Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Permafrost thawing in organic Arctic soils accelerated by ground heat production

Nature Climate Change volume 5, pages 574–578 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Decomposition of organic carbon from thawing permafrost soils and the resulting release of carbon to the atmosphere are considered to represent a potentially critical global-scale feedback on climate change1,2. The accompanying heat production from microbial metabolism of organic material has been recognized as a potential positive-feedback mechanism that would enhance permafrost thawing and the release of carbon3,4. This internal heat production is poorly understood, however, and the strength of this effect remains unclear3. Here, we have quantified the variability of heat production in contrasting organic permafrost soils across Greenland and tested the hypothesis that these soils produce enough heat to reach a tipping point after which internal heat production can accelerate the decomposition processes. Results show that the impact of climate changes on natural organic soils can be accelerated by microbial heat production with crucial implications for the amounts of carbon being decomposed. The same is shown to be true for organic middens5 with the risk of losing unique evidence of early human presence in the Arctic.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Study site locations.
Figure 2: Heat production during incubation at 16 °C.
Figure 3: Simulated soil temperatures.
Figure 4: Simulated organic carbon loss in the Disko Bay area.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Schuur, E. A. G. et al. Vulnerability of permafrost carbon to climate change: Implications for the global carbon cycle. Bioscience 58, 701–714 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Schaefer, K. et al. The impact of the permafrost carbon feedback on global climate. Environ. Res. Lett. 9, 085003 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Khvorostyanov, D. V. et al. Vulnerability of permafrost carbon to global warming. Part I: model description and role of heat generated by organic matter decomposition. Tellus B 60, 250–264 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Heimann, M. & Reichstein, M. Terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics and climate feedbacks. Nature 451, 289–292 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Rasmussen, M. et al. Ancient human genome sequence of an extinct Palaeo-Eskimo. Nature 463, 757–762 (2010).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Tarnocai, C. et al. Soil organic carbon pools in the northern circumpolar permafrost region. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycle 23, GB2023 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hugelius, G. Estimated stocks of circumpolar permafrost carbon with quantified uncertainty ranges and identified data gaps. Biogeosciences 11, 6573–6593 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Schadel, C. et al. Circumpolar assessment of permafrost C quality and its vulnerability over time using long-term incubation data. Glob. Change Biol. 20, 641–652 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Paré, M. & Bedard-Haughn, A. Surface soil organic matter qualities of three distinct canadian arctic sites. Arctic Antarct. Alpine Res. 45, 88–98 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Biasi, C. et al. Temperature-dependent shift from labile to recalcitrant carbon sources of arctic heterotrophs. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 19, 1401–1408 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Elberling, B. et al. Paleo-Eskimo kitchen midden preservation in permafrost under future climate conditions at Qajaa, West Greenland. J. Archaeol. Sci. 38, 1331–1339 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Elberling, B., Schippers, A. & Sand, W. Bacterial and chemical oxidation of pyritic mine tailings at low temperatures. J. Contam. Hydrol. 41, 225–238 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hollesen, J., Elberling, B. & Jansson, P. E. Future active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide production from thawing permafrost layers in Northeast Greenland. Glob. Change Biol. 17, 911–926 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Matthiesen, H. A novel method to determine oxidation rates of heritage materials in vitro and in situ. Stud. Conserv. 52, 271–280 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hamdi, S. et al. Synthesis analysis of the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration from laboratory studies in relation to incubation methods and soil conditions. Soil Biol. Biochem. 58, 115–126 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Elberling, B. et al. Long-term CO2 production following permafrost thaw. Nature Clim. Change 3, 890–894 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Jansson, P. E. & Karlberg, L. Coupled Heat and Mass Transfer Model for Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Systems Report No. 3087 (Royal Institute of Technology, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004).

  18. IPCC Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (eds Stocker, T. F. et al.) 1535 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Rinke, A. & Dethloff, K. Simulated circum—Arctic climate changes by the end of the 21st century. Glob. Planet. Change 62, 173–186 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kirschbaum, M. U. F. Soil respiration under prolonged soil warming: Are rate reductions caused by acclimation or substrate loss? Glob. Change Biol. 10, 1870–1877 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Eliasson, P. E. et al. The response of heterotrophic CO2 flux to soil warming. Glob. Change Biol. 11, 167–181 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Knorr, W., Prentice, I. C., House, J. I. & Holland, E. A. Long-term sensitivity of soil carbon turnover to warming. Nature 433, 298–301 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Knoblauch, C. et al. Predicting long-term carbon mineralization and trace gas production from thawing permafrost of Northeast Siberia. Glob. Change Biol. 19, 1160–1172 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Elberling, B. Seasonal trends of soil CO2 dynamics in a soil subject to freezing. J. Hydrol. 276, 159–175 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Hollesen, J. et al. The future preservation of a permanently frozen kitchen midden in Western Greenland. Conserv. Manage. Archaeol. Sites 14, 159–168 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Matthiesen, H. et al. Degradation of archaeological wood under freezing and thawing conditions—effects of permafrost and climate change. Archaeometry 56, 479–495 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Carstensen, L. S. & Jørgensen, B. V. Weather and Climate Data from Greenland 1958–2010-Dataset Available for Research and Educational Purposes DMI Technical Report 11–10 (Danish Meteorological Institute, 2011).

  28. Christiansen, H. H. et al. Permafrost and periglacial geomorphology at Zackenberg. Adv. Ecol. Res. 40, 151–174 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Elberling, B. & Jakobsen, B. H. Soil solution pH measurements using in-line chambers with tension lysimeters. Can. J. Soil Sci. 80, 283–288 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Kersten, M. S. Thermal Properties of Soils Bull. Vol. 28, 26 (Univ. Minnesota Engineering Experiment Station, 1949).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Danish National Research Foundation (CENPERM DNRF100), from the Augustinus foundation (Northern Worlds) and the Carlsberg Foundation (J.H._2012_01_0286). We acknowledge the Zackenberg Basic programme for providing meteorological data and extend our gratitude to P. E. Jansson from the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Sweden.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management (IGN), Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Jørgen Hollesen, Anders Bjørn Møller & Bo Elberling

  2. Department of Conservation and Natural Sciences, The National Museum of Denmark, IC Modewegsvej, Brede, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark

    Jørgen Hollesen & Henning Matthiesen

Authors
  1. Jørgen Hollesen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Henning Matthiesen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anders Bjørn Møller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Bo Elberling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

B.E. and H.M. initiated the collaboration project; B.E., J.H. and H.M. collected samples and performed fieldwork. J.H. and A.B.M. performed laboratory investigations, and J.H. compiled and analysed the data and performed the modelling. J.H. and B.E. wrote the paper with input from all co-authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bo Elberling.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hollesen, J., Matthiesen, H., Møller, A. et al. Permafrost thawing in organic Arctic soils accelerated by ground heat production. Nature Clim Change 5, 574–578 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2590

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2590

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology