Rapid Ice‐Wedge Collapse and Permafrost Carbon Loss Triggered by Increased Snow Depth and Surface Runoff

Autor: Frans‐Jan W. Parmentier, Lennart Nilsen, Hans Tømmervik, Ove H. Meisel, Lisa Bröder, Jorien E. Vonk, Sebastian Westermann, Philipp R. Semenchuk, Elisabeth J. Cooper
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 51, Iss 11, Pp n/a-n/a (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1944-8007
0094-8276
DOI: 10.1029/2023GL108020
Popis: Abstract Thicker snow cover in permafrost areas causes deeper active layers and thaw subsidence, which alter local hydrology and may amplify the loss of soil carbon. However, the potential for changes in snow cover and surface runoff to mobilize permafrost carbon remains poorly quantified. In this study, we show that a snow fence experiment on High‐Arctic Svalbard inadvertently led to surface subsidence through warming, and extensive downstream erosion due to increased surface runoff. Within a decade of artificially raised snow depths, several ice wedges collapsed, forming a 50 m long and 1.5 m deep thermo‐erosion gully in the landscape. We estimate that 1.1–3.3 tons C may have eroded, and that the gully is a hotspot for processing of mobilized aquatic carbon. Our results show that interactions among snow, runoff and permafrost thaw form an important driver of soil carbon loss, highlighting the need for improved model representation.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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