FolioStart free

Environmental Science · Literature

Research papers on Permafrost thaw and methane

Recent and highly-cited academic work on permafrost thaw and methane, gathered from Semantic Scholar, CrossRef and OpenAlex.

Search all 200M+ papers on this topic, free →Or track new permafrost thaw and methane papers automatically as they publish

  6. Permafrost degradation and methane: low risk of biogeochemical climate-warming feedback

    Xiang Gao, C. Schlosser, A. Sokolov, et al. · 2013 · Environmental Research Letters · 60 citations

    Climate change and permafrost thaw have been suggested to increase high latitude methane emissions that could potentially represent a strong feedback to the climate system. Using an integrated earth-system model framework, we examine the degradation of near-surface permafrost, temporal dynamics of inundation (lakes and wetlands) induced by hydro-climatic change, subsequent methane emission, and potential climate feedback. We find that increases in atmospheric CH4 and its radiative forcing, which result from the thawed, inundated emission sources, are small, particularly when weighed against human emissions. The additional warming, across the range of climate policy and uncertainties in the c

    Save this paper

  9. Decadal-scale hotspot methane ebullition within lakes following abrupt permafrost thaw

    K. W. Walter Anthony, P. Lindgren, P. Hanke, et al. · 2020 · Environmental Research Letters · 45 citations

    Thermokarst lakes accelerate deep permafrost thaw and the mobilization of previously frozen soil organic carbon. This leads to microbial decomposition and large releases of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) that enhance climate warming. However, the time scale of permafrost-carbon emissions following thaw is not well known but is important for understanding how abrupt permafrost thaw impacts climate feedback. We combined field measurements and radiocarbon dating of CH4 ebullition with (a) an assessment of lake area changes delineated from high-resolution (1–2.5 m) optical imagery and (b) geophysical measurements of thaw bulbs (taliks) to determine the spatiotemporal dynamics of hotspot-

    Save this paper

  10. The next generation of climate model should account for the evolution of mineral-organic interactions with permafrost thaw

    S. Opfergelt · 2020 · Environmental Research Letters · 39 citations

    The Earth’s high latitude regions are warming twice as fast as the global average which enhances the thawing of permafrost, i.e. the perennially frozen ground which underlies about 25% of the exposed land surface in the Northern Hemisphere (Brown et al 1998). Permafrost thaw exposes previously frozen organic carbon (OC) to microbial decomposition with subsequent emission of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) into the atmosphere, creating positive feedback on global warming, i.e. the permafrost carbon feedback (Schuur et al 2015). Permafrost contains 1460–1600 GtC, almost twice the C in the atmosphere (IPCC 2019), and 15± 3% of that OC stock could be emitted as greenh

    Save this paper

  11. Century-scale time since permafrost thaw affects temperature sensitivity of net methane production in thermokarst-lake and talik sediments.

    J. Heslop, K. W. Walter Anthony, G. Grosse, et al. · 2019 · The Science of the total environment · 24 citations

    Permafrost thaw subjects previously frozen soil organic carbon (SOC) to microbial degradation to the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Emission of these gases constitutes a positive feedback to climate warming. Among numerous uncertainties in estimating the strength of this permafrost carbon feedback (PCF), two are: (i) how mineralization of permafrost SOC thawed in saturated anaerobic conditions responds to changes in temperature and (ii) how microbial communities and temperature sensitivities change over time since thaw. To address these uncertainties, we utilized a thermokarst-lake sediment core as a natural chronosequence where SOC thawed and incubated in situ unde

    Save this paper

  12. Carbon Dioxide and Methane Release Following Abrupt Thaw of Pleistocene Permafrost Deposits in Arctic Siberia

    C. Knoblauch, C. Beer, Alexander Schuett, et al. · 2021 · Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences · 23 citations

    The decomposition of thawing permafrost organic matter (OM) to the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane forms a positive feedback to global climate change. Data on in situ GHG fluxes from thawing permafrost OM are scarce and OM degradability is largely unknown, causing high uncertainties in the permafrost‐carbon climate feedback. We combined in situ CO2 and methane flux measurements at an abrupt permafrost thaw feature with laboratory incubations and dynamic modeling to quantify annual CO2 release from thawing permafrost OM, estimate its in situ degradability and evaluate the explanatory power of incubation experiments. In July 2016 and 2019, CO2 fluxes ranged between 0.24

