ALBERT

Description: Data were analyzed to study the role of an winter ice cover for methane cycles of three different stages in the lake-lagoon-shelf transition in a region of rapidly thawing permafrost in northeast Siberia. Dissolved methane concentrations and stable carbon isotopic signature of methane as well as hydrochemical parameters, as stable water isotope composition, electrical conductivity, dissolved organic carbon and temperature were analyzed in ice cores. The ice cores were taken at Tiksi Bay (core 27-30), Polar Fox Lagoon (core 31 and 32), and Goltsovoye Lake (core 20-24) in April 2017.

Description: Ponds smaller than 10 000 m2 likely account for about one-third of the global lake perimeter. The release of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from these ponds is often high and significant on the landscape scale. We measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes in a temperate peatland in southern Ontario, Canada, in summer 2014 along a transect from the open water of a small pond (847 m2) towards the surrounding floating mat (5993 m2) and in a peatland reference area. We used a high-frequency closed chamber technique and distinguished between diffusive and ebullitive CH4 fluxes. CH4 fluxes and CH4 bubble frequency increased from a median of 0.14 (0.00 to 0.43) mmol m−2 h−1 and 4 events m−2 h−1 on the open water to a median of 0.80 (0.20 to 14.97) mmol m−2 h−1 and 168 events m−2 h−1 on the floating mat. The mat was a summer hot spot of CH4 emissions. Fluxes were 1 order of magnitude higher than at an adjacent peatland site. During daytime the pond was a net source of CO2 equivalents to the atmosphere amounting to 0.13 (−0.02 to 1.06) g CO2 equivalents m−2 h−1, whereas the adjacent peatland site acted as a sink of −0.78 (−1.54 to 0.29) g CO2 equivalents m−2 h−1. The photosynthetic CO2 uptake on the floating mat did not counterbalance the high CH4 emissions, which turned the floating mat into a strong net source of 0.21 (−0.11 to 2.12) g CO2 equivalents m−2 h−1. This study highlights the large small-scale variability of CH4 fluxes and CH4 bubble frequency at the peatland–pond interface and the importance of the often large ecotone areas surrounding small ponds as a source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Description: The thermokarst lakes of permafrost regions play a major role in the global carbon cycle. These lakes are sources of methane to the atmosphere although the methane flux is restricted by an ice cover for most of the year. How methane concentrations and fluxes in these waters are affected by the presence of an ice cover is poorly understood. To relate water body morphology, ice formation and methane to each other, we studied the ice of three different water bodies in locations typical of the transition of permafrost from land to ocean in a continuous permafrost coastal region in Siberia. In total, 11 ice cores were analyzed as records of the freezing process and methane composition during the winter season. The three water bodies differed in terms of connectivity to the sea, which affected fall freezing. The first was a bay underlain by submarine permafrost (Tiksi Bay, BY), the second a shallow thermokarst lagoon cut off from the sea in winter (Polar Fox Lagoon, LG) and the third a land-locked freshwater thermokarst lake (Goltsovoye Lake, LK). Ice on all water bodies was mostly methane-supersaturated with respect to atmospheric equilibrium concentration, except for three cores from the isolated lake. In the isolated thermokarst lake, ebullition from actively thawing basin slopes resulted in the localized integration of methane into winter ice. Stable δ13CCH4 isotope signatures indicated that methane in the lagoon ice was oxidized to concentrations close to or below the calculated atmospheric equilibrium concentration. Increasing salinity during winter freezing led to a micro-environment on the lower ice surface where methane oxidation occurred and the lagoon ice functioned as a methane sink. In contrast, the ice of the coastal marine environment was slightly supersaturated with methane, consistent with the brackish water below. Our interdisciplinary process study shows how water body morphology affects ice formation which mitigates methane fluxes to the atmosphere.

Description: Permafrost thaw affects global climate, the land surface and coastal structures. Under subaquatic conditions, permafrost thaw is often more rapid than on land. The thaw depth below water bodies (taliks) and changes in biogeochemical gradients are difficult to predict. The influence of taliks and biogeochemical gradients on the production and release of the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide is not clear yet. Although our research in this region has produced multi-decadal data sets, most of our knowledge on the methane cycle pertains only to the summer. We focus on water bodies in the Lena Delta region, including thermokarst ponds, lakes, lagoons and the marine shoreface. For most of the year, however, ice covers these water bodies, creating a barrier between the water column and the atmosphere, and changing benthic conditions. It is therefore important to assess methane-related processes during the ice-covered season. In spring 2017 we investigated the Lena Delta and Tiksi Bay at the end of winter, while still ice-covered. Thirty ice cores of different water bodies were obtained by Kovacs ice corer. The in situ temperature of the ice cores was measured immediately afterwards. Methane oxidation rates were determined with radio tracer method in melted ice core samples. Analyses of methane concentration and further hydrochemical analyses are on their way. Initial results indicate rather low activities of methane oxidation in the ice cores, but active biological processes in the water below.

