Sustainability Issue #2 April 2010

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Gigantic carbon flows if the tundra thaws

Thawing? – Large quantities of organic carbon are today bound in the permafrost, and if these are liberated and carried by rivers out into the coastal sea, emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere will increase, says Sofia Hjalmarsson who has just defended her thesis in chemistry.  Photo: Göteborg University

Gigantic carbon flows if the tundra thaws

The Arctic and primarily the Laptev Sea to the north of Siberia receives large quantities of water from Russian rivers, not least from the Lena. In terms of both catchment area and length, this is one of the ten largest rivers in the world. The waters carry organic carbon from the tundra which, when it decomposes out in the coastal sea, adds large quantities of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This is shown by research at Göteborg University.

The temperature rise in the Arctic which has already had the effect of reducing the ice cover during the summer can also cause the permafrost to thaw.

- Large quantities of organic carbon are today bound in the permafrost, and if this is liberated and is carried by the rivers out into the coastal sea, emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere will increase, says Sofia Hjalmarsson of the Department of Chemistry.

In her thesis, she has compared the effect of the carbon system on climate in two different geographical regions: the Baltic Sea, Kattegatt, Skagerrak, and the coastal seas to the north of Siberia (Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea and Chukchi Sea). It is a common feature of both these regions that they receive large volumes of river water that contains organic carbon and nutrient salts, primarily nitrogen.

Responsible for this page: Birgitta Bruzelius

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Sustainability April 2010

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