse, Volker Wennrich, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 16, 799–818, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-799-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-799-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term climate change impacts on fire, vegetation and permafrost in the Arctic are uncertain. Here, we show the high potential of organic compounds from low-temperature biomass burning to serve as proxies for surface fires in lake deposits. During warm periods of the last 430 000 years, surface fires are closely linked to the larch taiga forest with its moss–lichen ground vegetation that isolates the permafrost. They have reduced in warm–wet, spruce–dominated and cool–dry steppe environments.
Emily Dearing Crampton-Flood, Lars J. Noorbergen, Damian Smits, R. Christine Boschman, Timme H. Donders, Dirk K. Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Francien Peterse, Lucas Lourens, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Clim. Past, 16, 523–541, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The mid-Pliocene warm period (mPWP; 3.3–3.0 million years ago) is thought to be the last geological interval with similar atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as the present day. Further, the mPWP was 2–3 °C warmer than present, making it a good analogue for estimating the effects of future climate change. Here, we construct a new precise age model for the North Sea during the mPWP, and provide a detailed reconstruction of terrestrial and marine climate using a multi-proxy approach.
Charlotte Miller, Jemma Finch, Trevor Hill, Francien Peterse, Marc Humphries, Matthias Zabel, and Enno Schefuß
Clim. Past, 15, 1153–1170, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1153-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1153-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Here we reconstruct vegetation and precipitation, in eastern South Africa, over the last 32 000 years, by measuring the stable carbon and hydrogen isotope composition of plant waxes from Mfabeni peat bog (KwaZulu-Natal). Our results indicate that the late Quaternary climate in eastern South Africa did not respond directly to orbital forcing or to changes in sea-surface temperatures. Our findings stress the influence of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies in driving climate change in the region.
Julian D. Hartman, Francesca Sangiorgi, Ariadna Salabarnada, Francien Peterse, Alexander J. P. Houben, Stefan Schouten, Henk Brinkhuis, Carlota Escutia, and Peter K. Bijl
Clim. Past, 14, 1275–1297, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1275-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1275-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed sea surface temperatures for the Oligocene and Miocene periods (34–11 Ma) based on archaeal lipids from a site close to the Wilkes Land coast, Antarctica. Our record suggests generally warm to temperate surface waters: on average 17 °C. Based on the lithology, glacial and interglacial temperatures could be distinguished, showing an average 3 °C offset. The long-term temperature trend resembles the benthic δ18O stack, which may have implications for ice volume reconstructions.
Julie Lattaud, Frédérique Kirkels, Francien Peterse, Chantal V. Freymond, Timothy I. Eglinton, Jens Hefter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Sergio Balzano, Laura Villanueva, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Ellen C. Hopmans, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 4147–4161, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Long-chain diols (LCDs) are biomarkers that occur widespread in marine environments and also in lakes and rivers. In this study, we looked at the distribution of LCDs in three river systems (Godavari, Danube, and Rhine) in relation to season, precipitation, and temperature. We found out that the LCDs are likely being produced in calm areas of the river systems and that marine LCDs have a different distribution than riverine LCDs.
Muhammed Ojoshogu Usman, Frédérique Marie Sophie Anne Kirkels, Huub Michel Zwart, Sayak Basu, Camilo Ponton, Thomas Michael Blattmann, Michael Ploetze, Negar Haghipour, Cameron McIntyre, Francien Peterse, Maarten Lupker, Liviu Giosan, and Timothy Ian Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 15, 3357–3375, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3357-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3357-2018, 2018
Janina G. Stapel, Georg Schwamborn, Lutz Schirrmeister, Brian Horsfield, and Kai Mangelsdorf
Biogeosciences, 15, 1969–1985, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1969-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1969-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Climate warming in the Arctic results in thawing of permafrost deposits. This promotes the accessibility of freeze-locked old organic matter (OM) accumulated during the past. Characterizing OM of different depositional ages, we were able to show that OM from last glacial Yedoma deposits possess the highest potential to provide organic substrates such as acetate for microbial greenhouse gas production and therefore to accelerate the carbon–climate feedback cycle during ongoing global warming.
Timme H. Donders, Niels A. G. M. van Helmond, Roel Verreussel, Dirk Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Robert P. Speijer, Johan W. H. Weijers, Francesca Sangiorgi, Francien Peterse, Gert-Jan Reichart, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Lucas Lourens, Gesa Kuhlmann, and Henk Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 14, 397–411, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The buildup and melting of ice during the early glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, around 2.5 million years ago, were far shorter in duration than during the last million years. Based on molecular compounds and microfossils from sediments dating back to the early glaciations we show that the temperature on land and in the sea changed simultaneously and was a major factor in the ice buildup in the Northern Hemisphere. These data provide key insights into the dynamics of early glaciations.
Matthias Fuchs, Guido Grosse, Jens Strauss, Frank Günther, Mikhail Grigoriev, Georgy M. Maximov, and Gustaf Hugelius
Biogeosciences, 15, 953–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-953-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-953-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Our paper investigates soil organic carbon and nitrogen in permafrost soils on Sobo-Sise Island and Bykovsky Peninsula in the north of eastern Siberia. We collected and analysed permafrost soil cores and upscaled carbon and nitrogen stocks to landscape level. We found large amounts of carbon and nitrogen stored in these frozen soils, reconstructed sedimentation rates and estimated the potential increase in organic carbon availability if permafrost continues to thaw and active layer deepens.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Lutz Schirrmeister, Georg Schwamborn, Pier Paul Overduin, Jens Strauss, Margret C. Fuchs, Mikhail Grigoriev, Irina Yakshina, Janet Rethemeyer, Elisabeth Dietze, and Sebastian Wetterich
Biogeosciences, 14, 1261–1283, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1261-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1261-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate late Pleistocene permafrost at the Buor Khaya Peninsula (Laptev Sea, Siberia) for cryolithological, geochemical, and geochronological parameters. The sequences were composed of ice-oversaturated silts and fine-grained sands with 0.2 to 24 wt% of organic matter. The deposition was between 54.1 and 9.7 kyr BP. Due to coastal erosion, the biogeochemical signature of the deposits represents the terrestrial end-member, and is related to organic matter deposited in the marine realm.
Benjamin M. Jones, Carson A. Baughman, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Andrew D. Parsekian, Esther L. Babcock, Eva Stephani, Miriam C. Jones, Guido Grosse, and Edward E. Berg
The Cryosphere, 10, 2673–2692, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2673-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2673-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We combined field data collection with remote sensing data to document the presence and rapid degradation of permafrost in south-central Alaska during 1950–present. Ground temperature measurements confirmed permafrost presence in the region, but remotely sensed images showed that permafrost plateau extent decreased by 60 % since 1950. Better understanding these vulnerable permafrost deposits is important for predicting future permafrost extent across all permafrost regions that are warming.
Pier Paul Overduin, Sebastian Wetterich, Frank Günther, Mikhail N. Grigoriev, Guido Grosse, Lutz Schirrmeister, Hans-Wolfgang Hubberten, and Aleksandr Makarov
The Cryosphere, 10, 1449–1462, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1449-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1449-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
How fast does permafrost warm up and thaw after it is covered by the sea? Ice-rich permafrost in the Laptev Sea, Siberia, is rapidly eroded by warm air and waves. We used a floating electrical technique to measure the depth of permafrost thaw below the sea, and compared it to 60 years of coastline retreat and permafrost depths from drilling 30 years ago. Thaw is rapid right after flooding of the land and slows over time. The depth of permafrost is related to how fast the coast retreats.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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. 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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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).
J. Strauss, L. Schirrmeister, K. Mangelsdorf, L. Eichhorn, S. Wetterich, and U. Herzschuh
Biogeosciences, 12, 2227–2245, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2227-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2227-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Climatic warming is affecting permafrost, including decomposition of organic matter (OM). However, quantitative data for the quality of OM and its availability for decomposition is limited. We analyzed the quality of OM in late Pleistocene (Yedoma) and Holocene (thermokarst) deposits. A lack of depth trends reveals a constant quality of OM showing that permafrost acts like a freezer, preserving OM quality. This OM will be susceptible to decomposition under climatic warming.
M. Fuchs, P. Kuhry, and G. Hugelius
The Cryosphere, 9, 427–438, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-427-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-9-427-2015, 2015
F. Peterse, C. M. Moy, and T. I. Eglinton
Biogeosciences, 12, 933–943, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-933-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-933-2015, 2015
C. D. Arp, M. S. Whitman, B. M. Jones, G. Grosse, B. V. Gaglioti, and K. C. Heim
Biogeosciences, 12, 29–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-29-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Beaded streams have deep elliptical pools connected by narrow runs that we show are common landforms in the continuous permafrost zone. These fluvial systems often initiate from lakes and occur predictably in headwater portions of moderately sloping watersheds. Snow capture along stream courses reduces ice thickness allowing thawed sediment to persist under most pools. Interpool thermal variability and hydrologic regimes provide important aquatic habitat and connectivity in Arctic landscapes.
