ALBERT

Description: Soils are an important compartment of ecosystems and have the ability to immobilize chemicals preventing their movement to other environment compartments. Predicted climatic changes together with other anthropogenic influences on Arctic terrestrial environments may affect biogeochemical processes enhancing leaching and migration of trace elements in permafrost-affected soils. This is especially important since the Arctic ecosystems are considered to be very sensitive to climatic changes as well as to chemical contamination. This study characterizes background levels of trace metals in permafrost-affected soils of the Lena River Delta and its hinterland in northern Siberia (73.5° N–69.5° N) representing a remote region far from evident anthropogenic trace metal sources. Investigations on total element contents of iron (Fe), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co) and mercury (Hg) in different soil types developed in different geological parent materials have been carried out. The highest concentrations of the majority of the measured elements were observed in soils belonging to ice-rich permafrost sediments formed during the Pleistocene (ice-complex) in the Lena River Delta region. Correlation analyses of trace metal concentrations and soil chemical and physical properties at a Holocene estuarine terrace and two modern floodplain levels in the southern-central Lena River Delta (Samoylov Island) showed that the main factors controlling the trace metal distribution in these soils are organic matter content, soil texture and contents of iron and manganese-oxides. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that soil oxides play a significant role in trace metal distribution in both top and bottom horizons. Occurrence of organic matter contributes to Cd binding in top soils and Cu binding in bottom horizons. Observed ranges of the background concentrations of the majority of trace elements were similar to background levels reported for other pristine arctic areas and did not exceed mean global background concentrations examined for the continental crust as well as for the world's soils.

Description: Permafrost-affected soils have accumulated enormous pools of organic matter during the Quaternary period. The area occupied by these soils amounts to more than 8.6 million km2, which is about 27% of all land areas north of 50° N. Therefore, permafrost-affected soils are considered to be one of the important cryosphere elements within the climate system. Due to the cryopedogenic processes that form these particular soils and the overlying vegetation that is adapted to the arctic climate, organic matter has accumulated to the present extent of up to 1024 Pg (1 Pg = 1015 g = 1 Gt) of soil organic carbon stored within the uppermost 3 m of ground. Considering the observed progressive climate change and the projected polar amplification, permafrost-affected soils will undergo fundamental property changes. Higher turnover and mineralisation rates of the organic matter are consequences of these changes, which are expected to result in an increased release of climate-relevant trace gases into the atmosphere. The controversy of whether permafrost regions continue accumulating carbon or already function as a carbon source remains open until today. An increased focus on this subject matter, especially in underrepresented Siberian regions, could contribute to a more robust estimation of the soil organic carbon pool of permafrost regions and at the same time improve the understanding of the carbon sink and source functions of permafrost-affected soils.

Description: Permafrost-affected soils have accumulated enormous pools of organic matter during the Quaternary Period. The area occupied by these soils amounts to more than 8.6 million km2, which is about 27% of all land areas north of 50° N. Therefore, permafrost-affected soils are considered to be one of the most important cryosphere elements within the climate system. Due to the cryopedogenic processes that form these particular soils and the overlying vegetation that is adapted to the arctic climate, organic matter has accumulated to the present extent of up to 1024 Pg (1 Pg = 1015 g = 1 Gt) of soil organic carbon stored within the uppermost three meters of ground. Considering the observed progressive climate change and the projected polar amplification, permafrost-affected soils will undergo fundamental property changes. Higher turnover and mineralization rates of the organic matter are consequences of these changes, which are expected to result in an increased release of climate-relevant trace gases into the atmosphere. As a result, permafrost regions with their distinctive soils are likely to trigger an important tipping point within the global climate system, with additional political and social implications. The controversy of whether permafrost regions continue accumulating carbon or already function as a carbon source remains open until today. An increased focus on this subject matter, especially in underrepresented Siberian regions, could contribute to a more robust estimation of the soil organic carbon pool of permafrost regions and at the same time improve the understanding of the carbon sink and source functions of permafrost-affected soils.

