P2C2 Arctic Coastal Wetlands

Sea-level rise, coastal wetland expansion, and proglacial lake contributions to abrupt increases in northern atmospheric methane during the last deglaciation

 

Coastal wetland in the Fish Creek river delta at the Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain
Coastal wetland in the Fish Creek river delta at the Alaska Arctic Coastal Plain (Photo: Alfred-Wegener-Institut)

This project studies how emissions of the greenhouse gas methane change in response to flooding by seawater, freshwater, and a mix in between. Since the Last Glacial Maximum (21,000 years ago), melting of glaciers and ice sheets along with post-glacial rebound of land surfaces have changed the amount of land inundated by fresh and sea water. Flooding and inundation result in the anaerobic break down of organic matter and the production of methane.

Using new measurements of methane fluxes, earlier measurements of methane fluxes, and remote sensing, this project aims to quantify the magnitude of these methane emissions in the past, as well as how we might expect these emissions to change in the future with rising sea level.