G. Hugelius, J. Strauss, S. Zubrzycki, J. W. Harden, E. A. G. Schuur, C.-L. Ping, L. Schirrmeister, G. Grosse, G. J. Michaelson, C. D. Koven, J. A. O'Donnell, B. Elberling, U. Mishra, P. Camill, Z. Yu, J. Palmtag, and P. Kuhry
Biogeosciences, 11, 6573–6593, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6573-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6573-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
This study provides an updated estimate of organic carbon stored in the northern permafrost region. The study includes estimates for carbon in soils (0 to 3 m depth) and deeper sediments in river deltas and the Yedoma region. We find that field data is still scarce from many regions. Total estimated carbon storage is ~1300 Pg with an uncertainty range of between 1100 and 1500 Pg. Around 800 Pg carbon is perennially frozen, equivalent to all carbon dioxide currently in the Earth's atmosphere.
L. Liu, K. Schaefer, A. Gusmeroli, G. Grosse, B. M. Jones, T. Zhang, A. D. Parsekian, and H. A. Zebker
The Cryosphere, 8, 815–826, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-815-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-815-2014, 2014
G. Hugelius, J. G. Bockheim, P. Camill, B. Elberling, G. Grosse, J. W. Harden, K. Johnson, T. Jorgenson, C. D. Koven, P. Kuhry, G. Michaelson, U. Mishra, J. Palmtag, C.-L. Ping, J. O'Donnell, L. Schirrmeister, E. A. G. Schuur, Y. Sheng, L. C. Smith, J. Strauss, and Z. Yu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 5, 393–402, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-393-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-393-2013, 2013
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
F. Günther, P. P. Overduin, A. V. Sandakov, G. Grosse, and M. N. Grigoriev
Biogeosciences, 10, 4297–4318, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4297-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4297-2013, 2013
S. Zubrzycki, L. Kutzbach, G. Grosse, A. Desyatkin, and E.-M. Pfeiffer
Biogeosciences, 10, 3507–3524, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3507-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3507-2013, 2013
A. Gusmeroli and G. Grosse
The Cryosphere, 6, 1435–1443, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-1435-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Soils
A synthesis of Sphagnum litterbag experiments: initial leaching losses bias decomposition rate estimates
Effect of straw retention and mineral fertilization on P speciation and P-transformation microorganisms in water- extractable colloids of a Vertisol
A new approach to continuous monitoring of carbon use efficiency and biosynthesis in soil microbes from measurement of CO2 and O2
Diverse organic carbon dynamics captured by radiocarbon analysis of distinct compound classes in a grassland soil
The effects of land use on soil carbon stocks in the UK
Technical note: A validated correction method to quantify organic and inorganic carbon in soils using Rock-Eval® thermal analysis
Distinct changes in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the litter layer across two contrasting forest-tundra ecotones
A microbially-driven and depth-explicit soil organic carbon model constrained by carbon isotopes to reduce equifinality
Earth observation reveals reduced winter wheat growth and the importance of soil water storing capacity during drought
Vegetation patterns associated with nutrient availability and supply in high-elevation tropical Andean ecosystems
Technical note: An open-source, low-cost system for continuous monitoring of low nitrate concentrations in soil and open water
Plutonium concentrations link soil organic matter decline to wind erosion in ploughed soils of South Africa
Dissolved organic matter fosters core mercury-methylating microbiome for methylmercury production in paddy soils
Solubility characteristics of soil humic substances as a function of pH
Long-term fertilization increases soil but not plant or microbial N in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland
Factors controlling spatiotemporal variability of soil carbon accumulation and stock estimates in a tidal salt marsh
Exploring micro-scale heterogeneity as a driver of biogeochemical transformations and gas transport in peat
Moisture and temperature effects on the radiocarbon signature of respired carbon dioxide to assess stability of soil carbon in the Tibetan Plateau
Non-mycorrhizal root-associated fungi increase soil C stocks and stability via diverse mechanisms
Drought counteracts soil warming more strongly in the subsoil than in the topsoil according to a vertical microbial SOC model
Nine years of warming and nitrogen addition in the Tibetan grassland promoted loss of soil organic carbon but did not alter the bulk change in chemical structure
Soil priming effects and involved microbial community along salt gradients
Adjustments to the Rock-Eval® thermal analysis for soil organic and inorganic carbon quantification
Ecosystem-specific patterns and drivers of global reactive iron mineral-associated organic carbon
Dark septate endophytic fungi associated with pioneer grass inhabiting volcanic deposits and their functions in promoting plant growth
Global patterns and drivers of phosphorus fractions in natural soils
Reviews and syntheses: Iron – a driver of nitrogen bioavailability in soils?
How well does ramped thermal oxidation quantify the age distribution of soil carbon? Assessing thermal stability of physically and chemically fractionated soil organic matter
Differential temperature sensitivity of intracellular metabolic processes and extracellular soil enzyme activities
Mapping soil organic carbon fractions for Australia, their stocks, and uncertainty
Technical note: The recovery rate of free particulate organic matter from soil samples is strongly affected by the method of density fractionation
Deforestation for agriculture leads to soil warming and enhanced litter decomposition in subarctic soils
Temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon respiration along a forested elevation gradient in the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
The influence of elevated CO2 and soil depth on rhizosphere activity and nutrient availability in a mature Eucalyptus woodland
The paradox of assessing greenhouse gases from soils for nature-based solutions
Management-induced changes in soil organic carbon on global croplands
Pore network modeling as a new tool for determining gas diffusivity in peat
Temperature sensitivity of dark CO2 fixation in temperate forest soils
Effects of precipitation seasonality, irrigation, vegetation cycle and soil type on enhanced weathering – modeling of cropland case studies across four sites
Stable isotope profiles of soil organic carbon in forested and grassland landscapes in the Lake Alaotra basin (Madagascar): insights in past vegetation changes
Reviews and syntheses: The promise of big diverse soil data, moving current practices towards future potential
Dynamics of rare earth elements and associated major and trace elements during Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) litter degradation
To what extent can soil moisture and soil Cu contamination stresses affect nitrous species emissions? Estimation through calibration of a nitrification–denitrification model
Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry of organic matter in Swedish forest soils and its relationship with climate, tree species, and soil texture
Soil geochemistry as a driver of soil organic matter composition: insights from a soil chronosequence
Leaching of inorganic and organic phosphorus and nitrogen in contrasting beech forest soils – seasonal patterns and effects of fertilization
Age and chemistry of dissolved organic carbon reveal enhanced leaching of ancient labile carbon at the permafrost thaw zone
Soil organic carbon stabilization mechanisms and temperature sensitivity in old terraced soils
Effect of organic carbon addition on paddy soil organic carbon decomposition under different irrigation regimes
Soil profile connectivity can impact microbial substrate use, affecting how soil CO2 effluxes are controlled by temperature
Henning Teickner, Edzer Pebesma, and Klaus-Holger Knorr
Biogeosciences, 22, 417–433, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-417-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-417-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Decomposition rates for Sphagnum mosses, the main peat-forming plants in northern peatlands, are often derived from litterbag experiments. Here, we estimate initial leaching losses from available Sphagnum litterbag experiments and analyze how decomposition rates are biased when initial leaching losses are ignored. Our analyses indicate that initial leaching losses range between 3 to 18 mass-% and that this may result in overestimated mass losses when extrapolated to several decades.
Shanshan Bai, Yifei Ge, Dongtan Yao, Yifan Wang, Jinfang Tan, Shuai Zhang, Yutao Peng, and Xiaoqian Jiang
Biogeosciences, 22, 135–151, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-135-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-135-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Mineral fertilization led to increases in total P, available P, high-activity inorganic P fractions, and organic P but reduced the abundance of P-cycling genes by decreasing soil pH and increasing P in bulk soil. Straw retention enhanced organic carbon, total P, and available P concentrations in water-extractable colloids (WECs). Abundances of the phoD gene and phoD-harboring Proteobacteria in WECs were elevated under straw retention, suggesting an increase in P-mineralization capacity.
