Organic matter composition and greenhouse gas production of thawing subsea permafrost in the Laptev Sea.

Subsea permafrost represents a large carbon pool that might be or become a significant greenhouse gas source. Scarcity of observational data causes large uncertainties. We here use five 21-56 m long subsea permafrost cores from the Laptev Sea to constrain organic carbon (OC) storage and sources, degradation state and potential greenhouse gas production upon thaw. Grain sizes, optically-stimulated luminescence and biomarkers suggest deposition of aeolian silt and fluvial sand over 160 000 years, with dominant fluvial/alluvial deposition of forest- and tundra-derived organic matter. We estimate an annual thaw rate of 1.3 ± 0.6 kg OC m -2 in subsea permafrost in the area, nine-fold exceeding organic carbon thaw rates for terrestrial permafrost. During 20-month incubations, CH 4 and CO 2 production averaged 1.7 nmol and 2.4 µmol g -1 OC d -1 , providing a baseline to assess the contribution of subsea permafrost to the high CH 4 fluxes and strong ocean acidification observed in the region.