Permafrost is a crucial part of the Earth's cryosphere. These millennia-old frozen soils not only are significant carbon reservoirs but also store a variety of chemicals. Accelerated permafrost thaw due to global warming leads to profound consequences such as infrastructure damage, hydrological changes, and, notably, environmental concerns from the release of various chemicals. In this perspective, we metaphorically term long-preserved substances as dormant chemicals that experience an awakening during permafrost thaw. We begin by providing a comprehensive overview and categorization of these chemicals and their potential transformations, utilizing a combination of field observations, laboratory studies, and modeling approaches to assess their environmental impacts. Following this, we put forward several perspectives on how to enhance the scientific understanding of their ensuing environmental impacts in the context of climate change. Ultimately, we advocate for broader research engagement in permafrost exploration and emphasize the need for extensive environmental chemical studies. This will significantly enhance our understanding of the consequences of permafrost thaw and its broader impact on other ecosystems under rapid climate warming.

Permafrost stability is significantly influenced by the thermal buffering effects of snow and active-layer peat soils. In the warm season, peat soils act as a barrier to downward heat transfer mainly due to their low thermal conductivity. In the cold season, the snowpack serves as a thermal insulator, retarding the release of heat from the soil to the atmosphere. Currently, many global land models overestimate permafrost soil temperature and active layer thickness (ALT), partially due to inaccurate representations of soil organic matter (SOM) density profiles and snow thermal insulation. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of SOM and snow schemes on ALT simulations at pan-Arctic permafrost sites using the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) land model (ELM). We conducted simulations at the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) sites across the pan-Arctic domain. We improved ELM-simulated site-level ALT using a knowledge-based hierarchical optimization procedure and examined the effects of precipitation-phase partitioning methods (PPMs), snow compaction schemes, and snow thermal conductivity schemes on simulated snow depth, soil temperature, ALT, and CO2 fluxes. Results showed that the optimized ELM significantly improved agreement with observed ALT (e.g. RMSE decreased from 0.83 m to 0.15 m). Our sensitivity analysis revealed that snow-related schemes significantly impact simulated snow thermal insulation levels, soil temperature, and ALT. For example, one of the commonly used snow thermal conductivity schemes (quadratic Sturm or SturmQua) generally produced warmer soil temperatures and larger ALT compared to the other two tested schemes. The SturmQua scheme also amplified the model's sensitivity to PPMs and predicted deeper ALTs than the other two snow schemes under both current and future climates. The study highlights the importance of accurately representing snow-related processes and peat soils in land models to enhance permafrost dynamics simulations.

BackgroundAntarctica and its unique biodiversity are increasingly at risk from the effects of global climate change and other human influences. A significant recent element underpinning strategies for Antarctic conservation has been the development of a system of Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions (ACBRs). The datasets supporting this classification are, however, dominated by eukaryotic taxa, with contributions from the bacterial domain restricted to Actinomycetota and Cyanobacteriota. Nevertheless, the ice-free areas of the Antarctic continent and the sub-Antarctic islands are dominated in terms of diversity by bacteria. Our study aims to generate a comprehensive phylogenetic dataset of Antarctic bacteria with wide geographical coverage on the continent and sub-Antarctic islands, to investigate whether bacterial diversity and distribution is reflected in the current ACBRs.ResultsSoil bacterial diversity and community composition did not fully conform with the ACBR classification. Although 19% of the variability was explained by this classification, the largest differences in bacterial community composition were between the broader continental and maritime Antarctic regions, where a degree of structural overlapping within continental and maritime bacterial communities was apparent, not fully reflecting the division into separate ACBRs. Strong divergence in soil bacterial community composition was also apparent between the Antarctic/sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic mainland. Bacterial communities were partially shaped by bioclimatic conditions, with 28% of dominant genera showing habitat preferences connected to at least one of the bioclimatic variables included in our analyses. These genera were also reported as indicator taxa for the ACBRs.ConclusionsOverall, our data indicate that the current ACBR subdivision of the Antarctic continent does not fully reflect bacterial distribution and diversity in Antarctica. We observed considerable overlap in the structure of soil bacterial communities within the maritime Antarctic region and within the continental Antarctic region. Our results also suggest that bacterial communities might be impacted by regional climatic and other environmental changes. The dataset developed in this study provides a comprehensive baseline that will provide a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation efforts on the continent. Further studies are clearly required, and we emphasize the need for more extensive campaigns to systematically sample and characterize Antarctic and sub-Antarctic soil microbial communities.APsmQ8MphSAgg4BzZyqdNTVideo AbstractConclusionsOverall, our data indicate that the current ACBR subdivision of the Antarctic continent does not fully reflect bacterial distribution and diversity in Antarctica. We observed considerable overlap in the structure of soil bacterial communities within the maritime Antarctic region and within the continental Antarctic region. Our results also suggest that bacterial communities might be impacted by regional climatic and other environmental changes. The dataset developed in this study provides a comprehensive baseline that will provide a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation efforts on the continent. Further studies are clearly required, and we emphasize the need for more extensive campaigns to systematically sample and characterize Antarctic and sub-Antarctic soil microbial communities.APsmQ8MphSAgg4BzZyqdNTVideo Abstract