Kyle E. Smart, Daniel O. Breecker, Christopher B. Blackwood, and Timothy M. Gallagher
Biogeosciences, 22, 87–101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-87-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-87-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
When microbes consume carbon within soils, it is important to know how much carbon is respired and lost as carbon dioxide versus how much is used to make new biomass. We used a new approach of monitoring carbon dioxide and oxygen to track the fate of consumed carbon during a series of laboratory experiments where sugar was added to moistened soil. Our approach allowed us to estimate how much sugar was converted to dead microbial biomass, which is more likely to be preserved in soils.
Katherine E. Grant, Marisa N. Repasch, Kari M. Finstad, Julia D. Kerr, Maxwell Marple, Christopher J. Larson, Taylor A. B. Broek, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, and Karis J. McFarlane
Biogeosciences, 21, 4395–4411, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4395-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4395-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soils store organic carbon composed of multiple compounds from plants and microbes for different lengths of time. To understand how soils store these different carbon types, we measure the time each carbon fraction is in a grassland soil profile. Our results show that the length of time each individual soil fraction is in our soil changes. Our approach allows a detailed look at the different components in soils. This study can help improve our understanding of soil dynamics.
Peter Levy, Laura Bentley, Peter Danks, Bridget Emmett, Angus Garbutt, Stephen Heming, Peter Henrys, Aidan Keith, Inma Lebron, Niall McNamara, Richard Pywell, John Redhead, David Robinson, and Alexander Wickenden
Biogeosciences, 21, 4301–4315, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4301-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We collated a large data set (15 790 soil cores) on soil carbon stock in different land uses. Soil carbon stocks were highest in woodlands and lowest in croplands. The variability in the effects was large. This has important implications for agri-environment schemes seeking to sequester carbon in the soil by altering land use because the effect of a given intervention is very hard to verify.
Marija Stojanova, Pierre Arbelet, François Baudin, Nicolas Bouton, Giovanni Caria, Lorenza Pacini, Nicolas Proix, Edouard Quibel, Achille Thin, and Pierre Barré
Biogeosciences, 21, 4229–4237, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4229-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4229-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Because of its importance for climate regulation and soil health, many studies focus on carbon dynamics in soils. However, quantifying organic and inorganic carbon remains an issue in carbonated soils. In this technical note, we propose a validated correction method to quantify organic and inorganic carbon in soils using Rock-Eval® thermal analysis. With this correction, the Rock-Eval® method has the potential to become the standard method for quantifying carbon in carbonate soils.
Frank Hagedorn, Joesphine Imboden, Pavel Moiseev, Decai Gao, Emmanuel Frossard, Daniel Christen, Konstantin Gavazov, and Jasmin Fetzer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2622, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2622, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
At treeline, plant species change abruptly from low stature plants in tundra to trees in forests. Our study documents that from tundra towards forest, the litter layer gets strongly enriched in nutrients. We show that these litter quality changes alter nutrient processing by soil microbes and increase the nutrient release during decomposition in forest than in tundra. The associated improvement of nutrient availability in the forest potentially stimulates tree growth and treeline shifts.
Marijn Van de Broek, Gerard Govers, Marion Schrumpf, and Johan Six
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2205, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2205, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon models are used to predict how soils affect the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. We show that equifinality – the phenomenon that different parameter values lead to correct overall model outputs, albeit with a different model behaviour – is an important source of model uncertainty. Our results imply that adding more complexity to soil organic carbon models is unlikely to lead to better predictions, as long as more data to constrain model parameters are not available.
Hanna Sjulgård, Lukas Valentin Graf, Tino Colombi, Juliane Hirte, Thomas Keller, and Helge Aasen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1872, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1872, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our results showed that crop development derived from satellite images was lower in a dry year compared to a normal year, and faster growth was found more important for higher biomass during drought. The magnitude of the drought impact differed between fields, where higher crop performance was related to more plant available water, suggesting that soil properties play a role in crop response to drought. Our results shows that satellite images can be used to assess plant-soil-weather interactions
Armando Molina, Veerle Vanacker, Oliver Chadwick, Santiago Zhiminaicela, Marife Corre, and Edzo Veldkamp
Biogeosciences, 21, 3075–3091, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3075-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The tropical Andes contains unique landscapes where forest patches are surrounded by tussock grasses and cushion-forming plants. The aboveground vegetation composition informs us about belowground nutrient availability: patterns in plant-available nutrients resulted from strong biocycling of cations and removal of soil nutrients by plant uptake or leaching. Future changes in vegetation distribution will affect soil water and solute fluxes and the aquatic ecology of Andean rivers and lakes.
Sahiti Bulusu, Cristina Prieto García, Helen E. Dahlke, and Elad Levintal
Biogeosciences, 21, 3007–3013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3007-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Do-it-yourself hardware is a new way to improve measurement resolution. We present a low-cost, automated system for field measurements of low nitrate concentrations in soil porewater and open water bodies. All data hardware components cost USD 1100, which is much cheaper than other available commercial solutions. We provide the complete building guide to reduce technical barriers, which we hope will allow easier reproducibility and set up new soil and environmental monitoring applications.
Joel Mohren, Hendrik Wiesel, Wulf Amelung, L. Keith Fifield, Alexandra Sandhage-Hofmann, Erik Strub, Steven A. Binnie, Stefan Heinze, Elmarie Kotze, Chris Du Preez, Stephen G. Tims, and Tibor J. Dunai
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1312, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1312, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We measured concentrations of fallout radionuclides (FRNs) in soil samples taken from arable land in South Africa. We find that during the second half of the 20th century CE, the FRN data strongly correlate with the soil organic matter (SOM) content of the soils. The finding implies that wind erosion strongly influenced SOM loss in the soils we investigated. Furthermore, the exponential decline of FRN concentrations and SOM content over time peaks shortly after native grassland is cultivated.
Qiang Pu, Bo Meng, Jen-How Huang, Kun Zhang, Jiang Liu, Yurong Liu, Mahmoud A. Abdelhafiz, and Xinbin Feng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-590, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-590, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study examines the effect of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on microbial mercury (Hg) methylation in paddy soils. It uncovers that DOM regulates Hg methylation mainly through altering core Hg-methylating microbiome composition and boosting the growth of core Hg-methylating microorganisms. The study highlights that in the regulation of methylmercury formation in paddy soils, more attention should be paid to changes in DOM concentration and composition.
Xuemei Yang, Jie Zhang, Khan M. G. Mostofa, Mohammad Mohinuzzaman, H. Henry Teng, Nicola Senesi, Giorgio S. Senesi, Jie Yuan, Yu Liu, Si-Liang Li, Xiaodong Li, Baoli Wang, and Cong-Qiang Liu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2994, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2994, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The solubility characteristics of soil humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), and protein-like substances (PLS) at different pH values remain uncertain. The key findings includes: HA solubility increases with increasing pH and decreases with decreasing pH; HApH6 and HApH1 contribute to 39.1–49.2 % and 3.1–24.1 % of total DOM, respectively; and HApH2, FA, and PLS are highly soluble at acidic pH values and are transported by ambient water. These issues are vital for sustainable soil management.
Violeta Mendoza-Martinez, Scott L. Collins, and Jennie R. McLaren
Biogeosciences, 21, 2655–2667, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2655-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2655-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We examine the impacts of multi-decadal nitrogen additions on a dryland ecosystem N budget, including the soil, microbial, and plant N pools. After 26 years, there appears to be little impact on the soil microbial or plant community and only minimal increases in N pools within the soil. While perhaps encouraging from a conservation standpoint, we calculate that greater than 95 % of the nitrogen added to the system is not retained and is instead either lost deeper in the soil or emitted as gas.
Sean Fettrow, Andrew Wozniak, Holly A. Michael, and Angelia L. Seyfferth
Biogeosciences, 21, 2367–2384, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2367-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2367-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Salt marshes play a big role in global carbon (C) storage, and C stock estimates are used to predict future changes. However, spatial and temporal gradients in C burial rates over the landscape exist due to variations in water inundation, dominant plant species and stage of growth, and tidal action. We quantified soil C concentrations in soil cores across time and space beside several porewater biogeochemical variables and discussed the controls on variability in soil C in salt marsh ecosystems.
Lukas Kohl, Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Maarit Raivonen, Markku Koskinen, Mari Pihlatie, and Annamari Lauren
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1280, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1280, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present an assay to illuminate heterogeneity of biogeochemical transformations within peat samples. For this, we injected isotope labelled acetate into peat cores and monitoring the release of label-derived gases, which we compared to microtomography images. The fraction of label converted to CO2 and the rapidness of this conversion was linked to injection depth as well as air-filled porosity. Pore network metric did not provide predictive power over compared to porosity alone.
