Carbon emission from Western Siberian inland waters

Abstract

High-latitude regions play a key role in the carbon (C) cycle and climate system. An important question is the degree of mobilization and atmospheric release of vast soil C stocks, partly stored in permafrost, with amplified warming of these regions. A fraction of this C is exported to inland waters and emitted to the atmosphere, yet these losses are poorly constrained and seldom accounted for in assessments of high-latitude C balances. This is particularly relevant for Western Siberia, with its extensive peatland C stocks, which can be strongly sensitive to the ongoing changes in climate. Here we quantify C emission from inland waters, including the Ob’ River (Arctic’s largest watershed), across all permafrost zones of Western Siberia. We show that the inland water C emission is high (0.08–0.10 Pg C yr−1) and of major significance in the regional C cycle, largely exceeding (7–9 times) C export to the Arctic Ocean and reaching nearly half (35–50%) of the region’s land C uptake. This important role of C emission from inland waters highlights the need for coupled land–water studies to understand the contemporary C cycle and its response to warming.

Siberian environmental change: Synthesis of recent studies and opportunities for networking

“…The feedbacks also include methane emissions from the continental shelves (Kosmach et al 2015 ) and from permafrost, particularly in Western Siberia (Anisimov and Zimov 2021 ). The great rivers of Siberia transport carbon to the Arctic Ocean, although most emissions are released before transport (Serikova et al 2018 ; Karlsson et al 2021 ).…”

Fluvial carbon dioxide emission from the Lena River basin during the spring flood

“…The only available estimates of C emission from inland waters of the Lena basin are based on a few indirect (calculated gas concentration and modeled fluxes) snapshot data with very low spatial and temporal resolution (Raymond et al, 2013). Similar to other regions, this introduces uncertainties and cannot adequately capture total regional C emissions (Abril et al, 2015;Denfeld et al, 2018;Park et al, 2018;Klaus et al, 2019;Klaus and Vachon, 2020;Karlsson et al, 2021). In particular, no detailed studies at the peak of spring flood have been performed, and the information on various contrasting tributaries of the Lena River remains very limited.…”

Landscape, Soil, Lithology, Climate and Permafrost Control on Dissolved Carbon, Major and Trace Elements in the Ob River, Western Siberia

“…It is important to note that, unlike it was reported for water pCO2 and molecular composition of riverine DOM (i.e., 17,18,19], the Irtysh River does not play a regulatory role of the lower Ob River water chemistry in terms of concentrations of other major and trace elements including organomineral colloids. Instead, the hydrochemical conditions of the Ob River are shaped by integration of multiple tributaries those chemical composition gradually changes along the permafrost and landscape gradient, as it is known for other river basins of western Siberia such as Taz and Pur [36].…”

“…These included DOC time series observation by molecular-level techniques [15] and via remote sensing [16] and quantification of particulate organic matter export [7]. In contrast, spatial coverage of the river main stem and tributaries is rather low, with just a few studies of the dissolved carbon and related CO2 and CH4 emissions [17,18] and one study of molecular composition of DOC [19]. Large amount of data are available from systematic State Rosgidromet monitoring of OC and major ions on four gauging stations of the Ob River (Salekhard, Belogor'e, Aleksandrovskoe and Kolpashevo) during 1970-2010 and measurements by Tomsk Politechnical University as summarized in ref.…”