Description: The Lena River Delta, which is the largest delta in the Arctic, extends over an area of 32 000 km2 and likely holds more than half of the entire soil organic carbon mass stored in the seven major deltas in the northern permafrost regions. The geomorphic units of the Lena River Delta which were formed by true deltaic sedimentation processes are a Holocene river terrace and the active floodplains. Their mean soil organic carbon stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 29 kg m−2 ± 10 kg m−2 and at 14 kg m−2 ± 7 kg m−2, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total soil organic carbon pool of the Holocene river terrace was estimated at 121 Tg ± 43 Tg, and the soil organic carbon pool of the active floodplains was estimated at 120 Tg ± 66 Tg. The mass of soil organic carbon stored within the observed seasonally thawed active layer was estimated at about 127 Tg assuming an average maximum active layer depth of 50 cm. The soil organic carbon mass which is stored in the perennially frozen ground below 50 cm soil depth, which is excluded from intense biogeochemical exchange with the atmosphere, was estimated at 113 Tg. The mean nitrogen (N) stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 1.2 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the Holocene river terrace and at 0.9 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the active floodplain levels, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total N pool of the river terrace was estimated at 4.8 Tg ± 1.5 Tg, and the total N pool of the floodplains was estimated at 7.7 Tg ± 3.6 Tg. Considering the projections for deepening of the seasonally thawed active layer up to 120 cm in the Lena River Delta region within the 21st century, these large carbon and nitrogen stocks could become increasingly available for decomposition and mineralization processes.

Description: Soils and other unconsolidated deposits in the northern circumpolar permafrost region store large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC). This SOC is potentially vulnerable to remobilization following soil warming and permafrost thaw, but stock estimates are poorly constrained and quantitative error estimates were lacking. This study presents revised estimates of the permafrost SOC pool, including quantitative uncertainty estimates, in the 0–3 m depth range in soils as well as for deeper sediments (〉3 m) in deltaic deposits of major rivers and in the Yedoma region of Siberia and Alaska. The revised estimates are based on significantly larger databases compared to previous studies. Compared to previous studies, the number of individual sites/pedons has increased by a factor ×8–11 for soils in the 1–3 m depth range,, a factor ×8 for deltaic alluvium and a factor ×5 for Yedoma region deposits. Upscaled based on regional soil maps, estimated permafrost region SOC stocks are 217 ± 15 and 472 ± 34 Pg for the 0–0.3 m and 0–1 m soil depths, respectively (±95% confidence intervals). Depending on the regional subdivision used to upscale 1–3 m soils (following physiography or continents), estimated 0–3 m SOC storage is 1034 ± 183 Pg or 1104 ± 133 Pg. Of this, 34 ± 16 Pg C is stored in thin soils of the High Arctic. Based on generalised calculations, storage of SOC in deep deltaic alluvium (〉3 m to ≤60 m depth) of major Arctic rivers is estimated to 91 ± 39 Pg (of which 69 ± 34 Pg is in permafrost). In the Yedoma region, estimated 〉3 m SOC stocks are 178 +140/−146 Pg, of which 74 +54/−57 Pg is stored in intact, frozen Yedoma (late Pleistocene ice- and organic-rich silty sediments) with the remainder in refrozen thermokarst deposits (±16/84th percentiles of bootstrapped estimates). A total estimated mean storage for the permafrost region of ca. 1300–1370 Pg with an uncertainty range of 930–1690 Pg encompasses the combined revised estimates. Of this, ≤819–836 Pg is perennially frozen. While some components of the revised SOC stocks are similar in magnitude to those previously reported for this region, there are also substantial differences in individual components. There is evidence of remaining regional data-gaps. Estimates remain particularly poorly constrained for soils in the High Arctic region and physiographic regions with thin sedimentary overburden (mountains, highlands and plateaus) as well as for 〉3 m depth deposits in deltas and the Yedoma region.

Description: The Lena River Delta, which is the largest delta in the Arctic, extends over an area of 32 000 km2 and likely holds more than half of the entire soil organic carbon (SOC) mass stored in the seven major deltas in the northern permafrost regions. The geomorphic units of the Lena River Delta which were formed by true deltaic sedimentation processes are a Holocene river terrace and the active floodplains. Their mean SOC stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 29 kg m−2 ± 10 kg m−2 and at 14 kg m−2 ± 7 kg m−2, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total SOC pool of the Holocene river terrace was estimated at 121 Tg ± 43 Tg, and the SOC pool of the active floodplains was estimated at 120 Tg ± 66 Tg. The mass of SOC stored within the observed seasonally thawed active layer was estimated at about 127 Tg assuming an average maximum active layer depth of 50 cm. The SOC mass which is stored in the perennially frozen ground at the increment 50–100 cm soil depth, which is currently excluded from intense biogeochemical exchange with the atmosphere, was estimated at 113 Tg. The mean nitrogen (N) stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 1.2 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the Holocene river terrace and at 0.9 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the active floodplain levels, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total N pool of the river terrace was estimated at 4.8 Tg ± 1.5 Tg, and the total N pool of the floodplains was estimated at 7.7 Tg ± 3.6 Tg. Considering the projections for deepening of the seasonally thawed active layer up to 120 cm in the Lena River Delta region within the 21st century, these large carbon and nitrogen stocks could become increasingly available for decomposition and mineralization processes.