Andrés Tangarife-Escobar, Georg Guggenberger, Xiaojuan Feng, Guohua Dai, Carolina Urbina-Malo, Mina Azizi-Rad, and Carlos A. Sierra
Biogeosciences, 21, 1277–1299, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1277-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic matter stability depends on future temperature and precipitation scenarios. We used radiocarbon (14C) data and model predictions to understand how the transit time of carbon varies under environmental change in grasslands and peatlands. Soil moisture affected the Δ14C of peatlands, while temperature did not have any influence. Our models show the correspondence between Δ14C and transit time and could allow understanding future interactions between terrestrial and atmospheric carbon
Emiko K. Stuart, Laura Castañeda-Gómez, Wolfram Buss, Jeff R. Powell, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 21, 1037–1059, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1037-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We inoculated wheat plants with various types of fungi whose impacts on soil carbon are poorly understood. After several months of growth, we examined both their impacts on soil carbon and the underlying mechanisms using multiple methods. Overall the fungi benefitted the storage of carbon in soil, mainly by improving the stability of pre-existing carbon, but several pathways were involved. This study demonstrates their importance for soil carbon storage and, therefore, climate change mitigation.
Marleen Pallandt, Marion Schrumpf, Holger Lange, Markus Reichstein, Lin Yu, and Bernhard Ahrens
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-186, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-186, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
As soils get warmer due to climate change, SOC decomposes faster because of higher microbial activity, but only with sufficient soil moisture. We modelled how microbes decompose plant litter and microbial residues at different soil depths. We found that deep soil layers are more sensitive than topsoils. SOC is lost from the soil with warming, but this can be mitigated or worsened depending on the type of litter and its sensitivity to temperature. Droughts can reduce warming-induced SOC losses.
Huimin Sun, Michael W. I. Schmidt, Jintao Li, Jinquan Li, Xiang Liu, Nicholas O. E. Ofiti, Shurong Zhou, and Ming Nie
Biogeosciences, 21, 575–589, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-575-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A soil organic carbon (SOC) molecular structure suggested that the easily decomposable and stabilized SOC is similarly affected after 9-year warming and N treatments despite large changes in SOC stocks. Given the long residence time of some SOC, the similar loss of all measurable chemical forms of SOC under global change treatments could have important climate consequences.
Haoli Zhang, Doudou Chang, Zhifeng Zhu, Chunmei Meng, and Kaiyong Wang
Biogeosciences, 21, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Soil salinity mediates microorganisms and soil processes like soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling. We observed that negative priming effects at the early stages might be due to the preferential utilization of cottonseed meal. The positive priming that followed decreased with the increase in salinity.
Joséphine Hazera, David Sebag, Isabelle Kowalewski, Eric Verrecchia, Herman Ravelojaona, and Tiphaine Chevallier
Biogeosciences, 20, 5229–5242, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5229-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study adapts the Rock-Eval® protocol to quantify soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) on a non-pretreated soil aliquot. The standard protocol properly estimates SOC contents once the TOC parameter is corrected. However, it cannot complete the thermal breakdown of SIC amounts > 4 mg, leading to an underestimation of high SIC contents by the MinC parameter, even after correcting for this. Thus, the final oxidation isotherm is extended to 7 min to quantify any SIC amount.
Bo Zhao, Amin Dou, Zhiwei Zhang, Zhenyu Chen, Wenbo Sun, Yanli Feng, Xiaojuan Wang, and Qiang Wang
Biogeosciences, 20, 4761–4774, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4761-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study provided a comprehensive analysis of the spatial variability and determinants of Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC) among terrestrial, wetland, and marine ecosystems and its governing factors globally. We illustrated that reactive Fe was not only an important sequestration mechanism for OC in terrestrial ecosystems but also an effective “rusty sink” of OC preservation in wetland and marine ecosystems, i.e., a key factor for long-term OC storage in global ecosystems.
Han Sun, Tomoyasu Nishizawa, Hiroyuki Ohta, and Kazuhiko Narisawa
Biogeosciences, 20, 4737–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4737-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this research, we assessed the diversity and function of the dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi community associated with Miscanthus condensatus root in volcanic ecosystems. Both metabarcoding and isolation were adopted in this study. We further validated effects on plant growth by inoculation of some core DSE isolates. This study helps improve our understanding of the role of Miscanthus condensatus-associated DSE fungi during the restoration of post-volcanic ecosystems.
Xianjin He, Laurent Augusto, Daniel S. Goll, Bruno Ringeval, Ying-Ping Wang, Julian Helfenstein, Yuanyuan Huang, and Enqing Hou
Biogeosciences, 20, 4147–4163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4147-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We identified total soil P concentration as the most important predictor of all soil P pool concentrations, except for primary mineral P concentration, which is primarily controlled by soil pH and only secondarily by total soil P concentration. We predicted soil P pools’ distributions in natural systems, which can inform assessments of the role of natural P availability for ecosystem productivity, climate change mitigation, and the functioning of the Earth system.
Imane Slimani, Xia Zhu-Barker, Patricia Lazicki, and William Horwath
Biogeosciences, 20, 3873–3894, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3873-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
There is a strong link between nitrogen availability and iron minerals in soils. These minerals have multiple outcomes for nitrogen availability depending on soil conditions and properties. For example, iron can limit microbial degradation of nitrogen in aerated soils but has opposing outcomes in non-aerated soils. This paper focuses on the multiple ways iron can affect nitrogen bioavailability in soils.
Shane W. Stoner, Marion Schrumpf, Alison Hoyt, Carlos A. Sierra, Sebastian Doetterl, Valier Galy, and Susan Trumbore
Biogeosciences, 20, 3151–3163, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3151-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Soils store more carbon (C) than any other terrestrial C reservoir, but the processes that control how much C stays in soil, and for how long, are very complex. Here, we used a recent method that involves heating soil in the lab to measure the range of C ages in soil. We found that most C in soil is decades to centuries old, while some stays for much shorter times (days to months), and some is thousands of years old. Such detail helps us to estimate how soil C may react to changing climate.
Adetunji Alex Adekanmbi, Laurence Dale, Liz Shaw, and Tom Sizmur
Biogeosciences, 20, 2207–2219, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2207-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The decomposition of soil organic matter and flux of carbon dioxide are expected to increase as temperatures rise. However, soil organic matter decomposition is a two-step process whereby large molecules are first broken down outside microbial cells and then respired within microbial cells. We show here that these two steps are not equally sensitive to increases in soil temperature and that global warming may cause a shift in the rate-limiting step from outside to inside the microbial cell.
Mercedes Román Dobarco, Alexandre M. J-C. Wadoux, Brendan Malone, Budiman Minasny, Alex B. McBratney, and Ross Searle
Biogeosciences, 20, 1559–1586, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1559-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is of a heterogeneous nature and varies in chemistry, stabilisation mechanisms, and persistence in soil. In this study we mapped the stocks of SOC fractions with different characteristics and turnover rates (presumably PyOC >= MAOC > POC) across Australia, combining spectroscopy and digital soil mapping. The SOC stocks (0–30 cm) were estimated as 13 Pg MAOC, 2 Pg POC, and 5 Pg PyOC.
Frederick Büks
Biogeosciences, 20, 1529–1535, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1529-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Ultrasonication with density fractionation of soils is a commonly used method to separate soil organic matter pools, which is, e.g., important to calculate carbon turnover in landscapes. It is shown that the approach that merges soil and dense solution without mixing has a low recovery rate and causes co-extraction of parts of the retained labile pool along with the intermediate pool. An alternative method with high recovery rates and no cross-contamination was recommended.
Tino Peplau, Christopher Poeplau, Edward Gregorich, and Julia Schroeder
Biogeosciences, 20, 1063–1074, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We buried tea bags and temperature loggers in a paired-plot design in soils under forest and agricultural land and retrieved them after 2 years to quantify the effect of land-use change on soil temperature and litter decomposition in subarctic agricultural systems. We could show that agricultural soils were on average 2 °C warmer than forests and that litter decomposition was enhanced. The results imply that deforestation amplifies effects of climate change on soil organic matter dynamics.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Johanna Pihlblad, Louise C. Andresen, Catriona A. Macdonald, David S. Ellsworth, and Yolima Carrillo
Biogeosciences, 20, 505–521, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-505-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Elevated CO2 in the atmosphere increases forest biomass productivity when growth is not limited by soil nutrients. This study explores how mature trees stimulate soil availability of nitrogen and phosphorus with free-air carbon dioxide enrichment after 5 years of fumigation. We found that both nutrient availability and processes feeding available pools increased in the rhizosphere, and phosphorus increased at depth. This appears to not be by decomposition but by faster recycling of nutrients.
