Dear Colleagues: I'd like to draw your attention to these permafrost/carbon related sessions. The first will focus more on carbon and biogeochemistry, whereas the second has a focus on the physical processes aspects of permafrost.
Note that AGU submission deadline is early this year: Aug 4, 2011 GC26 Permafrost and Methane 3. Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Permafrost zone soils contain 1670 Pg of carbon (C). Permafrost degradation can change ecosystem C storage by enhancing microbial activity and ecosystem respiration, but can also stimulate plant growth and increase C stored in vegetation and surface soil. This session invites papers that examine factors causing losses and gains in ecosystem C storage in particular that relate to the question: What is the magnitude, timing and form of C release from permafrost zone ecosystems to the atmosphere in a changing climate? Papers may address any aspect of this topic from microbial communities to the global scale, using a range of measurements or modeling to detect and forecast permafrost thaw and the influence on the C cycle and future climate. Ted Schuur, University of Florida Kevin Schaefer, National Snow and Ice Data Center co-Sponsors: Global Change, Biogeosciences, Cryosphere C09 Dynamics of Permafrost Degradation - Impacts and Feedbacks: Permafrost underlies 24% of the Earth's land surface with thermokarst processes affecting ice-rich terrain. We solicit papers reflecting current knowledge of permafrost degradation dynamics, including impacts of disturbance and climate change, and resulting climate feedbacks. Submissions are welcome from a range of permafrost-climate dynamics topics, including remote sensing of permafrost degradation (satellite, airborne, ground-based, geophysics); field-based or modeling process studies; cryolithologic / paleoenvironmental studies; biogeochemistry; geomorphologic / ecohydrologic feedbacks; landscape-scale modeling; integration of permafrost degradation into land surface and carbon cycle models; and probabilistic risk assessments. Cynthia Dinwiddie, Southwest Research Institute Sarah Godsey, Pennsylvania State University Guido Grosse, University of Alaska Fairbanks Anna Liljedahl, University of Alaska Fairbanks co-Sponsors: Biogeosciences, Global Environmental Change, Hydrology, Near Surface Geophysics -------------------------------------------------- Ted Schuur, Ph.D. Assoc. Professor of Ecosystem Ecology Department of Biology 220 Bartram Hall, PO Box 118526 University of Florida Gainesville, FL, 32611-8526 ph 352-392-7913 fax 352-392-3993 [email protected] http://biology.ufl.edu/ecosystemdynamics/
