From Soil to Ocean: Transfer of terrigenous organic carbon from permafrost soils to the Arctic Ocean

Updated 2008-03-14

In order to estimate the effect of rising global temperatures on organic carbon (OC) stocks in the temperature-sensitivity Arctic environment, our project aims at investigating the transfer of terrestrial OC from permafrost soils to the Arctic Ocean. Detailed compositional analyses of bulk soil and sediments along a transport trajectory combined with compound-specific isotopic (13C and 14C) analysis of selected lipid biomarkers will be used to study alteration processes of organic matter occurring in the soil and its during transport. Sub-goals include to a) identify suitable biomarkers for soil organic carbon in permafrost soils, b) determine residence times of selected biomarkers in permafrost soils, fluvial and marine sediments, and c) quantify carbon transfer from source (soil) to sink (marine sediment) and its timescale.

Time frame

Status
Planned
Project time span
2008 - 2008
Data collection
2008 - 2008
Data processing
not specified
Data reporting
not specified

Contact information

Contact person
Janet Rethemeyer
Address
Alfred-Wegener Institut Am Handelhafen 12 27570 Bremerhaven Germany
Phone
+49 421 2188923
Fax
+49 421 2188942
Email
ed.iwa@reyemehter.tenaj
Other project contacts
Gesine Mollenhauer Am Handelhafen 12 27570 Bremerhaven Germany Phone: +49 421 2184662

Parameters and Media

Parameter groups measured/observed/modelled
Media sampled/studied/modelled
Marine sediments
Mosses
Permafrost
Soil/Humus

Geography

Regions studied
Koldewey Station, Ny-Ă…lesund/Spitsbergen

Data availability

Samples/specimens archived in specimen banks?
No

Methods & Procedures

Not specified

Additional Information

Is this a bi- AND multi-lateral project (i.e. a project involving cooperation between different countries)?
No
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