Description: Soils are an important compartment of ecosystems and have the ability to buffer and immobilize substances of natural and anthropogenic origin to prevent their movement to other environment compartments. Predicted climatic changes together with other anthropogenic influences on Arctic terrestrial environments may affect biogeochemical processes enhancing leaching and migration of trace elements in permafrost-affected soils. This is especially important since Arctic ecosystems are considered to be highly sensitive to climatic changes as well as to chemical contamination. This study characterises background levels of trace metals in permafrost-affected soils of the Lena River delta and its hinterland in northern Siberia (73.5–69.5° N), representing a remote region far from evident anthropogenic trace metal sources. Investigations on the element content of iron (Fe), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), and mercury (Hg) in different soil types developed in different geological parent materials have been carried out. The highest median concentrations of Fe and Mn were observed in soils belonging to ice-rich permafrost sediments formed during the Pleistocene (ice-complex) while the highest median values of Ni, Pb and Zn were found in soils of both the ice-complex and the Holocene estuarine terrace of the Lena River delta region, as well as in the southernmost study unit of the hinterland area. Detailed observations of trace metal distribution on the micro scale showed that organic matter content, soil texture and iron-oxide contents influenced by cryogenic processes, temperature, and hydrological regimes are the most important factors determining the metal abundance in permafrost-affected soils. The observed range of trace element background concentrations was similar to trace metal levels reported for other pristine northern areas.

Description: Soils and other unconsolidated deposits in the northern circumpolar permafrost region store large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC). This SOC is potentially vulnerable to remobilization following soil warming and permafrost thaw, but SOC stock estimates were poorly constrained and quantitative error estimates were lacking. This study presents revised estimates of permafrost SOC stocks, including quantitative uncertainty estimates, in the 0–3 m depth range in soils as well as for sediments deeper than 3 m in deltaic deposits of major rivers and in the Yedoma region of Siberia and Alaska. Revised estimates are based on significantly larger databases compared to previous studies. Despite this there is evidence of significant remaining regional data gaps. Estimates remain particularly poorly constrained for soils in the High Arctic region and physiographic regions with thin sedimentary overburden (mountains, highlands and plateaus) as well as for deposits below 3 m depth in deltas and the Yedoma region. While some components of the revised SOC stocks are similar in magnitude to those previously reported for this region, there are substantial differences in other components, including the fraction of perennially frozen SOC. Upscaled based on regional soil maps, estimated permafrost region SOC stocks are 217 ± 12 and 472 ± 27 Pg for the 0–0.3 and 0–1 m soil depths, respectively (±95% confidence intervals). Storage of SOC in 0–3 m of soils is estimated to 1035 ± 150 Pg. Of this, 34 ± 16 Pg C is stored in poorly developed soils of the High Arctic. Based on generalized calculations, storage of SOC below 3 m of surface soils in deltaic alluvium of major Arctic rivers is estimated as 91 ± 52 Pg. In the Yedoma region, estimated SOC stocks below 3 m depth are 181 ± 54 Pg, of which 74 ± 20 Pg is stored in intact Yedoma (late Pleistocene ice- and organic-rich silty sediments) with the remainder in refrozen thermokarst deposits. Total estimated SOC storage for the permafrost region is ∼1300 Pg with an uncertainty range of ∼1100 to 1500 Pg. Of this, ∼500 Pg is in non-permafrost soils, seasonally thawed in the active layer or in deeper taliks, while ∼800 Pg is perennially frozen. This represents a substantial ∼300 Pg lowering of the estimated perennially frozen SOC stock compared to previous estimates.