Ancient Carbon Is Flooding Arctic Rivers As Permafrost Melts Faster

Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing increasing amounts of ancient carbon into rivers that flow to the ocean.

The study focuses on Alaska’s North Slope, an area about the size of Wisconsin, draining to the Beaufort Sea.

The team analyzed 44 years of model data at 1-kilometer resolution.

Runoff and inputs of previously frozen carbon (DOC) to rivers have risen, and the thawing season now extends later into late summer and fall.

Findings were published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles; the authors say this is the first study to capture such a wide Arctic area at kilometer scale.