Kolloquium: Claire Treat

Arctic regions are warming faster than the rest of the globe. This warming can result in the warming and thawing of permafrost, which can rapidly alter ecosystem dynamics and biogeochemical cycles and change emissions of both CO2 and methane. I will discuss the progress made to understand permafrost carbon and the permafrost carbon feedback to climate, including the quantification of carbon stocks and basic controls on C emissions. However, knowledge gaps remain in understanding the controls on carbon loss following permafrost thaw and the role of methane emissions from northern regions which lead to considerable uncertainty in global carbon budgets. Methane emissions differ strongly across Arctic landscapes but are difficult to represent at broader scales, leading to considerable uncertainty in emissions estimates. I will discuss current results from process-based, field-based, and broader-scale approaches from the Arctic and Boreal regions. Finally, I will give an outlook of how I will address these issues of permafrost carbon and methane emissions in my future research.

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