TY - GEN A1 - Strauss, Jens A1 - Schirrmeister, Lutz A1 - Mangelsdorf, Kai A1 - Eichhorn, L. A1 - Wetterich, Sebastian A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Organic-matter quality of deep permafrost carbon BT - a study from Arctic Siberia T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The organic-carbon (OC) pool accumulated in Arctic permafrost (perennially frozen ground) equals the carbon stored in the modern atmosphere. To give an idea of how Yedoma region permafrost could respond under future climatic warming, we conducted a study to quantify the organic-matter quality (here defined as the intrinsic potential to be further transformed, decomposed, and mineralized) of late Pleistocene (Yedoma) and Holocene (thermokarst) deposits on the Buor-Khaya Peninsula, northeast Siberia. The objective of this study was to develop a stratigraphic classified organic-matter quality characterization. For this purpose the degree of organic-matter decomposition was estimated by using a multiproxy approach. We applied sedimentological (grain-size analyses, bulk density, ice content) and geochemical parameters (total OC, stable carbon isotopes (delta C-13),total organic carbon : nitrogen (C / N) ratios) as well as lipid biomarkers (n-alkanes, n-fatty acids, hopanes, triterpenoids, and biomarker indices, i.e., average chain length, carbon preference index (CPI), and higher-plant fatty-acid index (HPFA)). Our results show that the Yedoma and thermokarst organic-matter qualities for further decomposition exhibit no obvious degradation-depth trend. Relatively, the C / N and delta C-13 values and the HPFA index show a significantly better preservation of the organic matter stored in thermokarst deposits compared to Yedoma deposits. The CPI data suggest less degradation of the organic matter from both deposits, with a higher value for Yedoma organic matter. As the interquartile ranges of the proxies mostly over-lap, we interpret this as indicating comparable quality for further decomposition for both kinds of deposits with likely better thermokarst organic-matter quality. Supported by principal component analyses, the sediment parameters and quality proxies of Yedoma and thermokarst deposits could not be unambiguously separated from each other. This revealed that the organic-matter vulnerability is heterogeneous and depends on different decomposition trajectories and the previous decomposition and preservation history. Elucidating this was one of the major new contributions of our multiproxy study. With the addition of biomarker data, it was possible to show that permafrost organic-matter degradation likely occurs via a combination of (uncompleted) degradation cycles or a cascade of degradation steps rather than as a linear function of age or sediment facies. We conclude that the amount of organic matter in the studied sediments is high for mineral soils and of good quality and therefore susceptible to future decomposition. The lack of depth trends shows that permafrost acts like a giant freezer, preserving the constant quality of ancient organic matter. When undecomposed Yedoma organic matter is mobilized via thermokarst processes, the fate of this carbon depends largely on the environmental conditions; the carbon could be preserved in an undecomposed state till refreezing occurs. If modern input has occurred, thermokarst organic matter could be of a better quality for future microbial decomposition than that found in Yedoma deposits. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 514 KW - Holocene peat sequence KW - climate-change KW - thermokarst lakes KW - gas-production KW - Laptev Sea KW - tundra KW - thaw KW - radiocarbon KW - Alaska KW - soils Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-409534 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 514 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schirrmeister, Lutz A1 - Bobrov, Anatoly A1 - Raschke, Elena A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike A1 - Strauss, Jens A1 - Pestryakova, Luidmila Agafyevna A1 - Wetterich, Sebastian T1 - Late Holocene ice-wedge polygon dynamics in northeastern Siberian coastal lowlands T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Ice-wedge polygons are common features of northeastern Siberian lowland periglacial tundra landscapes. To deduce the formation and alternation of ice-wedge polygons in the Kolyma Delta and in the Indigirka Lowland, we studied shallow cores, up to 1.3 m deep, from polygon center and rim locations. The formation of well-developed low-center polygons with elevated rims and wet centers is shown by the beginning of peat accumulation, increased organic matter contents, and changes in vegetation cover from Poaceae-, Alnus-, and Betula-dominated pollen spectra to dominating Cyperaceae and Botryoccocus presence, and Carex and Drepanocladus revolvens macro-fossils. Tecamoebae data support such a change from wetland to open-water conditions in polygon centers by changes from dominating eurybiontic and sphagnobiontic to hydrobiontic species assemblages. The peat accumulation indicates low-center polygon formation and started between 2380 +/- 30 and 1676 +/- 32 years before present (BP) in the Kolyma Delta. We recorded an opposite change from open-water to wetland conditions because of rim degradation and consecutive high-center polygon formation in the Indigirka Lowland between 2144 +/- 33 and 1632 +/- 32 years BP. The late Holocene records of polygon landscape development reveal changes in local hydrology and soil moisture. