Phys.org April 15, 2024
An international team of researchers (Sweden, USA – University of New Hampshire, independent org., Northern Arizona University, University of Colorado, NASA, Germany, Finland, Australia, France, Denmark, Canada) has presented comprehensive budgets of CO2, CH4, and N2O by key permafrost land cover types over the period 2000–2020 across the northern permafrost region which was emitting green house gasses (GHGs) throughout the period. While the region was a source of methane and nitrous oxide, the carbon dioxide budget was near neutral with large uncertainties. Carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires and inland waters largely offset the sink in vegetated ecosystems. Uncertainties in estimates would be narrowed by increasing the number of in situ flux measurements in various ecosystems, sharpening ecosystem classifications, and integrating fluxes from disturbances. According to the researchers large uncertainty ranges in these estimates point to a need for further expansion of monitoring networks, continued data synthesis efforts, and better integration of field observations, remote sensing data, and ecosystem models to constrain the contemporary net GHG budgets of the permafrost region and track their future trajectory… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The BAWLD-RECCAP2 region defined as the northern permafrost extent… Credit: Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 03 April 2024Â