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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Removal of Exogenous Materials from the Outer Portion of Frozen Cores to Investigate the Ancient Biological Communities Harbored Inside
Published on: July 3, 2016
Utilization of ancient permafrost carbon in headwaters of Arctic fluvial networks
Paul J Mann1, Timothy I Eglinton2, Cameron P McIntyre3
1Department of Geography, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
Abstract:
Northern high-latitude rivers are major conduits of carbon from land to coastal seas and the Arctic Ocean. Arctic warming is promoting terrestrial permafrost thaw and shifting hydrologic flowpaths, leading to fluvial mobilization of ancient carbon stores. Here we describe (14)C and (13)C characteristics of dissolved organic carbon from fluvial networks across the Kolyma River Basin (Siberia), and isotopic changes during bioincubation experiments. Microbial communities utilized ancient carbon (11,300 to >50,000 (14)C years) in permafrost thaw waters and millennial-aged carbon (up to 10,000 (14)C years) across headwater streams. Microbial demand was supported by progressively younger ((14)C-enriched) carbon downstream through the network, with predominantly modern carbon pools subsidizing microorganisms in large rivers and main-stem waters. Permafrost acts as a significant and preferentially degradable source of bioavailable carbon in Arctic freshwaters, which is likely to increase as permafrost thaw intensifies causing positive climate feedbacks in response to on-going climate change.
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