To ensure that public infrastructure can safely provide essential services and support economic activities in seasonal frost regions, the design of their foundation systems must be updated and/or adapted to the impacts of climate change. This objective can only be achieved, if the impact of global warming on the soil thermal behaviour in Canadian seasonal frost regions is well-known and can be predicted. In the present paper, the results of a modeling study to assess and predict the effect of global warming on the thermal regimes of grounds in three Canadian seasonal frost regions (Ottawa, Sudbury, Toronto) are presented and discussed. The results show that future climate changes will significantly affect the soil thermal regimes in seasonal frost Canadian areas. The simulation results indicated a gradual loss in the frost penetration depth due to the climate change, in the three representative sites. The frost period duration will be shorter due to climate change in the three selected regions and will completely disappear in Ottawa and Toronto. However, the impact of climate change would not appear clearly in the first 40 years up to 2060. The response of the ground to the effect of climate change is a function of the geotechnical characteristics of the ground and the climate conditions. The numerical tool developed and results obtained will be useful for the geotechnical design of climate-adaptive transportation structures in Canadian seasonal frost areas.

Vertical electrical sounding method is an express and most accurate method for measuring and analysing the resistivity through the soil profile. As a result of climate change, permafrost is melting, which leads to a significant transformation of landscapes, both natural and anthropogenically transformed. In the vulnerable environments of the Arctic region (long recovery after anthropogenic impact), this method allows to determine the active layer thickness and the heterogeneity in the soil structure without disturbing of the soil cover. This method is based on the measurement of electrical resistivity in the soil, the data obtained were processed in the form of one dimensional model. In the course of field research, the heterogeneous islands of the Lena River Delta were investigated. Complex soil investigations using the method of vertical electrical sensing allows to fully assess the most important properties of cryogenic soils formed in the delta complex of the Lena River. As a result of the work, the modeled boundaries of the active layer were determined, which were confirmed during the laying of soil transects, as well as the main physical and chemical parameters of soils. During the vertical electrical sounding observation an inhomogeneity in the distribution of resistivity under a drained lake was found, which may correspond to the presence of a talik or a layer of salt unfrozen water in a permafrost. Due to the change in the soil horizons, there is a sharp change in the electrical resistivity indicator occur, which corresponds to the change from soil to frozen rock. The paper contains 6 Figures, 3 Tables and 37 References.

Polar ecosystems are the most important storage and source of climatically active gases. Currently, natural biogeochemical processes of organic matter circulation in the soil-atmosphere system are disturbed in urban ecosystems of the cryolithozone. Urbanized ecosystems in the Arctic are extremely under-investigated in terms of their functions in regulating the cycle of climatically active gases. The role of urban soils and soil-like bodies in the sequestration and stabilization of organic matter is of particular interest. The percentage of gravimetric concentrations of organic matter in Arctic urban soils are almost always determined by the method of dichromate oxidation and are subject to extreme variability (from tenths of a percent to more than 90% in man-made soil formations), but the average carbon content in the surface soil horizons can be estimated at 5-7%. The surface humus-accumulative horizons are represented by a variety of morphological forms with the content of organic matter of various origins. The work also focuses on those forms of organic matter, the content of which is extremely small, but very important for the biogeochemical functioning of soils-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and components of petroleum products, as well as labile forms of soil organic matter. We recommend that further studies of the organic matter system be conducted in urbanized areas since the carbon cycle there is severely disrupted, as well as carbon flows. The urbanization and industrialization processes in the Arctic are progressing, which could lead to a radical transformation of carbon ecosystem services.

The influence of the moisture content on the CO2 emission from peat soils of palsa mires in the discontinuous permafrost area was studied in the north of Western Siberia (Nadym region). The CO2 flux was measured in Histic Cryosols of permafrost peatlands (palsas) and Fibric Histosols of surrounding bog using the closed chamber method for four years at the peak of the growing season (August). Despite a significant difference in the soil moisture (34.8 +/- 13.2 and 56.2 +/- 2.1% on average), no significant difference in the CO2 emission from these ecosystems was found in any of the observation years; the rates of emission averaged 199.1 +/- 90.1 and 182.1 +/- 85.1 mg CO2 m(-2) x h(-1), respectively. Experimental wetting or drying (with a twofold difference in the moisture content) of peat soils at the two sites via their transplantation to a different position showed no significant effect on the CO2 emission even three years after the beginning of the experiment. The absence of significant differences in the CO2 flux between the two different ecosystems was explained by the presence of permafrost and the influence of many multidirectional factors mitigating changes in the CO2 production by soils. An increased CO2 emission from the peat soils of bogs was possible due to the additional contribution of the methanotrophic barrier and the lateral runoff of dissolved CO2 over the permafrost table from the palsa toward the surrounding bog. The absence of response of the CO2 emission to a significant change in the soil moisture content may be indicative of a wide optimum of this characteristic for the microbiological activity of peat soils in the studied region. The obtained data suggest that, while studying CO2 fluxes in cryogenic soils of hydromorphic landscapes, it is necessary to take into account not only biogenic sources, but also other factors, often of a physical nature, affecting the balance of CO2 fluxes and CO2 emission from soils.

Antarctic soils are heavily affected by climate change in terms of properties and ecosystem functions. With increasing global temperatures, the frequency of freeze and thaw cycles of Antarctic soils will increase, thus affecting their mechanical behavior, with varying responses in erosion. This study quantitatively evaluated the effect of increasing frequency of freezing-thawing (F-T) cycles on rheological properties of four soils from the maritime Antarctica. Using an amplitude sweep test, the effects of 1, 5 and 9F-T cycles on soil micromechanics were evaluated and compared to a reference soil without F-T. These rheological parameters were determined: (i) the linear viscoelastic strain interval (LVR) (gamma LVR), (ii) the shear stress at the end of the LVR (rLVR), (iii) the maximum shear stress (rmax), (iv) the strain at the yield point (gamma YP), and (v) the storage and loss modulus at the yield point (G'YP). F-T cycles influenced soil rheological properties. Higher F-T frequency either increased or decreased gamma LVR and gamma YP, depending on the soil material. A 35% increase in rLVE occurred after one F-T cycle; however, at the fifth cycle a decrease of approximately 27% occurred, when compared to one cycle treatment, reaching similar values of no F-T. But after nine cycles, rLVE increased again by approximately 29% compared to previous treatment. The resistance and elasticity of the Antarctic soil microstructure showed great variation among the different soils, while soils with different textures behaved similarly for some rheological properties. Rheometry was confirmed as a method with little soil material consumption, however, soil rheology of Antarctic soils requires further studies to disentangle its interactions with soil chemical properties.

In cold regions, climate change is expected to result in warmer winter temperatures and increased temperature variability. Coupled with changing precipitation regimes, these changes can decrease soil insulation by reducing snow cover, exposing soils to colder temperatures and more frequent and extensive soil freezing and thawing. Freeze-thaw events can exert an important control over winter soil processes and the cycling of nitrogen (N), with consequences for soil health, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and nearby water quality. These impacts are especially important for agricultural soils and practices in cold regions. We conducted a lysimeter experiment to assess the effects of winter pulsed warming, soil texture, and snow cover on N cycling in agricultural soils. We monitored the subsurface soil temperature, moisture, and porewater geochemistry together with air temperature, precipitation, and N2O fluxes in four agricultural field-controlled lysimeter systems (surface area of 1 m(2) and depth of 1.5 m) at the University of Guelph's Elora Research Station over one winter (December 2020 to April 2021). The lysimeters featured two soil types (loamy sand and silt loam) which were managed under a corn-soybean-wheat rotation with cover crops. Additionally, ceramic infrared heaters located above two of the lysimeters were turned on after each snowfall event to melt the snow and then turned off to mimic snow-free winter conditions with increased soil freezing. Porewater samples collected from five depths in the lysimeters were analyzed for total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), nitrate (NO3 (-)), nitrite (NO2 (-)), and ammonium (NH4 (+)). N2O fluxes were measured using automated soil gas chambers installed on each lysimeter. The results from the snow removed lysimeters were compared to those of lysimeters without heaters (with snow). As expected, the removal of the insulating snow cover resulted in more intense soil freeze-thaw events, causing increased dissolved N loss from the lysimeter systems as N2O (from the silt loam system) and via NO3 (-) leaching (from the loamy sand system). In the silt loam lysimeter, we attribute the freeze thaw-enhanced N2O fluxes to de novo processes rather than gas build up and release. In the loamy sand lysimeter, we attribute the increased NO3 (-) leaching to the larger pore size and therefore lower water retention capacity of this soil type. Overall, our study illustrates the important role of winter snow cover dynamics and soil freezing in modulating the coupled responses of soil moisture, temperature, and N cycling.

Permafrost-affected tundra soils are large carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) reservoirs. However, N is largely bound in soil organic matter (SOM), and ecosystems generally have low N availability. Therefore, microbial induced N-cycling processes and N losses were considered negligible. Recent studies show that microbial N processing rates, inorganic N availability, and lateral N losses from thawing permafrost increase when vegetation cover is disturbed, resulting in reduced N uptake or increased N input from thawing permafrost. In this review, we describe currently known N hotspots, particularly bare patches in permafrost peatland or permafrost soils affected by thermokarst, and their microbiogeochemical characteristics, and present evidence for previously unrecorded N hotspots in the tundra. We summarize the current understanding of microbial N cycling processes that promote the release of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O) and the translocation of inorganic N from terrestrial into aquatic ecosystems. We suggest that certain soil characteristics and microbial traits can be used as indicators of N availability and N losses. Identifying N hotspots in permafrost soils is key to assessing the potential for N release from permafrost-affected soils under global warming, as well as the impact of increased N availability on emissions of carbon-containing GHGs.