Carbon in Permafrost

Carbon turnover and greenhouse gas release from thawing permafrost of Northeast Siberia under changing environmental and climatic conditions

^{Photo: Josefine Walz, IfB, Universität Hamburg}

Project description

Due to their sensitivity to climate change and at the same time their significant influence on the climate, permafrost areas are considered one of the most important tipping elements of the global climate system. In the course of global climate change, permafrost areas are increasingly thawing. One possible consequence: carbon stored in the soil is converted into greenhouse gases and released. Will this further exacerbate climate change? Or do heat and stronger plant growth ensure that more carbon is sequestered overall and greenhouse gas emissions actually fall?

These are the core questions of the collaborative project "Carbon in Permafrost" (KoPf), which aims to better understand the effects of climate change on the carbon cycle in permafrost-influenced landscapes based on observations and modelling, and to develop recommendations for action for decision-makers.

In close German-Russian cooperation, the studies are being carried out in Siberia, the region with the world's largest permafrost areas, which have, however, only been insufficiently studied so far. The model-based projections of thawing permafrost and feedbacks with the climate system are essential for designing appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change.

More about the project on the KoPf website

Cooperation partners

• Alfred-Wegener-Institut Potsdam
• Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg
• Max-Planck-Institut für Biogeochemie, Jena
• Universität zu Köln, Institut für Geologie
• Geoforschungszentrum Potsdam
• Arktis und Antarktis Forschungsinstitut, St. Petersburg
• Staatliche Universität St. Petersburg
• Institut für Atmosphärenphysik – Russische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Moskau
• Institut für Bodenkunde und Agrochemie – Russische Akademie der Wissenschaften Novosibirsk
• Northeast Science Station, Chersky
• Nord-Östliche Staatuniversität Jakutsk
• Trofimuk Institut für Petroleum Geologie und Geophysik - Russische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Novosibirsk

Employees at the Institute of Soil Science

• Postdoc: Dr. Tim Eckhardt