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Small ponds with major impact: The relevance of ponds and lakes in permafrost landscapes to carbon dioxide emissions
Author(s) -
Abnizova A.,
Siemens J.,
Langer M.,
Boike J.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2011gb004237
Subject(s) - carbon dioxide , permafrost , environmental science , dissolved organic carbon , carbon fibers , total organic carbon , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental chemistry , greenhouse gas , total inorganic carbon , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , peat , oceanography , ecology , chemistry , geology , geotechnical engineering , biology , materials science , composite number , composite material
Although ponds make up roughly half of the total area of surface water in permafrost landscapes, their relevance to carbon dioxide emissions on a landscape scale has, to date, remained largely unknown. We have therefore investigated the inflows and outflows of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon from lakes, ponds, and outlets on Samoylov Island, in the Lena Delta of northeastern Siberia in September 2008, together with their carbon dioxide emissions. Outgassing of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from these ponds and lakes, which cover 25% of Samoylov Island, was found to account for between 74 and 81% of the calculated net landscape‐scale CO 2 emissions of 0.2–1.1 g C m −2 d −1 during September 2008, of which 28–43% was from ponds and 27–46% from lakes. The lateral export of dissolved carbon was negligible compared to the gaseous emissions due to the small volumes of runoff. The concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon in the ponds were found to triple during freezeback, highlighting their importance for temporary carbon storage between the time of carbon production and its emission as CO 2 . If ponds are ignored the total summer emissions of CO 2 ‐C from water bodies of the islands within the entire Lena Delta (0.7–1.3 Tg) are underestimated by between 35 and 62%.