Vanja Alling

Activation of old carbon by erosion of coastal and subsea permafrost in Arctic Siberia.

The future trajectory of greenhouse gas concentrations depends on interactions between climate and the biogeosphere. Thawing of Arctic permafrost could release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere in this century. Ancient Ice Complex deposits outcropping along the ∼7,000-kilometre-long coastline of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS), and associated shallow subsea permafrost, are two large pools of permafrost carbon, yet their vulnerabilities towards thawing and decomposition are largely unknown. Recent Arctic warming is stronger than has been predicted by several degrees, and is particularly pronounced over the coastal ESAS region. There is thus a pressing need to improve our understanding of the links between permafrost carbon and climate in this relatively inaccessible region. Here we show that extensive release of carbon from these Ice Complex deposits dominates (57 ± 2 per cent) the sedimentary carbon budget of the ESAS, the world’s largest continental shelf, overwhelming the marine and topsoil terrestrial components. Inverse modelling of the dual-carbon isotope composition of organic carbon accumulating in ESAS surface sediments, using Monte Carlo simulations to account for uncertainties, suggests that 44 ± 10 teragrams of old carbon is activated annually from Ice Complex permafrost, an order of magnitude more than has been suggested by previous studies. We estimate that about two-thirds (66 ± 16 per cent) of this old carbon escapes to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, with the remainder being re-buried in shelf sediments. Thermal collapse and erosion of these carbon-rich Pleistocene coastline and seafloor deposits may accelerate with Arctic amplification of climate warming.

Nonconservative behavior of dissolved organic carbon across the Laptev and East Siberian seas

Climate change is expected to have a strong effect on the Eastern Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) region, which includes 40% of the Arctic shelves and comprises the Laptev and East Siberian seas. The ...

Inventories and behavior of particulate organic carbon in the Laptev and East Siberian seas

Inventories and behavior of particulate organic carbon in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas

Ice export from the Laptev and East Siberian Sea derived from δ18O values

Ice export from the vast Arctic Siberian shelf is calculated using δ18O values and salinity data for water samples collected during the International Siberian Shelf Study between August and September 2008 (ISSS-08). The samples represent a wide range of salinities and δ18O values due to river water inputs and sea ice removal. We estimate the fraction of water that has been removed as ice by interpreting observed δ18O values and salinities as a result of mixing between river water and sea water end-members as well as to fractional ice removal. This method does not assume an ice end-member of fixed composition, which is especially important when applied on samples with large differences in salinity. The results show that there is net transport of ice from both the Laptev and the Eastern Siberian Seas, and in total 3000 km³ of sea ice is exported from the shelf. The annual total export of ice from the entire region, calculated from the residence time of water on the shelf, is estimated to be 860 km3 yr−1. Thus, changes in ice production on the shelf may have great impact on sea ice export from the Arctic Ocean. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.