USGS · 70215287
Large loss of CO2 in winter observed across pan-arctic permafrost region
Abstract
Recent warming in the Arctic, which has been amplified during the winter 1 , 2 , 3 , greatly enhances microbial decomposition of soil organic matter and subsequent release of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) 4 . However, the amount of CO 2 released in winter is not known and has not been well represented by ecosystem models or empirically based estimates 5 , 6 . Here we synthesize regional in situ observations of CO 2 flux from Arctic and boreal soils to assess current and future winter carbon losses from the northern permafrost domain. We estimate a contemporary loss of 1,662 TgC per year from the permafrost region during the winter season (October–April). This loss is greater than the average growing season carbon uptake for this region estimated from process models (−1,032 TgC per year). Extending model predictions to warmer conditions up to 2100 indicates that winter CO 2 emissions will increase 17% under a moderate mitigation scenario—Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5—and 41% under business-as-usual emissions scenario—Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5. Our results provide a baseline for winter CO 2 emissions from northern terrestrial regions and indicate that enhanced soil CO 2 loss due to winter warming may offset growing season carbon uptake under future climatic conditions.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Susan M Natali, Jennifer D. Watts, Stefano Potter, Brendan M. Rogers, Sarah M. Ludwig, Anne-Katrin Selbmann, Patrick F. Sullivan, Benjamin W. Abbott, Kyle A. Arndt, Leah Birch, Mats P. Bjorkman, Anthony Bloom, Gerardo Celis, Torben R. Christiensen, Casper T. Christiansen, Roisin Commane, Elisabeth J. Cooper, Patrick Crill, Claudia Czimczik, Sergey Davydov, Jinyang Du, Jocelyn E. Egan, Bo Elberling, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Thomas Friborg, Helene Genet, Mathias Gockede, Jordan P. Goodrich, Paul Grogan, Manuel Helbig, Elchin E. Jafarov, Julie Jastrow, Aram Kalhori, Yongwon Kim, John S Kimball, Lars Kutzbach, Mark J. Lara, Klaus S. Larsen, Michael M Loranty, Magnus Lund, Massimo Lupascu, Nima Madani, Avni Malhorta, Jack McFarland, David A. McGuire, Anders Michelson, Christina Minions, Walter C. Oechel, David Olefeldt, Frans-Jan Parmentier, Norbert Pirk, Benjamin Poulter, William L. Quinton, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, David Risk, Torsten Sachs, Kevin Schaefer, Neils M. Schmidt, Edward A. Schuur, Philipp R. Semenchuk, Gaius Shaver, Oliver Sonnentag, Gregory Starr, Claire C. Treat, Mark P. Waldrop, Yihui Wang, Jeffrey Welker, Christian Wille, Xiaofeng Xu, Zhen Zhang, Qianlai Zhuang, Donatella Zona. 2019-10-21. Large loss of CO2 in winter observed across pan-arctic permafrost region. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0592-8
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.