Molecular Biomarkers in the Polar Regions and Cryosphere
Loeka L. Jongejans#*1, Lisa Bröder*2, Kai Mangelsdorf3, Xiaojuan Feng4
1. Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany, loeka.jongejans@awi.de
2. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Earth and Climate Research Unit, Amsterdam, Netherlands, l.m.broeder@vu.nl
3. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany, kama@gfz-potsdam.de
4. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Beijing, China, xfeng@ibcas.ac.cn
* PYRN Member # session organizer and corresponding author
Session description (250 word maximum in English):
Polar regions are changing rapidly. At the same time, the permafrost carbon store is becoming increasingly vulnerable to adverse effects of ongoing permafrost thaw, decrease of sea ice and increase of freshwater output. As a result, increased fluxes of sediments, carbon and nutrients from terrestrial to marine and freshwater environments will impact geochemical, microbial and ecological processes, which are still poorly understood. Furthermore, with thawing terrestrial or submarine permafrost, organic matter stored for geological times in the frozen underground becomes bioavailable again. Its biodegradability and contribution to the permafrost-carbon climate feedback cycle is of utmost interest. The analysis of biomarkers is crucial in the characterization of living and fossil microbial communities, the reconstruction of past climate change and environmental conditions, and the characterization of degradation of organic matter and greenhouse gas production. This session links organic biomarker research contributing to a growing understanding of the vulnerable and rapidly changing polar regions and cryosphere. We encourage contributions from research on terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems in Arctic, Antarctic and alpine regions.
Please click the below button to download the template of the abstract and upload your own abstract