Rodrigo Vargas and Van Huong Le
Biogeosciences, 20, 15–26, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-15-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Quantifying the role of soils in nature-based solutions requires accurate estimates of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. We suggest that multiple GHG fluxes should not be simultaneously measured at a few fixed time intervals, but an optimized sampling approach can reduce bias and uncertainty. Our results have implications for assessing GHG fluxes from soils and a better understanding of the role of soils in nature-based solutions.
Kristine Karstens, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Jan Philipp Dietrich, Marta Dondini, Jens Heinke, Matthias Kuhnert, Christoph Müller, Susanne Rolinski, Pete Smith, Isabelle Weindl, Hermann Lotze-Campen, and Alexander Popp
Biogeosciences, 19, 5125–5149, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5125-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soil organic carbon (SOC) has been depleted by anthropogenic land cover change and agricultural management. While SOC models often simulate detailed biochemical processes, the management decisions are still little investigated at the global scale. We estimate that soils have lost around 26 GtC relative to a counterfactual natural state in 1975. Yet, since 1975, SOC has been increasing again by 4 GtC due to a higher productivity, recycling of crop residues and manure, and no-tillage practices.
Petri Kiuru, Marjo Palviainen, Arianna Marchionne, Tiia Grönholm, Maarit Raivonen, Lukas Kohl, and Annamari Laurén
Biogeosciences, 19, 5041–5058, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5041-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Peatlands are large carbon stocks. Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from peatlands may increase due to changes in management and climate. We studied the variation in the gas diffusivity of peat with depth using pore network simulations and laboratory experiments. Gas diffusivity was found to be lower in deeper peat with smaller pores and lower pore connectivity. However, gas diffusivity was not extremely low in wet conditions, which may reflect the distinctive structure of peat.
Rachael Akinyede, Martin Taubert, Marion Schrumpf, Susan Trumbore, and Kirsten Küsel
Biogeosciences, 19, 4011–4028, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4011-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soils will likely become warmer in the future, and this can increase the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. As microbes can take up soil CO2 and prevent further escape into the atmosphere, this study compares the rate of uptake and release of CO2 at two different temperatures. With warming, the rate of CO2 uptake increases less than the rate of release, indicating that the capacity to modulate soil CO2 release into the atmosphere will decrease under future warming.
Giuseppe Cipolla, Salvatore Calabrese, Amilcare Porporato, and Leonardo V. Noto
Biogeosciences, 19, 3877–3896, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3877-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising strategy for carbon sequestration. Since models may help to characterize field EW, the present work applies a hydro-biogeochemical model to four case studies characterized by different rainfall seasonality, vegetation and soil type. Rainfall seasonality strongly affects EW dynamics, but low carbon sequestration suggests that an in-depth analysis at the global scale is required to see if EW may be effective to mitigate climate change.
Vao Fenotiana Razanamahandry, Marjolein Dewaele, Gerard Govers, Liesa Brosens, Benjamin Campforts, Liesbet Jacobs, Tantely Razafimbelo, Tovonarivo Rafolisy, and Steven Bouillon
Biogeosciences, 19, 3825–3841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3825-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In order to shed light on possible past vegetation shifts in the Central Highlands of Madagascar, we measured stable isotope ratios of organic carbon in soil profiles along both forested and grassland hillslope transects in the Lake Alaotra region. Our results show that the landscape of this region was more forested in the past: soils in the C4-dominated grasslands contained a substantial fraction of C3-derived carbon, increasing with depth.
Katherine E. O. Todd-Brown, Rose Z. Abramoff, Jeffrey Beem-Miller, Hava K. Blair, Stevan Earl, Kristen J. Frederick, Daniel R. Fuka, Mario Guevara Santamaria, Jennifer W. Harden, Katherine Heckman, Lillian J. Heran, James R. Holmquist, Alison M. Hoyt, David H. Klinges, David S. LeBauer, Avni Malhotra, Shelby C. McClelland, Lucas E. Nave, Katherine S. Rocci, Sean M. Schaeffer, Shane Stoner, Natasja van Gestel, Sophie F. von Fromm, and Marisa L. Younger
Biogeosciences, 19, 3505–3522, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3505-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Research data are becoming increasingly available online with tantalizing possibilities for reanalysis. However harmonizing data from different sources remains challenging. Using the soils community as an example, we walked through the various strategies that researchers currently use to integrate datasets for reanalysis. We find that manual data transcription is still extremely common and that there is a critical need for community-supported informatics tools like vocabularies and ontologies.
Alessandro Montemagno, Christophe Hissler, Victor Bense, Adriaan J. Teuling, Johanna Ziebel, and Laurent Pfister
Biogeosciences, 19, 3111–3129, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3111-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the biogeochemical processes that dominate the release and retention of elements (nutrients and potentially toxic elements) during litter degradation. Our results show that toxic elements are retained in the litter, while nutrients are released in solution during the first stages of degradation. This seems linked to the capability of trees to distribute the elements between degradation-resistant and non-degradation-resistant compounds of leaves according to their chemical nature.
Laura Sereni, Bertrand Guenet, Charlotte Blasi, Olivier Crouzet, Jean-Christophe Lata, and Isabelle Lamy
Biogeosciences, 19, 2953–2968, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2953-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study focused on the modellisation of two important drivers of soil greenhouse gas emissions: soil contamination and soil moisture change. The aim was to include a Cu function in the soil biogeochemical model DNDC for different soil moisture conditions and then to estimate variation in N2O, NO2 or NOx emissions. Our results show a larger effect of Cu on N2 and N2O emissions than on the other nitrogen species and a higher effect for the soils incubated under constant constant moisture.
Marie Spohn and Johan Stendahl
Biogeosciences, 19, 2171–2186, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2171-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We explored the ratios of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) of organic matter in Swedish forest soils. The N : P ratio of the organic layer was most strongly related to the mean annual temperature, while the C : N ratios of the organic layer and mineral soil were strongly related to tree species even in the subsoil. The organic P concentration in the mineral soil was strongly affected by soil texture, which diminished the effect of tree species on the C to organic P (C : OP) ratio.
Moritz Mainka, Laura Summerauer, Daniel Wasner, Gina Garland, Marco Griepentrog, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, and Sebastian Doetterl
Biogeosciences, 19, 1675–1689, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1675-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The largest share of terrestrial carbon is stored in soils, making them highly relevant as regards global change. Yet, the mechanisms governing soil carbon stabilization are not well understood. The present study contributes to a better understanding of these processes. We show that qualitative changes in soil organic matter (SOM) co-vary with alterations of the soil matrix following soil weathering. Hence, the type of SOM that is stabilized in soils might change as soils develop.
Jasmin Fetzer, Emmanuel Frossard, Klaus Kaiser, and Frank Hagedorn
Biogeosciences, 19, 1527–1546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1527-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
As leaching is a major pathway of nitrogen and phosphorus loss in forest soils, we investigated several potential drivers in two contrasting beech forests. The composition of leachates, obtained by zero-tension lysimeters, varied by season, and climatic extremes influenced the magnitude of leaching. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization varied with soil nutrient status and sorption properties, and leaching from the low-nutrient soil was more sensitive to environmental factors.
Karis J. McFarlane, Heather M. Throckmorton, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Brent D. Newman, Alexandra L. Hedgpeth, Marisa N. Repasch, Thomas P. Guilderson, and Cathy J. Wilson
Biogeosciences, 19, 1211–1223, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1211-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Planetary warming is increasing seasonal thaw of permafrost, making this extensive old carbon stock vulnerable. In northern Alaska, we found more and older dissolved organic carbon in small drainages later in summer as more permafrost was exposed by deepening thaw. Younger and older carbon did not differ in chemical indicators related to biological lability suggesting this carbon can cycle through aquatic systems and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions as warming increases permafrost thaw.
Pengzhi Zhao, Daniel Joseph Fallu, Sara Cucchiaro, Paolo Tarolli, Clive Waddington, David Cockcroft, Lisa Snape, Andreas Lang, Sebastian Doetterl, Antony G. Brown, and Kristof Van Oost
Biogeosciences, 18, 6301–6312, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6301-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the factors controlling the soil organic carbon (SOC) stability and temperature sensitivity of abandoned prehistoric agricultural terrace soils. Results suggest that the burial of former topsoil due to terracing provided an SOC stabilization mechanism. Both the soil C : N ratio and SOC mineral protection regulate soil SOC temperature sensitivity. However, which mechanism predominantly controls SOC temperature sensitivity depends on the age of the buried terrace soils.
