RUI: Effect of Climate Change on Carbon Cycling within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone of Canada

[摘要]气候变化对加拿大断续多年冻土带内碳循环的影响在地球大部分陆地表面，土壤有机质中固存的碳量比活植被中储存的碳量大两到三倍。土壤有机质的数量在地球化学碳循环中起着至关重要的作用。高纬度泥炭地仅占全球陆地面积的11%，但估计含有世界土壤碳库总量的25%至30%。其中大部分碳储存在永久冻土层内的冰冻泥炭土中。这项研究的目的是确定气候变化对加拿大阿尔伯塔省碳循环的影响。最近的证据表明，由于温度升高和水分输入的变化，永久冻土正在退化。随着永久冻土层的融化，泥炭地表下沉到地下水位并变得饱和。早期的结果表明，这些融化区产生的甲烷排放量比附近未融化的沼泽多100-200倍。怀廷博士及其学生和合作者计划研究这些熔体特征，以确定甲烷中碳的来源（古老的还是新的），并找出熔体特征的年龄是否会影响甲烷的排放。

Abstract00-89635WhitingRUI: Effect of climate change on carbon cycling within the discontinuous permafrost zone of CanadaOver most of the Earth's land surface, the quantity of carbon sequestered in soil organic matter is greater by a factor of two or three than the amount stored in living vegetation. The quantity of organic matter in soil plays a critical role in the earth's geochemical carbon cycle. High-latitude peatlands represent only about 11% of the global land surface area, yet contain an estimated 25 to 30% of the world's total soil carbon pool. Much of this carbon is stored in the frozen peat soils within the permafrost layer. The goal of this research is to determine the effect of a changing climate on carbon cycling in Alberta, Canada. Recent evidence indicates that permafrost is degrading in response to elevated temperatures and changing moisture input. As the permafrost melts, the peat surface subsides to the level of the water table and becomes saturated. Early results suggest that these melt areas produce 100-200x greater methane emission than the nearby unmelted bog. Dr. Whiting and students and collaborators plan to study these melt features to determine the origin of the carbon in the methane (ancient vs. new) and to find out if the age of the melt feature affects methane emissions.