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Carbon Storage

A permafrost carbon bomb?

Nature Climate Change volume 3, pages 865–867 (2013)Cite this article

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The fate of permafrost soil carbon following thaw depends on hydrology.

Whether permafrost will continue to store C with warmer temperatures or release large amounts of soil C is a matter of open debate. Previous studies have shown a range of possibilities: permafrost thaw and warmer soil temperatures may lead to higher soil respiration, resulting in substantial C losses to the atmosphere5 and release of millennia-age C6,7. However, loss of C following permafrost thaw may be slowed by the anaerobic conditions caused by saturation, resulting in lower CO2 emissions and higher rates of plant productivity and litterfall. This may lead to increased C storage8, but also higher methane emissions9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 02834, New Hampshire, USA

    Claire C. Treat & Steve Frolking

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 03824, New Hampshire, USA

    Claire C. Treat & Steve Frolking

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  1. Claire C. Treat
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  2. Steve Frolking
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Correspondence to Claire C. Treat.

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Treat, C., Frolking, S. A permafrost carbon bomb?. Nature Clim Change 3, 865–867 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2010

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