TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heslop, J. K.
A1  - Winkel, Matthias
A1  - Anthony, K. M. Walter
A1  - Spencer, R. G. M.
A1  - Podgorski, D. C.
A1  - Zito, P.
A1  - Kholodov, A.
A1  - Zhang, M.
A1  - Liebner, Susanne
T1  - Increasing organic carbon biolability with depth in yedoma permafrost
BT  - ramifications for future climate change
JF  - Journal of geophysical research : Biogeosciences
N2  - Permafrost thaw subjects previously frozen organic carbon (OC) to microbial decomposition, generating the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) and fueling a positive climate feedback. Over one quarter of permafrost OC is stored in deep, ice-rich Pleistocene-aged yedoma permafrost deposits. We used a combination of anaerobic incubations, microbial sequencing, and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry to show yedoma OC biolability increases with depth along a 12-m yedoma profile. In incubations at 3 degrees C and 13 degrees C, GHG production per unit OC at 12-versus 1.3-m depth was 4.6 and 20.5 times greater, respectively. Bacterial diversity decreased with depth and we detected methanogens at all our sampled depths, suggesting that in situ microbial communities are equipped to metabolize thawed OC into CH4. We concurrently observed an increase in the relative abundance of reduced, saturated OC compounds, which corresponded to high proportions of C mineralization and positively correlated with anaerobic GHG production potentials and higher proportions of OC being mineralized as CH4. Taking into account the higher global warming potential (GWP) of CH4 compared to CO2, thawed yedoma sediments in our study had 2 times higher GWP at 12-versus 9.0-m depth at 3 degrees C and 15 times higher GWP at 13 degrees C. Considering that yedoma is vulnerable to processes that thaw deep OC, our findings imply that it is important to account for this increasing GHG production and GWP with depth to better understand the disproportionate impact of yedoma on the magnitude of the permafrost carbon feedback.
KW  - permafrost
KW  - carbon
KW  - yedoma
KW  - Alaska
KW  - FT-ICR MS
KW  - microbes
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JG004712
SN  - 2169-8953
SN  - 2169-8961
VL  - 124
IS  - 7
SP  - 2021
EP  - 2038
PB  - American Geophysical Union
CY  - Washington
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heslop, J. K.
A1  - Anthony, K. M. Walter
A1  - Grosse, Guido
A1  - Liebner, Susanne
A1  - Winkel, Matthias
T1  - Century-scale time since permafrost thaw affects temperature sensitivity of net methane production in thermokarst-lake and talik sediments
JF  - The science of the total environment : an international journal for scientific research into the environment and its relationship with man
N2  - Permafrost thaw subjects previously frozen soil organic carbon (SOC) to microbial degradation to the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Emission of these gases constitutes a positive feedback to climate warming. Among numerous uncertainties in estimating the strength of this permafrost carbon feedback (PCF), two are: (i) how mineralization of permafrost SOC thawed in saturated anaerobic conditions responds to changes in temperature and (ii) how microbial communities and temperature sensitivities change over time since thaw. To address these uncertainties, we utilized a thermokarst-lake sediment core as a natural chronosequence where SOC thawed and incubated in situ under saturated anaerobic conditions for up to 400 years following permafrost thaw. Initial microbial communities were characterized, and sediments were anaerobically incubated in the lab at four temperatures (0 °C, 3 °C, 10 °C, and 25 °C) bracketing those observed in the lake's talik. Net CH4 production in freshly-thawed sediments near the downward-expanding thaw boundary at the base of the talik were most sensitive to warming at the lower incubation temperatures (0 °C to 3 °C), while the overlying sediments which had been thawed for centuries had initial low abundant methanogenic communities (< 0.02%) and did not experience statistically significant increases in net CH4 production potentials until higher incubation temperatures (10 °C to 25 °C). We propose these observed differences in temperature sensitivities are due to differences in SOM quality and functional microbial community composition that evolve over time; however further research is necessary to better constrain the roles of these factors in determining temperature controls on anaerobic C mineralization.
KW  - Carbon
KW  - Lake sediments
KW  - Methane
KW  - Permafrost
KW  - Talik
KW  - Temperature sensitivity
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.402
SN  - 0048-9697
SN  - 1879-1026
VL  - 691
SP  - 124
EP  - 134
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -