Permafrost melt ancient carbon release adds to Earth heating in ways humans only beginning to understand- video, transcript, Heating Planet blog

Permafrost thawing at alarming rate, releasing ancient organic matter, dissolved organic carbon that has been locked away for centuries, into the ocean, potentially accelerating climate change in ways we're only beginning to understand. WATCH & READ Arctic Permafrost Thaw: Land Carbon Floods the Ocean, Boosting CO2 Release- Nov 12 Future Point report [Future Point on YT since Oct 2025,  no nation listed]

Transcript: 

The Arctic is in crisis, and it's not just about melting ice. A hidden threat is lurking beneath the surface, one that could dramatically alter our planet's climate. As global temperatures rise, the Arctic's frozen ground, known as permafrost, is thawing at an alarming rate. This process releases ancient organic matter, carbon that has been locked away for centuries, into the Arctic Ocean. 

But here's where it gets controversial. 

This dissolved organic carbon, DOC, isn't just a passive bystander. It's a key player in the global carbon cycle, potentially accelerating climate change in ways we're only beginning to understand. In a groundbreaking study published in Nature Geosscience, scientists from the Alfred Wagner Institute, AWI, and their international collaborators have traced the journey of this terrestrial carbon into the heart of the Arctic Ocean. 

Led by Dr. Shien Yukong, the team used advanced chemical fingerprinting techniques to quantify how much of this land derived carbon accumulates in the ocean and how quickly it degrades, releasing additional CO2. Their findings are eye-opening. 

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Approximately 16% of the dissolved organic carbon in the central Arctic Ocean originates from land with a significant portion persisting even in deep waters. This challenges previous assumptions and highlights the resilience of terrestrial organic matter as it travels from the Arctic to the North Atlantic deep water, linking Arctic processes to the global carbon cycle. 

But this is the part most people miss. The Arctic Ocean isn't just a recipient of this carbon. It's a transformer. The so-called transpolar drift, a surface current, carries fresh water, sea ice, and nutrients along with terrestrial DOC across the Arctic toward the North Atlantic. In regions influenced by this current, the concentration of organic carbon is twice as high as in neighboring areas. 

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The researchers estimate that a staggering 39 million tons of terrestrial carbon make this journey annually. This massive transfer impacts the Arctic's organic carbon cycle by altering light penetration, nutrient availability, and microbial activity with potential ripple effects on marine ecosystems and the oceanceans's ability to store CO2. Here's the kicker. As Arctic warming accelerates, these inputs of terrestrial organic matter are expected to increase, potentially disrupting carbon cycling and broader biogeeochemical processes. 

Yet, current climate models don't fully account for these dynamics, leaving a critical gap in our understanding. The AWI team's work, which includes the first depth resolve map of dissolved terrestrial organic carbon in the Arctic Ocean, is a game changer by analyzing seawater samples collected during the 2019/2020 mosaic expedition and employing ultra high resolution fur transform mass spectrometry. They've not only quantified terrestrial carbon concentrations, but also tracked its degradation progress. 

This raises a thought-provoking question. Are we underestimating the Arctic's role in global carbon dynamics? And could this overlooked process accelerate climate change faster than we anticipate? As we grapple with these findings, one thing is clear. The Arctic's hidden carbon cycle demands our attention and urgent action. What do you think? Is this a tipping point we can't afford to ignore?

[KE: Everything climate scientists predicted about global warming since the 1970s is coming true, only faster]

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