    Save this paper

  13. Influence of permafrost thaw on an extreme geologic methane seep

    Taylor D. Sullivan, A. Parsekian, Jane Sharp, et al. · 2021 · Permafrost and Periglacial Processes · 13 citations

    The occurrence and magnitude of natural fossil methane (CH4) emissions in the Arctic are poorly known. Emission of geologic CH4, a potent greenhouse gas, originating beneath permafrost is of particular interest due to the potential for positive feedback to climate warming, whereby accelerated permafrost thaw releases permafrost‐trapped CH4 in a future warmer climate. The development of through‐going taliks in Arctic lakes overlying hydrocarbon reservoirs is one mechanism of releasing geologically sourced, subpermafrost CH4. Here we use novel gas flux measurements, geophysical observations of the subsurface, shallow sediment coring, high‐resolution bathymetry measurements, and lake water chem

    Save this paper

  14. Effect of methane mitigation on global temperature under a permafrost feedback

    Hannah Bäck, Riley May, D. Naidu, et al. · 2023 · Global Environmental Change Advances · 10 citations

    Earth systems may fall into an undesirable system state if 1.5 degrees celsius (C) of warming is exceeded. Carbon release from substantial permafrost stocks vulnerable to near-term warming represents a positive climate feedback that may increase the risk of 1.5 C warming or greater. Methane (CH4) is a short-lived but powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28.5 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 100 year time span. Because permafrost thaw in the coming centuries is partly determined by the warming in the 21st century, rapid reductions in methane emissions early in the 21st century could have far reaching effects. We use a reduced complexity carbon cycle model and a per

    Save this paper

  15. Panarctic lakes exerted a small positive feedback on early Holocene warming due to deglacial release of methane

    L. Brosius, K. W. Walter Anthony, C. Treat, et al. · 2023 · Communications Earth & Environment · 10 citations

    Climate-driven permafrost thaw can release ancient carbon to the atmosphere, begetting further warming in a positive feedback loop. Polar ice core data and young radiocarbon ages of dissolved methane in thermokarst lakes have challenged the importance of this feedback, but field studies did not adequately account for older methane released from permafrost through bubbling. We synthesized panarctic isotope and emissions datasets to derive integrated ages of panarctic lake methane fluxes. Methane age in modern thermokarst lakes (3132 ± 731 years before present) reflects remobilization of ancient carbon. Thermokarst-lake methane emissions fit within the constraints imposed by polar ice core dat

    Save this paper

  17. Metabolic Redox Coupling Controls Methane Production in Permafrost‐Affected Peatlands Through Organic Matter Quality‐Dependent Energy Allocation

    John A. Bouranis, Bridget B. McGivern, G. Makke, et al. · 2025 · Global Change Biology · 5 citations

    Permafrost thaw represents one of Earth's largest climate feedback risks, potentially releasing vast carbon (C) stores as greenhouse gases (GHG). However, our ability to predict emissions remains limited by poor understanding of how changing organic matter (OM) composition affects microbial carbon processing. We test a metabolism‐centered redox framework, which views microbial processes as coupled oxidative‐reductive reactions, to mechanistically explain how organic matter metabolite quality controls greenhouse gas production in permafrost‐affected peatland ecosystems. Rather than relying solely on geochemical redox measurements, our approach examines how microbes balance electron flow throu

    Save this paper

  18. Hydrology controls thermokarst and alters carbon cycling and methane emissions in peatlands near the southern limit of permafrost

    I. Shirley, Z. Mekonnen, Robert F. Grant, et al. · 2025 · Environmental Research Letters · 1 citations

    Permafrost peatlands store vast amounts of frozen carbon across northern landscapes. When ground ice melts, surface subsidence produces thermokarst landforms that expand wetlands at the edges of permafrost plateaus. Thermokarst represents an accelerating climate feedback, but uncertainties remain about how ground ice, hydrology, and vegetation interact to shape landscape change and carbon fluxes. We extended the process-based model ecosys to simulate thermokarst dynamics in laterally coupled 2D transects at a well-characterized boreal peatland site in Canada’s Northwest Territories. After benchmarking against site observations, we varied ground ice content and hydrologic boundary conditions

