Submitted by John Wood on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 07:21
Forums
Microbial Activity in Thawing Arctic Permafrost

Jim, The expedition looks wonderful! Your journals are interesting to read and the articles on the words and such are fun. What kind of thaw depths are you seeing at this time, and how deep is the thaw expected to go by the end of the season? Also, is the CO2 being measured at all? Thanks and be safe, John

Wed, 07/06/2011 - 16:35

Anonymous

Howdy, John. Sorry for the delay, but my lab in California was in shambles when I returned last week. At the end of June, thaw depths at Barrow were between 7- 17 cm, based on our measurements. It will certainly go deeper, maybe double. There are many people (ourselves included), measuring both CO2 and CH4 (methane). We can get estimates of dissolved gases in soil pore-water, which we collect around the landscape every week, and have some good friends measuring CO2 /CH4 emission from the tundra using small micro-meteorology towers. As well, San Diego State University, the US Govt's NOAA (Natl Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin) do this using slightly different set-ups. Thanks for the great questions !

Thu, 07/07/2011 - 19:25

Anonymous

Hey Jim,I finally got a chance to read some of your journals. Very interesting, pictures are very interesting as well. Looks like you are learning a lot. I will keep reading, I enjoy the word or the day (inuit).
Leatrice

Fri, 07/08/2011 - 21:57

Jim Miller

Leatrice, glad you like the journals! I look forward to our connect event next week. Setting up the details now and will let you know!Thanks!
Jim