Description: Permafrost thaw affects global climate, the land surface and coastal structures. Under subaquatic conditions, permafrost thaw is often more rapid than on land. The thaw depth below water bodies (taliks) and changes in biogeochemical gradients are difficult to predict. The influence of taliks and biogeochemical gradients on the production and release of the greenhouse gases methane and carbon dioxide is not clear yet. Although our research in this region has produced multi-decadal data sets, most of our knowledge on the methane cycle pertains only to the summer. We focus on water bodies in the Lena Delta region, including thermokarst ponds, lakes, lagoons and the marine shoreface. For most of the year, however, ice covers these water bodies, creating a barrier between the water column and the atmosphere, and changing benthic conditions. It is therefore important to assess methane-related processes during the ice-covered season. In spring 2017 we investigated the Lena Delta and Tiksi Bay at the end of winter, while still ice-covered. Thirty ice cores of different water bodies were obtained by Kovacs ice corer. The in situ temperature of the ice cores was measured immediately afterwards. Methane oxidation rates were determined with radio tracer method in melted ice core samples. Analyses of methane concentration and further hydrochemical analyses are on their way. Initial results indicate rather low activities of methane oxidation in the ice cores, but active biological processes in the water below.

Description: Permafrost regions, and especially thermokarst lakes, play a major role in the global carbon cycle and in the context of global warming. Thermokarst lakes and lagoons are sources of methane to the atmosphere. This process is restricted by an ice cover during the winter. However, the fate of methane below and in the ice of shallow thermokarst lakes, lagoons and coastal waters is poorly understood. This study focuses on winter ice from two different water bodies in a region of thawing permafrost in northeast Siberia. One is a shallow thermokarst lagoon and the other a bay underlain by submarine permafrost. The two water bodies are semi-closed and open water systems, respectively, with different stages of permafrost degradation. Ice cores were used as records of the freezing process and methane pathways. Hydrochemical parameters, as stable water isotope composition, electrical conductivity, dissolved organic carbon and temperature as well as methane concentrations and stable carbon isotopic signature in the ice were analyzed. Measured parameters differed between and within the two water bodies. The hydrochemical parameters indicated freezing in a semi-closed system for the thermokarst lagoon, where ice growth eventually cuts off exchange between the lagoon and the sea. In the bay, hydrochemistry indicated an open system. Ice on both water bodies was mostly methane-supersaturated with respect to the atmospheric equilibrium concentration. Methane concentration in the ice of the Lagoon varied greatly with highest concentrations at the ice-water interface. Stable isotope signatures indicated that methane above the ice-water interface was oxidized to concentrations close to or below the calculated atmospheric equilibrium concentration. In comparison to the Lagoon, the Bay ice had generally lower methane concentrations. Nevertheless, methane oxidation in ice is a potentially effective process in decreasing methane concentrations in shallow thermokarst lagoons during the winter. As further warming of the Arctic shortens the duration of ice cover, methane pathways will probably shift. An understanding of the limits of methane oxidation in lake and sea ice is critical to understand their role in mitigating Arctic feedbacks to global warming.

Description: The thermokarst lakes of permafrost regions play a major role in the global carbon cycle. These lakes are sources of methane to the atmosphere although the methane flux is restricted by an ice cover for most of the year. How methane concentrations and fluxes in these waters are affected by the presence of an ice cover is poorly understood. To relate water body morphology, ice formation and methane to each other, we studied the ice of three different water bodies in locations typical of the transition of permafrost from land to ocean in a continuous permafrost coastal region in Siberia. In total, 11 ice cores were analyzed as records of the freezing process and methane composition during the winter season. The three water bodies differed in terms of connectivity to the sea, which affected fall freezing. The first was a bay underlain by submarine permafrost (Tiksi Bay, BY), the second a shallow thermokarst lagoon cut off from the sea in winter (Polar Fox Lagoon, LG) and the third a land-locked freshwater thermokarst lake (Goltsovoye Lake, LK). Ice on all water bodies was mostly methane-supersaturated with respect to atmospheric equilibrium concentration, except for three cores from the isolated lake. In the isolated thermokarst lake, ebullition from actively thawing basin slopes resulted in the localized integration of methane into winter ice. Stable δ13C-CH4 isotope signatures indicated that methane in the lagoon ice was oxidized to concentrations close to or below the calculated atmospheric equilibrium concentration. Increasing salinity during winter freezing led to a micro-environment on the lower ice surface where methane oxidation occurred and the lagoon ice functioned as a methane sink. In contrast, the ice of the coastal marine environment was slightly supersaturated with methane, consistent with the brackish water below. Our interdisciplinary process study shows how water body morphology affects ice formation which mitigates methane fluxes to the atmosphere.