Upland Yedoma taliks are an unpredicted source of atmospheric methane

K. M. Walter Anthony (), P. Anthony, N. Hasson, C. Edgar, O. Sivan, E. Eliani-Russak, O. Bergman, B. J. Minsley, S. R. James, N. J. Pastick, A. Kholodov, S. Zimov, E. Euskirchen, M. S. Bret-Harte, G. Grosse, M. Langer and J. Nitzbon
Additional contact information
K. M. Walter Anthony: University Alaska Fairbanks
P. Anthony: University Alaska Fairbanks
N. Hasson: University Alaska Fairbanks
C. Edgar: University Alaska Fairbanks
O. Sivan: Ben Gurion University of the Negev
E. Eliani-Russak: Ben Gurion University of the Negev
O. Bergman: University Alaska Fairbanks
B. J. Minsley: Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
S. R. James: Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
N. J. Pastick: Earth Resources Observation and Science Center
A. Kholodov: University Alaska Fairbanks
S. Zimov: Northeast Science Station
E. Euskirchen: University Alaska Fairbanks
M. S. Bret-Harte: University Alaska Fairbanks
G. Grosse: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
M. Langer: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
J. Nitzbon: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract Landscape drying associated with permafrost thaw is expected to enhance microbial methane oxidation in arctic soils. Here we show that ice-rich, Yedoma permafrost deposits, comprising a disproportionately large fraction of pan-arctic soil carbon, present an alternate trajectory. Field and laboratory observations indicate that talik (perennially thawed soils in permafrost) development in unsaturated Yedoma uplands leads to unexpectedly large methane emissions (35–78 mg m−2 d−1 summer, 150–180 mg m−2 d−1 winter). Upland Yedoma talik emissions were nearly three times higher annually than northern-wetland emissions on an areal basis. Approximately 70% emissions occurred in winter, when surface-soil freezing abated methanotrophy, enhancing methane escape from the talik. Remote sensing and numerical modeling indicate the potential for widespread upland talik formation across the pan-arctic Yedoma domain during the 21st and 22nd centuries. Contrary to current climate model predictions, these findings imply a positive and much larger permafrost-methane-climate feedback for upland Yedoma.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50346-5

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