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SUMMARY:Environmental controls on mineral-associated permafrost organic ca
 rbon fate - Catherine Hirst\, University of Durham
DTSTART:20250211T120000Z
DTEND:20250211T130000Z
UID:TALK224722@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Rachael Rhodes
DESCRIPTION:The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest o
 f Earth’s surface (Rantanen et al.\, 2022). Consequently\, permafrost ar
 eal extent is projected to decrease (24 ± 16% by 2100\, RCP2.6\, Chadburn
  et al.\, 2017) and Arctic precipitation is projected to increase (50 – 
 60 % by 2100\, RCP2.6\, Bitanja and Andry\, 2017). Permafrost contains ~ t
 wo times as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere (Hugelius et al.\, 2014). 
 Upon thaw\, permafrost organic carbon is a) stored in soils and sediments\
 , b) transferred from soils to aquatic bodies\, c) broken down to inorgani
 c carbon in soils and aquatic bodies. A fraction of this inorganic carbon 
 is released as greenhouse gases to the atmosphere which could amplify Arct
 ic warming (the permafrost carbon feedback\, Schuur et al.\, 2015). \nA po
 rtion of permafrost organic carbon is associated with minerals (e.g.\, Gar
 cia-Palacios et al.\, 2023) which contribute to modulating if carbon is st
 ored in the land or released into the atmosphere (e.g.\, Patzner et al.\, 
 2020). Our work seeks to understand the environmental controls on how\, wh
 ere and when minerals contribute to carbon release from these vulnerable l
 andscapes. To do this we couple in-field measurements (e.g.\, precipitatio
 n and water table depth) with geochemical measurements (e.g.\, isotopes\, 
 microscopy\, spectroscopy. I will present findings from large and small Ar
 ctic catchments and ongoing ideas for future research. \n
LOCATION:Department of Earth Sciences\, Tilley Lecture Theatre
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