Heleen Deroo, Masuda Akter, Samuel Bodé, Orly Mendoza, Haichao Li, Pascal Boeckx, and Steven Sleutel
Biogeosciences, 18, 5035–5051, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We assessed if and how incorporation of exogenous organic carbon (OC) such as straw could affect decomposition of native soil organic carbon (SOC) under different irrigation regimes. Addition of exogenous OC promoted dissolution of native SOC, partly because of increased Fe reduction, leading to more net release of Fe-bound SOC. Yet, there was no proportionate priming of SOC-derived DOC mineralisation. Water-saving irrigation can retard both priming of SOC dissolution and mineralisation.
Frances A. Podrebarac, Sharon A. Billings, Kate A. Edwards, Jérôme Laganière, Matthew J. Norwood, and Susan E. Ziegler
Biogeosciences, 18, 4755–4772, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4755-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4755-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Soil respiration is a large and temperature-responsive flux in the global carbon cycle. We found increases in microbial use of easy to degrade substrates enhanced the temperature response of respiration in soils layered as they are in situ. This enhanced response is consistent with soil composition differences in warm relative to cold climate forests. These results highlight the importance of the intact nature of soils rarely studied in regulating responses of CO2 fluxes to changing temperature.
Cited articles
Andersson, R. A. and Meyers, P. A.: Effect of climate change on delivery
and degradation of lipid biomarkers in a Holocene peat sequence in the
Eastern European Russian Arctic, Org. Geochem., 53(Supplement C), 63–72,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.05.002, 2012.
Andreev, A. A., Schirrmeister, L., Tarasov, P. E., Ganopolski, A., Brovkin,
V., Siegert, C., Wetterich, S., and Hubberten, H.-W.: Vegetation and climate
history in the Laptev Sea region (Arctic Siberia) during Late Quaternary
inferred from pollen records, Quat. Sci. Rev., 30, 2182–2199,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.12.026, 2011.
Brown, J., Ferrians Jr., O., Heginbottom, J., and Melnikov, E.: Circum-Arctic
map of permafrost and ground-ice conditions, https://doi.org/10.3133/cp45, US
Geological Survey Reston, Virginia, 1997.
Burn, C. R. and Smith, M. W.: Development of thermokarst lakes during the
holocene at sites near Mayo, Yukon territory, Permafr. Periglac. Process.,
1, 161–175, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.3430010207, 1990.
Cohen, A. S.: Paleolimnology?: the history and evolution of lake systems,
Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 2003.
Davidson, E. A. and Janssens, I. A.: Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon
decomposition and feedbacks to climate change, Nature, 440, 165–173,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04514, 2006.
Dirghangi, S. S., Pagani, M., Hren, M. T., and Tipple, B. J.: Distribution of
glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in soils from two environmental
transects in the USA, Org. Geochem., 59, 49–60,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.03.009, 2013.
Dutta, K., Schuur, E. A. G., Neff, J. C., and Zimov, S. A.: Potential carbon
release from permafrost soils of Northeastern Siberia, Glob. Change Biol.,
12, 2336–2351, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01259.x, 2006.
Eglinton, G. and Hamilton, R. J.: Leaf Epicuticular Waxes, Science,
156, 1322–1335, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.156.3780.1322, 1967.
Farquharson, L., Anthony, K. W., Bigelow, N., Edwards, M., and Grosse, G.:
Facies analysis of yedoma thermokarst lakes on the northern Seward
Peninsula, Alaska, Sediment. Geol., 340, 25–37,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2016.01.002, 2016.
Fuchs, M., Grosse, G., Strauss, J., Günther, F., Grigoriev, M., Maximov,
G. M., and Hugelius, G.: Carbon and nitrogen pools in thermokarst-affected
permafrost landscapes in Arctic Siberia, Biogeosciences, 15, 953–971,
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-953-2018, 2018.
Gentsch, N., Mikutta, R., Shibistova, O., Wild, B., Schnecker, J., Richter,
A., Urich, T., Gittel, A., Šantručková, H., Barta, J., and
others: Properties and bioavailability of particulate and mineral-associated
organic matter in Arctic permafrost soils, Lower Kolyma Region, Russia, Eur.
J. Soil Sci., 66, 722–734, 2015.
Glombitza, C., Mangelsdorf, K., and Horsfield, B.: Maturation related changes
in the distribution of ester bound fatty acids and alcohols in a coal series
from the New Zealand Coal Band covering diagenetic to catagenetic
coalification levels, Org. Geochem., 40, 1063–1073,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2009.07.008, 2009.
Goslar, T., Czernik, J., and Goslar, E.: Low-energy 14C AMS in Poznań
Radiocarbon Laboratory, Poland, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. B
Beam Interact. Mater. At., 223–224, 5–11,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2004.04.005, 2004.
Grosse, G., Romanovsky, V., Jorgenson, T., Anthony, K. W., Brown, J., and
Overduin, P. P.: Vulnerability and Feedbacks of Permafrost to Climate Change,
Eos Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 92, 73–74, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011EO090001, 2011.
Grosse, G., Jones, B., and Arp, C.: 8.21 Thermokarst Lakes, Drainage, and
Drained Basins, in: Treatise on Geomorphology, edited by: Shroder, J. F.,
Giardino, R., and Harbor, J., Glacial and Periglacial Geomorphology, Academic
Press, San Diego, 325–353, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374739-6.00216-52013,
2013.
Gundelwein, A., Müller-Lupp, T., Sommerkorn, M., Haupt, E. T. K.,
Pfeiffer, E.-M., and Wiechmann, H.: Carbon in tundra soils in the Lake Labaz
region of arctic Siberia, Eur. J. Soil Sci., 58, 1164–1174,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2007.00908.x, 2007.
Günther, F., Overduin, P. P., Sandakov, A. V., Grosse, G., and Grigoriev,
M. N.: Short- and long-term thermo-erosion of ice-rich permafrost coasts in
the Laptev Sea region, Biogeosciences, 10, 4297–4318,
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-4297-2013, 2013.
Höfle, S., Rethemeyer, J., Mueller, C. W., and John, S.: Organic matter
composition and stabilization in a polygonal tundra soil of the Lena Delta,
Biogeosciences, 10, 3145–3158, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-3145-2013,
2013.
Hopkins, D. M.: Aspects of the paleogeography of Beringia during the Late
Pleistocene, in: Paleoecology of Beringia, edited by: Hopkins, D. M.,
Matthews, J. V., Schweger, C. E., and Young, S. B., 3–28, Academic Press,
New York, 1982.
Hopkins, D. M., McCulloch, D. S., and Jandra, R. J.: Pleistocene stratigraphy
and structure of Baldwin Peninsula, Kotzebue Sound, Geol. Soc. Am. Spec.
Pap., 68, 150–151, 1961.
Hugelius, G., Strauss, J., Zubrzycki, S., Harden, J. W., Schuur, E. A. G.,
Ping, C.-L., Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Michaelson, G. J., Koven, C. D.,
O'Donnell, J. A., Elberling, B., Mishra, U., Camill, P., Yu, Z., Palmtag, J.,
and Kuhry, P.: Estimated stocks of circumpolar permafrost carbon with
quantified uncertainty ranges and identified data gaps, Biogeosciences, 11,
6573–6593, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-6573-2014, 2014.
Huston, M. M., Brigham-Grette, J., and Hopkins, D. M.: Paleogeographic
significance of middle Pleistocene glaciomarine deposits on Baldwin
Peninsula, northwest Alaska, Ann. Glaciol., 14, 111–114, 1990.
Jones, B. M. and Arp, C. D.: Observing a Catastrophic Thermokarst Lake
Drainage in Northern Alaska, Permafr. Periglac. Process., 26, 119–128,
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1842, 2015.
Jones, M. C., Grosse, G., Jones, B. M., and Walter Anthony, K.: Peat
accumulation in drained thermokarst lake basins in continuous, ice-rich
permafrost, northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 117,
G00M07, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JG001766, 2012.
Jongejans, L. L., Strauss, J., Lenz, J., Peterse, F., Mangelsdorf, K., Fuchs,
M., and Grosse, G.: Sedimentological, biogeochemical and geochronological
data of yedoma and thermokarst deposits in West-Alaska, available at:
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.892310, 2018.
Jorgenson, M., Yoshikawa, K., Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Romanovsky, V.,
Marchenko, S., Grosse, G., Brown, J., and Jones, B.: Permafrost
characteristics of Alaska, Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference
on Permafrost, vol. 29, 121–122, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 2008.
Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Fortier, D., Jorgenson, M. T., and Stephani, E.:
Cryostratigraphy of late Pleistocene syngenetic permafrost (yedoma) in
northern Alaska, Itkillik River exposure, Quat. Res., 75, 584–596,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2010.12.003, 2011.
