Thawing permafrost releases organic compounds into the air

Date:
October 14, 2020
Source:
University of Helsinki
Summary:
When permafrost thaws due to global warming, not only the greenhouse
gases known to all, but also organic compounds are released from
the soil. They may have a significant impact on climate change.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
When permafrost thaws due to global warming, not only the greenhouse
gases known to all, but also organic compounds are released from the
soil. They may have a significant impact on climate change.


========================================================================== Arctic peatlands are very rich in carbon. The effects of the Arctic
permafrost thawing on carbon dioxide and methane emissions have been investigated and assessed extensively globally. It is known that when the permafrost thaws, carbon dioxide and methane, which accelerate climate
change, are released from the soil. Less attention has been paid to the
fact that thawing permafrost may also release volatile organic compounds
into the air.

Researchers at the University of Helsinki observed in a study for the
first time that large quantities of volatile organic compounds, including monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and diterpenes, are released from permafrost peatland soil thawed in laboratory incubations. The peatland soil samples
were collected from Finnish Lapland. The study demonstrated that global
warming accelerates the release of these compounds, particularly those
with lower volatility, from the Arctic permafrost.

In the Arctic region, the anthropogenic influences are weak and
aboveground vegetation is scarce. The released organic compounds
from thawing permafrost can be highly reactive and contribute to the
formation of small particles that suspend in the air. These processes
can significantly impact the complex causalities associated with climate
change and, consequently, the Arctic climate as well as global warming
as a whole.

Compounds released from the soil and formed in the air can, for example, increase cloud formation, making increased cloudiness reflect solar
radiation away from the Earth, which curbs global warming.

"For now, it's impossible to say with certainty whether the release
of organic compounds accelerates or decelerates climate change. They
introduce in any case additional uncertainties to climate change
modelling." says Associate Professor Federico Bianchi from the University
of Helsinki's Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR).

According to Bianchi, much more research is needed to determine the significance of the findings now made. One of the biggest uncertainties in modelling climate change is precisely the effect aerosols have on global warming. Finnish researchers are at the global top in aerosol research.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Helsinki. Original
written by Johanna Pellinen. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Haiyan Li, Minna Va"liranta, Mari Ma"ki, Lukas Kohl, A Britta
K Sannel,
Jukka Pumpanen, Markku Koskinen, Jaana Ba"ck, Federico Bianchi.

Overlooked organic vapor emissions from thawing Arctic permafrost.

Environmental Research Letters, 2020; 15 (10): 104097 DOI:
10.1088/1748- 9326/abb62d ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201014141028.htm

--- up 7 weeks, 2 days, 6 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)