Background
Approximately 1670 Pg of soil carbon are estimated to be stored in soils and permafrost of high latitude ecosystems (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) which is twice as much carbon as is currently contained in the atmosphere. In a warmer world permafrost thawing and decomposition of previously frozen organic carbon is one of the more likely positive feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere. Although ground temperature increases in permafrost regions are well documented there is a knowledge gap in the response of permafrost carbon to climate change.
The Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon Research Coordination Network (RCN) is a NSF-funded synthesis project that builds on several previous synthesis efforts. These former activities include:
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) working group on the Vulnerability of carbon in permafrost: Pool size and potential effects on the climate system (see also Schuur et al. 2008)
- International Permafrost Association (IPA) sponsored Carbon Pools in Cryosphere Region (CAPP) project which specifically focused on permafrost carbon pools including total below-ground organic matter quantity and quality in the presence of permafrost (see also Kuhry et al. 2009).
Objectives
The main objectives of this RCN are to synthesize and link existing research about permafrost carbon and climate in a format that can be assimilated by biospheric and climate models, and that will contribute to future assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Our activities include a series of meetings and working groups designed to synthesize ongoing permafrost carbon research which will produce new knowledge to quantify the role of permafrost carbon in driving climate change in the 21st century and beyond.
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Fig. 1. Latitudinal zonation of permafrost. (Source: Brown and colleagues 1998) |
Fig. 2. Distribution of soil organic carbon contents in the northern circumpolar permafrost region based on the NCSCD (Tarnocai et al. unpublished data, 2007) |