Kanevskiy, M., Shur, Y., Strauss, J., Jorgenson, T., Fortier, D., Stephani,
E., and Vasiliev, A.: Patterns and rates of riverbank erosion involving
ice-rich permafrost (yedoma) in northern Alaska, Geomorphology, 253,
370–384, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.10.023, 2016.
Killops, S. D. and Killops, V. J.: Introduction to Organic Geochemistry,
Wiley, Somerset, 2013.
Knoblauch, C., Beer, C., Sosnin, A., Wagner, D., and Pfeiffer, E.-M.:
Predicting long-term carbon mineralization and trace gas production from
thawing permafrost of Northeast Siberia, Glob. Change Biol., 19, 1160–1172,
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12116, 2013.
Koven, C. D., Schuur, E. A. G., Schädel, C., Bohn, T. J., Burke, E. J.,
Chen, G., Chen, X., Ciais, P., Grosse, G., Harden, J. W., Hayes, D. J.,
Hugelius, G., Jafarov, E. E., Krinner, G., Kuhry, P., Lawrence, D. M.,
MacDougall, A. H., Marchenko, S. S., McGuire, A. D., Natali, S. M., Nicolsky,
D. J., Olefeldt, D., Peng, S., Romanovsky, V. E., Schaefer, K. M., Strauss,
J., Treat, C. C., and Turetsky, M.: A simplified, data-constrained approach
to estimate the permafrost carbon–climate feedback, Philos. Trans. R. Soc.
Math. Phys. Eng. Sci., 373, 20140423, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0423, 2015.
Lapointe, L. E., Talbot, J., Fortier, D., Fréchette, B., Strauss, J.,
Kanevskiy, M., and Shur, Y.: Middle to late Wisconsinan climate and
ecological changes in northern Alaska: Evidences from the Itkillik River
Yedoma, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol., 485, 906–916,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.08.006, 2017.
Lawrence, D. M. and Slater, A. G.: A projection of severe near-surface
permafrost degradation during the 21st century, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32,
1–5, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL025080, 2005.
Lee, H., Schuur, E. A. G., Inglett, K. S., Lavoie, M., and Chanton, J. P.:
The rate of permafrost carbon release under aerobic and anaerobic conditions
and its potential effects on climate, Glob. Change Biol., 18, 515–527,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02519.x, 2012.
Lenz, J., Wetterich, S., Jones, B. M., Meyer, H., Bobrov, A., and Grosse, G.:
Evidence of multiple thermokarst lake generations from an 11 800-year-old
permafrost core on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, Boreas, 45,
584–603, https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12186, 2016a.
Lenz, J., Jones, B. M., Wetterich, S., Tjallingii, R., Fritz, M., Arp, C. D.,
Rudaya, N., and Grosse, G.: Impacts of shore expansion and catchment
characteristics on lacustrine thermokarst records in permafrost lowlands,
Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain, Arktos, 2, 25, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41063-016-0025-0,
2016b.
Lenz, J., Grosse, G., Jones, B. M., Walter Anthony, K. M., Bobrov, A., Wulf,
S., and Wetterich, S.: Mid-Wisconsin to Holocene Permafrost and Landscape
Dynamics based on a Drained Lake Basin Core from the Northern Seward
Peninsula, Northwest Alaska, Permafr. Periglac. Process., 27, 56–75,
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1848, 2016c.
Lenz, J., Jones, B. M., Fuchs, M., and Grosse, G.: C∕N and d13C data
from short sediment cores from 9 lakes in Western Alaska, available at:
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.887848, 2018.
Lide, D. R.: CRC handbook of chemistry and physics?: a ready-reference book
of chemical and physical data, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1999.
Lindgren, P., Grosse, G., and Romanovsky, V.: Landsat-Based Lake Distribution
and Changes in Western Alaska Permafrost Regions Between 1972 and 2014, in XI
International Conference on Permafrost, Potsdam, Germany,
https://doi.org/10.2312/GFZ.LIS.2016.001, 2016.
Marzi, R., Torkelson, B. E., and Olson, R. K.: A revised carbon preference
index, Org. Geochem., 20, 1303–1306,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6380(93)90016-5, 1993.
Meyers, P. A.: Preservation of elemental and isotopic source identification
of sedimentary organic matter, Chem. Geol., 114, 289–302,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2541(94)90059-0, 1994.
Meyers, P. A.: Organic geochemical proxies of paleoceanographic,
paleolimnologic, and paleoclimatic processes, Org. Geochem., 27, 213–250,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6380(97)00049-1, 1997.
Morgenstern, A., Grosse, G., Günther, F., Fedorova, I., and
Schirrmeister, L.: Spatial analyses of thermokarst lakes and basins in Yedoma
landscapes of the Lena Delta, The Cryosphere, 5, 849–867,
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-849-2011, 2011.
Mueller, C. W., Rethemeyer, J., Kao-Kniffin, J., Löppmann, S., Hinkel, K.
M., and Bockheim, J.: Large amounts of labile organic carbon in permafrost
soils of northern Alaska, Glob. Change Biol., 21, 2804–2817, 2015.
Overland, J., Hanna, E., Hanssen-Bauer, I., Kim, S.-J., Walsh, J., Wang, M.,
Bhatt, U. S., and Thoman, R. L.: Surface Air Temperature, available at:
http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/Report-Card/Report-Card-2017 (last access:
13 December 2017), 2017.
Peters, K. E., Walters, C. C., and Moldowan, J. M.: The biomarker guide, 1,
Biomarkers and isotopes in the environment and human history, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 2005.
Poynter, J. and Eglinton, G.: 14. Molecular composition of three sediments
from hole 717c: The Bengal fan, Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program:
Scientific results, vol. 116, 155–161, College Station, TX, 1990.
Pushkar, V. S., Roof, S. R., Cherepanova, M. V., Hopkins, D. M., and
Brigham-Grette, J.: Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic significance of diatoms
from middle Pleistocene marine and glaciomarine deposits on Baldwin
Peninsula, northwestern Alaska, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol.,
152, 67–85, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(99)00040-1, 1999.
Radke, M., Willsch, H., and Welte, D. H.: Preparative hydrocarbon group type
determination by automated medium pressure liquid chromatography, Anal.
Chem., 52, 406–411, 1980.
Rowell, D. L.: Soil Science: methods & applications., Longman Scientific
& Technical, University of Michigan, Michigan, 1994.
Sánchez-García, L., Vonk, J. E., Charkin, A. N., Kosmach, D.,
Dudarev, O. V., Semiletov, I. P., and Gustafsson, Ö.: Characterisation of
Three Regimes of Collapsing Arctic Ice Complex Deposits on the SE Laptev Sea
Coast using Biomarkers and Dual Carbon Isotopes, Permafr. Periglac. Process.,
25, 172–183, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1815, 2014.
Schädel, C., Schuur, E. A. G., Bracho, R., Elberling, B., Knoblauch, C.,
Lee, H., Luo, Y., Shaver, G. R., and Turetsky, M. R.: Circumpolar assessment
of permafrost C quality and its vulnerability over time using long-term
incubation data, Glob. Change Biol., 20, 641–652, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12417,
2014a.
Schädel, C., Schuur, E. A. G., Bracho, R., Elberling, B., Knoblauch, C.,
Lee, H., Luo, Y., Shaver, G. R., and Turetsky, M. R.: Circumpolar assessment
of permafrost C quality and its vulnerability over time using long-term
incubation data, Glob. Change Biol., 20, 641–652, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12417,
2014b.
Schirrmeister, L., Siegert, C., Kunitzky, V. V., Grootes, P. M., and
Erlenkeuser, H.: Late Quaternary ice-rich permafrost sequences as a
paleoenvironmental archive for the Laptev Sea Region in northern Siberia,
Int. J. Earth Sci., 91, 154–167, 2002a.
Schirrmeister, L., Siegert, C., Kuznetsova, T., Kuzmina, S., Andreev, A.,
Kienast, F., Meyer, H., and Bobrov, A.: Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic
records from permafrost deposits in the Arctic region of Northern Siberia,
Quat. Int., 89, 97–118, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-6182(01)00083-0,
2002b.
Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Schwamborn, G., Andreev, A., Meyer, H.,
Kunitsky, V. V., Kuznetsova, T., Dorozhkina, M. V., Pavlova, E. Y., Bobrov,
A., and Oezen, D.: Late Quaternary history of the accumulation plain north of
the Chekanovsky Ridge (Lena Delta, Russia) – a multidisciplinary approach,
Polar Geogr., 27, 277–319, 2003.
Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Kunitsky, V., Magens, D., Meyer, H.,
Dereviagin, A., Kuznetsova, T., Andreev, A., Babiy, O., Kienast, F.,
Grigoriev, M., Overduin, P. P., and Preusser, F.: Periglacial landscape
evolution and environmental changes of Arctic lowland areas for the last
60 000 years (western Laptev Sea coast, Cape Mamontov Klyk), Polar Res., 27,
249–272, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-8369.2008.00067.x, 2008a.
Schirrmeister, L., Kunitsky, V. V., Grosse, G., Kuznetsova, T. V.,
Derevyagin, A. Y., Wetterich, S., and Siegert, C.: The Yedoma Suite of the
Northeastern Siberian Shelf Region characteristics and concept of formation,
Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost,
Fairbanks, Alaska, 2008b.
Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Wetterich, S., Overduin, P. P., Strauss, J.,
Schuur, E. A. G., and Hubberten, H.-W.: Fossil organic matter characteristics
in permafrost deposits of the northeast Siberian Arctic, J. Geophys.
Res.-Biogeo., 116, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JG001647, 2011.
Schirrmeister, L., Froese, D., Tumskoy, V., Grosse, G., and Wetterich, S.:
Yedoma: Late Pleistocene ice-rich syngenetic permafrost of Beringia, edited
by: Elias, S. A., Mock, C. J., and Murton, J., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2013.
Schulte, S., Mangelsdorf, K., and Rullkötter, J.: Organic matter
preservation on the Pakistan continental margin as revealed by biomarker
geochemistry, Org. Geochem., 31, 1005–1022,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0146-6380(00)00108-X, 2000.
Schuur, E. A., Vogel, J. G., Crummer, K. G., Lee, H., Sickman, J. O., and
Osterkamp, T.: The effect of permafrost thaw on old carbon release and net
carbon exchange from tundra, Nature, 459, 556–559,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08031, 2009.
Schuur, E. A. G., McGuire, A. D., Schädel, C., Grosse, G., Harden, J. W.,
Hayes, D. J., Hugelius, G., Koven, C. D., Kuhry, P., Lawrence, D. M., Natali,
S. M., Olefeldt, D., Romanovsky, V. E., Schaefer, K., Turetsky, M. R., Treat,
C. C., and Vonk, J. E.: Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback,
Nature, 520, 171–179, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14338, 2015.
Sher, A. V.: Yedoma as a store of paleoenvironmental records in Beringia, in:
Beringia Palaeoenvironmental Workshop, edited by: Elias, S. and
Bringham-Grette, J., 92–94, ON, Canada, 1997.
Shmelev, D., Veremeeva, A., Kraev, G., Kholodov, A., Spencer, R. G. M.,
Walker, W. S., and Rivkina, E.: Estimation and Sensitivity of Carbon Storage
in Permafrost of North-Eastern Yakutia, Permafr. Periglac. Process., 28,
379–390, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1933, 2017.
Shur, Y., Kanevskiy, M., Jorgenson, T., Dillon, M., Stephani, E., Bray, M.,
and Fortier, D.: Permafrost degradation and thaw settlement under lakes in
yedoma environment, Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on
Permafrost, vol. 1, 5–29, Salekhard, Russia, 2012.
Siewert, M. B., Hugelius, G., Heim, B., and Faucherre, S.: Landscape controls
and vertical variability of soil organic carbon storage in
permafrost-affected soils of the Lena River Delta, CATENA, 147, 725–741,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2016.07.048, 2016.
Stapel, J. G., Schirrmeister, L., Overduin, P. P., Wetterich, S., Strauss,
J., Horsfield, B., and Mangelsdorf, K.: Microbial lipid signatures and
substrate potential of organic matter in permafrost deposits: Implications
for future greenhouse gas production, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 121,
2652–2666, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JG003483, 2016.
Strauss, J., Schirrmeister, L., Wetterich, S., Borchers, A., and Davydov, S.
P.: Grain-size properties and organic-carbon stock of Yedoma Ice Complex
permafrost from the Kolyma lowland, northeastern Siberia, Glob. Biogeochem.
Cycles, 26, GB3003, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GB004104, 2012.
Strauss, J., Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Wetterich, S., Ulrich, M.,
Herzschuh, U., and Hubberten, H.-W.: The deep permafrost carbon pool of the
Yedoma region in Siberia and Alaska, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 6165–6170,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058088, 2013.
Strauss, J., Schirrmeister, L., Mangelsdorf, K., Eichhorn, L., Wetterich, S.,
and Herzschuh, U.: Organic-matter quality of deep permafrost carbon – a
study from Arctic Siberia, Biogeosciences, 12, 2227–2245,
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2227-2015, 2015.
Strauss, J., Schirrmeister, L., Grosse, G., Fortier, D., Hugelius, G.,
Knoblauch, C., Romanovsky, V., Schädel, C., Deimling, T. S. von, Schuur,
E. A. G., Shmelev, D., Ulrich, M., and Veremeeva, A.: Deep Yedoma permafrost:
A synthesis of depositional characteristics and carbon vulnerability,
Earth-Sci. Rev., 172, 75–86,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.07.007, 2017.
Stuiver, M., Reimer, P. J., and Reimer, R. W.: CALIB 14C Calibration Program,
available at: http://calib.org/calib/ (last access: 13 December 2017),
2017.
Ulrich, M., Grosse, G., Strauss, J., and Schirrmeister, L.: Quantifying
Wedge-Ice Volumes in Yedoma and Thermokarst Basin Deposits, Permafr.
Periglac. Process., 25, 151–161, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1810, 2014.
US Climate Data: Climate Kotzebue – Alaska, available at:
https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/kotzebue/alaska/united-states/usak0135/2017/1
(last access: 10 May 2017), 2017.
Vasil'chuk, Y. K. and Vasil'chuk, A. C.: Validity of radiocarbon ages of
Siberian yedoma, Geo. Res. J., 13(Supplement C), 83–95,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.grj.2017.02.004, 2017.
Vonk, J. E., Van Dongen, B. E., and Gustafsson, Ö.: Selective
preservation of old organic carbon fluvially released from sub-Arctic soils,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L11605, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL042909, 2010.
Vonk, J. E., Mann, P. J., Davydov, S., Davydova, A., Spencer, R. G. M.,
Schade, J., Sobczak, W. V., Zimov, N., Zimov, S., Bulygina, E., Eglinton, T.
I., and Holmes, R. M.: High biolability of ancient permafrost carbon upon
thaw, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 2689–2693, https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50348, 2013.
Walter Anthony, K. M., Zimov, S. A., Grosse, G., Jones, M. C., Anthony, P.
M., III, F. S. C., Finlay, J. C., Mack, M. C., Davydov, S., Frenzel, P., and
Frolking, S.: A shift of thermokarst lakes from carbon sources to sinks
during the Holocene epoch, Nature, 511, 454–456, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13560,
2014.
Webb, E. E., Heard, K., Natali, S. M., Bunn, A. G., Alexander, H. D., Berner,
L. T., Kholodov, A., Loranty, M. M., Schade, J. D., Spektor, V., and Zimov,
N.: Variability in above- and belowground carbon stocks in a Siberian larch
watershed, Biogeosciences, 14, 4279–4294,
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4279-2017, 2017.
Weiss, N., Blok, D., Elberling, B., Hugelius, G., Jørgensen, C. J.,
Siewert, M. B., and Kuhry, P.: Thermokarst dynamics and soil organic matter
characteristics controlling initial carbon release from permafrost soils in
the Siberian Yedoma region, Sediment. Geol., 340, 38–48,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.12.004, 2016a.
Weiss, N., Blok, D., Elberling, B., Hugelius, G., Jørgensen, C. J.,
Siewert, M. B., and Kuhry, P.: Thermokarst dynamics and soil organic matter
characteristics controlling initial carbon release from permafrost soils in
the Siberian Yedoma region, Sediment. Geol., 340, 38–48,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2015.12.004, 2016b.
Zimov, S. A., Davydov, S. P., Zimova, G. M., Davydova, A. I., Schuur, E. A.
G., Dutta, K., and Chapin, F. S.: Permafrost carbon: Stock and
decomposability of a globally significant carbon pool, Geophys. Res. Lett.,
33, L20502, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027484, 2006.
Short summary
Arctic warming mobilizes belowground organic matter in northern high latitudes. This study focused on the size of organic carbon pools and organic matter quality in ice-rich permafrost on the Baldwin Peninsula, West Alaska. We analyzed biogeochemistry and found that three-quarters of the carbon is stored in degraded permafrost deposits. Nonetheless, using biomarker analyses, we showed that the organic matter in undisturbed yedoma permafrost has a higher potential for decomposition.
Arctic warming mobilizes belowground organic matter in northern high latitudes. This study...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint