Abstracts
SEARCH Open Science Meeting
October 27, 2003
Seattle, Washington, USA
Carbon Storage and the Role of Cryoturbation in the High Arctic: Thule, Greenland
Jennifer L. Horwath1, Ronald S. Sletten2
1Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA, Phone 206-543-1166, Fax 206-543-3836, horwath@u.washington.edu
2Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA, Phone 206-543-0571, Fax 206-543-3836, sletten@u.washington.edu
Cryoturbation, a suite of physical process that mix, heave, and thrust material, is common to most soils of the High Arctic. This process is likely to influence carbon cycling by burying carbon to depth and exposing previously buried carbon. Cryoturbation is controlled largely by three factors: the frequency and rate of freeze-thaw cycles, soil moisture, and soil texture. The first two factors may be altered due to anticipated increased warming and precipitation, which is predicted to be drastic in the High Arctic. Carbon storage in the High Arctic is largely unknown and current estimates are based primarily on the upper 20-25 cm of soil (Bliss and Matveyeva, 1992). Our research, based on subsurface exposures and patterned ground features, will provide a more complete assessment of the amount of carbon stored at depth in the High Arctic and the role of cryoturbation in soil carbon accumulation.
Fieldwork began in summer of 2003 at the Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland (76°N, 68°W) and sampling was conducted in three vegetation community types: Polar Desert, Polar Semi-desert, and Fens. Soil samples will be analyzed for particle size distribution and carbon content, and a selection of samples 14C dated to estimate long-term soil carbon turnover rates. Future sampling will be conducted on silicate and carbonate dominated parent material along elevation-moisture transects of the three community types to capture carbon variations that may occur in lithology, topography, and community.
This research is a component of a multidisciplinary, multi-university National Science Foundation (NSF) biocomplexity project (#0221606) studying the interactions of physical, chemical, and biological processes in controlling carbon cycling in the High Arctic. Impacts of our combined results will provide better estimates of carbon storage and its potential release or sequestration in High Arctic soils.
Abstract Categories: Changes on Land, Student Poster
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