Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model

Abstract Substantial quantities of organic carbon (OC) are stored in the thick, ice‐rich, and organic‐rich sediments called yedoma deposits, distributed in eastern Siberia and Alaska today. Quantifying yedoma carbon stocks during the glacial period is important for understanding how much carbon coul...

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Main Authors: D. Zhu, S. Peng, P. Ciais, R. Zech, G. Krinner, S. Zimov, G. Grosse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-05-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068874
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author D. Zhu
S. Peng
P. Ciais
R. Zech
G. Krinner
S. Zimov
G. Grosse
author_facet D. Zhu
S. Peng
P. Ciais
R. Zech
G. Krinner
S. Zimov
G. Grosse
author_sort D. Zhu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Substantial quantities of organic carbon (OC) are stored in the thick, ice‐rich, and organic‐rich sediments called yedoma deposits, distributed in eastern Siberia and Alaska today. Quantifying yedoma carbon stocks during the glacial period is important for understanding how much carbon could have been decomposed during the last deglaciation. Yet processes that yield the formation of thick frozen OC in yedoma deposits are missing in global carbon cycle models. Here we incorporate sedimentation parameterizations into the Organizing Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE‐MICT) land surface model, which leads to reasonable results in OC vertical distribution and regional budgets, compared with site‐specific observations and inventories for today's nondegraded yedoma region. Simulated total soil OC stock for the northern permafrost region during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is 1536–1592 Pg C, of which 390–446 Pg C is within today's yedoma region. This result is an underestimation since we did not account for the potentially much larger yedoma area during the LGM than the present day.
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issn 0094-8276
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publishDate 2016-05-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-f6b4ce204bbc4c91bf8f51af29ed458b2025-08-20T01:51:46ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072016-05-0143105133514210.1002/2016GL068874Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface modelD. Zhu0S. Peng1P. Ciais2R. Zech3G. Krinner4S. Zimov5G. Grosse6Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ Gif Sur Yvette FranceLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ Gif Sur Yvette FranceLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ Gif Sur Yvette FranceGeographical Institute and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research University of Bern Bern SwitzerlandLaboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement (LGGE), CNRS Grenoble FranceNortheast Science Station, Pacific Institute for Geography Russian Academy of Sciences Cherskii RussiaAlfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Periglacial Research Unit Potsdam GermanyAbstract Substantial quantities of organic carbon (OC) are stored in the thick, ice‐rich, and organic‐rich sediments called yedoma deposits, distributed in eastern Siberia and Alaska today. Quantifying yedoma carbon stocks during the glacial period is important for understanding how much carbon could have been decomposed during the last deglaciation. Yet processes that yield the formation of thick frozen OC in yedoma deposits are missing in global carbon cycle models. Here we incorporate sedimentation parameterizations into the Organizing Carbon and Hydrology In Dynamic Ecosystems (ORCHIDEE‐MICT) land surface model, which leads to reasonable results in OC vertical distribution and regional budgets, compared with site‐specific observations and inventories for today's nondegraded yedoma region. Simulated total soil OC stock for the northern permafrost region during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is 1536–1592 Pg C, of which 390–446 Pg C is within today's yedoma region. This result is an underestimation since we did not account for the potentially much larger yedoma area during the LGM than the present day.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068874frozen organic carbonyedomaLast Glacial Maximum
spellingShingle D. Zhu
S. Peng
P. Ciais
R. Zech
G. Krinner
S. Zimov
G. Grosse
Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model
Geophysical Research Letters
frozen organic carbon
yedoma
Last Glacial Maximum
title Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model
title_full Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model
title_fullStr Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model
title_full_unstemmed Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model
title_short Simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the Last Glacial Maximum in a land surface model
title_sort simulating soil organic carbon in yedoma deposits during the last glacial maximum in a land surface model
topic frozen organic carbon
yedoma
Last Glacial Maximum
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068874
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