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 719 KW - permafrost KW - cryolithology KW - radiocarbon dating KW - paleoecology KW - rhizopods KW - pollen KW - plant macro-fossils Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-426603 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 719 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Jongejans, Loeka L. A1 - Strauss, Jens A1 - Lenz, Josefine A1 - Peterse, Francien A1 - Mangelsdorf, Kai A1 - Fuchs, Matthias A1 - Grosse, Guido T1 - Organic matter characteristics in yedoma and thermokarst deposits on Baldwin Peninsula, west Alaska T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - As Arctic warming continues and permafrost thaws, more soil and sedimentary organic matter (OM) will be decomposed in northern high latitudes. Still, uncertainties remain in the quality of the OM and the size of the organic carbon (OC) pools stored in different deposit types of permafrost landscapes. This study presents OM data from deep permafrost and lake deposits on the Baldwin Peninsula which is located in the southern portion of the continuous permafrost zone in west Alaska. Sediment samples from yedoma and drained thermokarst lake basin (DTLB) deposits as well as thermokarst lake sediments were analyzed for cryostratigraphical and biogeochemical parameters and their lipid biomarker composition to identify the below-ground OC pool size and OM quality of ice-rich permafrost on the Baldwin Peninsula. We provide the first detailed characterization of yedoma deposits on Baldwin Peninsula. We show that three-quarters of soil OC in the frozen deposits of the study region (total of 68 Mt) is stored in DTLB deposits (52 Mt) and one-quarter in the frozen yedoma deposits (16 Mt). The lake sediments contain a relatively small OC pool (4 Mt), but have the highest volumetric OC content (93 kgm(-3)) compared to the DTLB (35 kgm(-3)) and yedoma deposits (8 kgm(-3)), largely due to differences in the ground ice content. The biomarker analysis indicates that the OM in both yedoma and DTLB deposits is mainly of terrestrial origin. Nevertheless, the relatively high carbon preference index of plant leaf waxes in combination with a lack of a degradation trend with depth in the yedoma deposits indi-cates that OM stored in yedoma is less degraded than that stored in DTLB deposits. This suggests that OM in yedoma has a higher potential for decomposition upon thaw, despite the relatively small size of this pool. These findings show that the use of lipid biomarker analysis is valuable in the assessment of the potential future greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost, especially because this area, close to the discontinuous permafrost boundary, is projected to thaw substantially within the 21st century. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 985 KW - northern seward peninsula KW - deep permafrost carbon KW - Laptev Sea region KW - Arctic Siberia KW - climate change KW - gas production KW - Lena delta KW - soils KW - release KW - tundra Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-446250 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 20 SP - 6033 EP - 6048 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fuchs, Matthias A1 - Grosse, Guido A1 - Strauss, Jens A1 - Günther, Frank A1 - Grigoriev, Mikhail N. A1 - Maximov, Georgy M. A1 - Hugelius, Gustaf T1 - Carbon and nitrogen pools in thermokarst-affected permafrost landscapes in Arctic Siberia T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Ice-rich yedoma-dominated landscapes store con- siderable amounts of organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and are vulnerable to degradation under climate warming. We investigate the C and N pools in two thermokarst-affected yedoma landscapes – on Sobo-Sise Island and on Bykovsky Peninsula in the north of eastern Siberia. Soil cores up to 3 m depth were collected along geomorphic gradients and anal- ysed for organic C and N contents. A high vertical sampling density in the profiles allowed the calculation of C and N stocks for short soil column intervals and enhanced under- standing of within-core parameter variability. Profile-level C and N stocks were scaled to the landscape level based on landform classifications from 5 m resolution, multispectral RapidEye satellite imagery. Mean landscape C and N storage in the first metre of soil for Sobo-Sise Island is estimated to be 20.2 kg C m −2 and 1.8 kg N m −2 and for Bykovsky Penin- sula 25.9 kg C m −2 and 2.2 kg N m −2 . Radiocarbon dating demonstrates the Holocene age of thermokarst basin de- posits but also suggests the presence of thick Holocene- age cover layers which can reach up to 2 m on top of in- tact yedoma landforms. Reconstructed sedimentation rates of 0.10–0.57 mm yr −1 suggest sustained mineral soil accu- mulation across all investigated landforms. Both yedoma and thermokarst landforms are characterized by limited accumu- lation of organic soil layers (peat). We further estimate that an active layer deepening of about 100 cm will increase organic C availability in a sea- sonally thawed state in the two study areas by ∼ 5.8 Tg (13.2 kg C m −2 ). Our study demonstrates the importance of increasing the number of C and N storage inventories in ice- rich yedoma and thermokarst environments in order to ac- count for high variability of permafrost and thermokarst en- vironments in pan-permafrost soil C and N pool estimates. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 654 KW - soil organic-carbon KW - Lena River Delta KW - ice-rich permafrost KW - thaw-lake basins KW - climate-change KW - northern Siberia KW - Late Quaternary KW - periglacial landscape KW - Tundra ecosystem KW - Yedoma region Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-418026 SN - 1866-8372 VL - 15 IS - 654 ER -