Circumpolar distribution and carbon storage of thermokarst landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Thermokarst is the process whereby the thawing of ice-rich permafrost ground causes land subsidence, resulting in development of distinctive landforms. Accelerated thermokarst due to climate change will damage infrastructure, but also impact hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry. Here, we present a circumpolar assessment of the distribution of thermokarst landscapes, defined as landscapes comprised of current thermokarst landforms and areas susceptible to future thermokarst development. At 3.6 × 10⁶ km², thermokarst landscapes are estimated to cover ∼20% of the northern permafrost region, with approximately equal contributions from three landscape types where characteristic wetland, lake and hillslope thermokarst landforms occur. We estimate that approximately half o

SUBMITTER: Olefeldt D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5062615 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature