Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback

E A G Schuur; A D McGuire; C Schädel; G Grosse; J W Harden; D J Hayes; G Hugelius; C D Koven; P Kuhry; D M Lawrence; S M Natali; D Olefeldt; V E Romanovsky; K Schaefer; M R Turetsky; C C Treat; J E Vonk

doi:10.1038/nature14338

Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback

Nature. 2015 Apr 9;520(7546):171-9. doi: 10.1038/nature14338.

Authors

E A G Schuur¹, A D McGuire², C Schädel¹, G Grosse³, J W Harden⁴, D J Hayes⁵, G Hugelius⁶, C D Koven⁷, P Kuhry⁶, D M Lawrence⁸, S M Natali⁹, D Olefeldt¹⁰, V E Romanovsky¹¹, K Schaefer¹², M R Turetsky¹³, C C Treat¹⁴, J E Vonk¹⁵

Affiliations

¹ 1] Center for Ecosystem Science and Society and Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA [2] Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.
² US Geological Survey, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA.
³ Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 14473 Potsdam, Germany.
⁴ US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
⁵ Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
⁶ Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
⁷ Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
⁸ National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA.
⁹ Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, Massachusetts 02540, USA.
¹⁰ 1] Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada [2] Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H1, Canada.
¹¹ 1] Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA [2] Tyumen State Oil and Gas University, Tyumen, Tyumen Oblast 625000, Russia.
¹² National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
¹³ Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada.
¹⁴ Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, 3584 CD Utrecht, The Netherlands.

PMID: 25855454
DOI: 10.1038/nature14338

Abstract

Large quantities of organic carbon are stored in frozen soils (permafrost) within Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. A warming climate can induce environmental changes that accelerate the microbial breakdown of organic carbon and the release of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane. This feedback can accelerate climate change, but the magnitude and timing of greenhouse gas emission from these regions and their impact on climate change remain uncertain. Here we find that current evidence suggests a gradual and prolonged release of greenhouse gas emissions in a warming climate and present a research strategy with which to target poorly understood aspects of permafrost carbon dynamics.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Arctic Regions
Carbon Cycle*
Carbon Dioxide / analysis
Climate Change*
Feedback
Freezing
Methane / analysis
Permafrost / chemistry*
Seawater / chemistry
Uncertainty

Substances

Carbon Dioxide
Methane