Correction: Corrigendum: Past extreme warming events linked to massive carbon release from thawing permafrost

Nature 484, 87–91 (2012)

In the online-only Methods of our Letter, several erroneous values appear among the parameters used to calculate peatland D, the average thickness of permafrost peatland deposits. Catotelm decay rate (τ) used in our equation 3 was incorrectly listed as 1,500 years instead of 15,000 years. p_c, the carbon flux from the acrotelm into the catotelm (kg m⁻² yr⁻¹), appeared as 0.27 ± 0.19 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ instead of 0.027 ± 0.019 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹. Using the correct values has no effect on the calculation of peatland D, because the decimal point errors cancel in equation 3. In addition, peat carbon density (ρ) listed in Supplementary Table 1 was incorrect and shown as peat density instead of peat carbon density. Using the correct value for ρ in equation 3 doubles the estimated average thickness of permafrost peat deposits D, but does not change the calculated carbon inventories discussed in the text or in Table 2. These errors do not affect the conclusions of the Letter. All values of model parameters used in equation 3 have been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions online. The Supplementary Information has been corrected online. We thank C. J. Williams for pointing out the decimal point error associated with p_c and S. Frolking for noting the cancelling decimal point errors associated with p_c and τ, and the erroneous value of peat carbon density (ρ) and its effect on peatland D.