Methane & Permafrost Thaw

Description

Because the world is getting warmer, permanently frozen ground around the arctic, known as permafrost, is thawing. When permafrost thaws, the ground collapses and sinks. Often a wetland forms within the collapsed area. Conversion of permanently frozen landscapes to wetlands changes the exchange of greenhouse gases between the land and atmosphere, which impacts global temperatures. Wetlands release methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. The ability of methane to warm the Earth is 32-times stronger than that of carbon dioxide over a period of 100 years.  We are studying how wetland plants and climate variables, like rainfall, affect emission of methane from permafrost thaw bogs. We conduct fieldwork at thaw bogs in Interior Alaska and we test mechanisms and hypotheses using plant-growth and other laboratory-based experiments. The project is broadly focused on advancing understanding of how permafrost landscapes in Northern latitudes affect and are affected by climate change. 

People Involved

Current —  Joel Eklof . Becca Neumann

Past  — Jing Tao . Colby Moorberg . Nick Waldo . Jesse Turner

Funding

FY 2022 National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences, Hydrologic Sciences & ANS-Arctic Natural Sciences

FY2018 Department of Energy Office of Biological & Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program

FY2013 Department of Energy Office of Science, Early Career Award

Press Coverage & Outreach Products

Peer-reviewed Publications

Eklof JF, Jones BM, Dafflon B, et al (2024) Canopy cover and microtopography control precipitation-enhanced thaw of ecosystem-protected permafrost. Environ Res Lett 19:044055. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad31d7

Neumann RB, Blazewicz SJ, Conaway CH, et al (2016) Modeling CH4 and CO2 cycling using porewater stable isotopes in a thermokarst bog in Interior Alaska: results from three conceptual reaction networks. Biogeochemistry 127:57–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0168-2

Neumann RB, Moorberg CJ, Lundquist JD, et al (2019) Warming Effects of Spring Rainfall Increase Methane Emissions From Thawing Permafrost. Geophysical Research Letters 46:1393–1401. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081274

Tao J, Zhu Q, Riley WJ, Neumann RB (2021a) Warm-season net CO2 uptake outweighs cold-season emissions over Alaskan North Slope tundra under current and RCP8.5 climate. Environ Res Lett 16:055012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abf6f5

Tao J, Zhu Q, Riley WJ, Neumann RB (2021b) Improved ELMv1-ECA simulations of zero-curtain periods and cold-season CH4 and CO2 emissions at Alaskan Arctic tundra sites. The Cryosphere 15:5281–5307. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5281-2021

Turner JC, Moorberg CJ, Wong A, et al (2020) Getting to the Root of Plant-Mediated Methane Emissions and Oxidation in a Thermokarst Bog. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 125:e2020JG005825. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005825

Waldo NB, Chistoserdova L, Hu D, et al (2022) Impacts of The Wetland Sedge Carex aquatilis on Microbial Community and Methane Metabolisms. Plant Soil 471:491–506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05239-7

Waldo NB, Hunt BK, Fadely EC, et al (2019) Plant root exudates increase methane emissions through direct and indirect pathways. Biogeochemistry 145:213–234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-019-00600-6

Waldo NB, Tfaily MM, Anderton C, Neumann RB (2021) The importance of nutrients for microbial priming in a bog rhizosphere. Biogeochemistry 152:271–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00754-2

Waldrop MP, McFarland J, Manies K, et al (2021) Carbon Fluxes and Microbial Activities from Boreal Peatlands Experiencing Permafrost Thaw. J Geophys Res Biogeosci. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005869

Wilson RM, Neumann RB, Crossen KB, et al (2019) Microbial Community Analyses Inform Geochemical Reaction Network Models for Predicting Pathways of Greenhouse Gas Production. Front Earth Sci 7:. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2019.00059