Effects of a warming climate on the key organic carbon cycle processes in the Eurasian Arctic

The fastest warming regions on the planet are close to the poles, with the Siberian region experiencing one of the largest warming trends on Earth.

The Eurasian Arctic, containing one of the largest carbon reservoirs on the globe trapped by permafrost, might therefore be at risk as amplified warming leads to a general reduction of the total volume of permafrost. This could allow large amounts of trapped carbon to be released. It is presently unclear to what extent this is already happening and what will happen to this carbon after it is transported off the permafrost areas to the Eurasian Arctic Shelf (EAS).

This area is also known to contain vast amounts of methane trapped in submerged permafrost and not much is known about the effects of a warming climate on the release and subsequent microbiological cycling of this potent greenhouse gas. Changes in the Arctic region have potential effects on the entire global carbon-climate system. Therefore if we want to understand the effects of climate warming on the global carbon cycle we must understand the processes occurring in the Arctic region, making the EAS a highly important area for research.