A Third of Organic Carbon Is Mineral Bound in Permafrost Sediments Exposed by the World's Largest Thaw Slump, Batagay, Siberia


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jens.strauss [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

Organic carbon (OC) in permafrost interacts with the mineral fraction of soil and sediments, representing < 1% to ~80% of the total OC pool. Quantifying the nature and controls of mineral-OC interactions is therefore crucial for realistic assessments of permafrost-carbon-climate feedbacks, especially in ice-rich regions facing rapid thaw and the development of thermo-erosion landforms. Here, we analyzed sediment samples from the Batagay megaslump in East Siberia, and we present total element concentrations , mineralogy, and mineral-OC interactions in its different stratigraphic units. Our findings indicate that up to 34 ± 8% of the OC pool interacts with mineral surfaces or elements. Interglacial deposits exhibit enhanced OC-mineral interactions, where OC has undergone greater microbial transformation and has likely low degradability. We provide a first-order estimate of ~12,000 tons of OC mobilized annually downslope of the headwall (i.e., the approximate mass of 30 large aircrafts), with a maximum of 38% interacting with OC via complexation with metals or associations to poorly crystalline iron oxides. These data imply that over one-third of the OC exposed by the slump is not readily available for mineralization, potentially leading to prolonged OC residence time in soil and sediments under stable physicochemical conditions.



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Published
Eprint ID
58861
DOI 10.1002/ppp.2230

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Thomas, M. , Jongejans, L. L. , Strauss, J. , Vermylen, C. , Calcus, S. , Opel, T. , Kizyakov, A. , Wetterich, S. , Grosse, G. and Opfergelt, S. (2024): A Third of Organic Carbon Is Mineral Bound in Permafrost Sediments Exposed by the World's Largest Thaw Slump, Batagay, Siberia , Permafrost and Periglacial Processes . doi: 10.1002/ppp.2230


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Arctic Land Expeditions > RU-Land_2019_Batagay


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