Carbon dioxide sources from Alaska driven by increasing early winter respiration from Arctic tundra.

ABSTRACT: High-latitude ecosystems have the capacity to release large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the atmosphere in response to increasing temperatures, representing a potentially significant positive feedback within the climate system. Here, we combine aircraft and tower observations of atmospheric CO₂ with remote sensing data and meteorological products to derive temporally and spatially resolved year-round CO₂ fluxes across Alaska during 2012-2014. We find that tundra ecosystems were a net source of CO₂ to the atmosphere annually, with especially high rates of respiration during early winter (October through December). Long-term records at Barrow, AK, suggest that CO₂ emission rates from North Slope tundra have increased during the Oct

SUBMITTER: Commane R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5448179 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature