Ecohydrology group researcher Dr. Fereidoun Rezanezhad has co-authored a new paper on winter CO2 losses from northern permafrost regions which was published today in Nature Climate Change. The study, supported by NASA ABoVE and in collaboration with over 50 institutions and the Permafrost Carbon Network, demonstrated that winter soil CO2 loss will increase 41% by 2100 with warming temperatures under a business-as-usual emissions scenario. The authors also warn that increases in CO2 loss under winter warming may outweigh any enhanced uptake of carbon during the growing season. This study provides new insights into permafrost winter carbon budgets which will be useful for improving global models and informing climate policies.
Dr. Rezanezhad currently leads a project on Winter Soil Processes in Transition, which is funded through the Global Water Futures program, and an NSERC funded project on Winter Carbon Losses in Wetland Ecosystems under Current and Future Climates.