    Save this paper

  20. Permafrost carbon–climate feedback amplifies Earth system tipping risks

    N. Steinert, Gregory Munday, M. Sandstad, et al. · 2026 · Environmental Research Letters

    Global warming leads to widespread permafrost thaw and subsequent emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, driving the permafrost carbon–climate feedback (PCF) which amplifies climate change. Many current-generation climate models omit this feedback, limiting projections of long-term temperature outcomes and associated Earth system tipping risks. Here, we investigate how this feedback affects the risk and timing of crossing tipping points in the Earth system by integrating permafrost carbon emissions into temperature projections for idealized stabilization and overshoot scenarios. In a conceptual network model of interacting climate tipping elements—including the Greenland and West Antarctic

    Save this paper

  21. Permafrost resilience in the era of climate change and Earth system modeling

    A. Rawat, S. Chatterjee, C. Van Cauwenberghe · 2025 · Open Access Government

    In this analysis from Everest Group, explore the resilience of permafrost in the context of climate change and earth system modeling, with an emphasis on how science and technology are enhancing Arctic stability and global risk management. Permafrost – perennially frozen ground composed of soil, rock, and organic material – underpins nearly one-quarter of the Northern Hemisphere’s land surface. It stabilizes Arctic ecosystems, supports infrastructure, and locks away vast stores of carbon accumulated over millennia. But with global temperatures rising, this frozen foundation is rapidly degrading. Thaw-induced disruptions extend far beyond local impacts. Crumbling buildings, collapsing roa

    Save this paper

  22. Nutrients unlocked from permafrost thaw affect microbial methane metabolism

    N. N. Kashi, R. Varner, N. R. Thorp, et al. · 2020

    <p>The biological conversion of frozen carbon-rich soil (permafrost) into greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide could cause a positive feedback to climate change. Another significant consequence of permafrost thaw is the collapse of soil structure and subsequent higher water table that can shift vegetation toward water-adapted plant communities that emit high concentrations of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>). Plants and microbes respond rapidly to labile carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) released from permafrost thaw, however, the microbial response to phosphorus (P) is unknown. &#160;Here we investigated how the nutrient status of permafrost and peat affect microbial activities in four minerotrophic

    Save this paper

  23. Permafrost thaw spurs methane emissions

    Katherine Bourzac · 2019 · C&EN Global Enterprise

    Arctic soil that’s been frozen for thousands of years is thawing at an alarming rate due to climate change. Melting permafrost frees up water and nutrients that could spur the growth of methane-producing bacteria and methane-transporting plants. Scientific modeling suggests this could cause a disastrous positive-feedback loop, whereby increased methane emissions cause further warming, which thaws more permafrost, leading to more methane emissions, and so on. Now researchers report experimental evidence for the connection between nutrients released from permafrost thaw and increased methane emissions. Mark Lara, a plant biologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his team

    Save this paper

  24. Topological climate change with permafrost feedback

    Kolja L. Kypke, W. Langford, Nathaniel Nethercott, et al. · 2021 · Journal of Physics: Conference Series

    Climate models predict that the climate of the Earth is warming and will continue to warm in coming centuries, if there is no mitigation. A recent energy balance model [Kypke et al., Nonlin. Process. Geophys. 27 (2020) 391–409] forecasts that, if the current increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues unabated, then in the next century the climate of the Earth will not only get warmer, but will transition abruptly via a bifurcation, to a warm equable climate unlike any climate seen on Earth since the Pliocene. This transition to a new climate state is a topological change. That model includes the effects of water vapour feedback and ice albedo feedback, as well as ocean and atmosp

    Save this paper

Write your paper with these sources

Folio is the integrity-first research workspace: search 200M+ papers, save sources, and write with citations that format themselves. Free for students and researchers.

Start writing free →