Novel disturbance regimes in a warming Arctic

Amplified Arctic warming may facilitate novel disturbance regimes by accelerating permafrost degradation and increasing tundra wildfire. These disturbance regimes can in turn exacerbate warming by releasing large permafrost carbon stocks. High-resolution geochemical scanning of sediment cores together with remote-sensing analyses provides a powerful approach to document the spatiotemporal patterns of thermoerosion and tundra fire spanning decades to millennia. We assess interactions between these disturbance factors in the context of natural climate variability and ongoing warming. Results highlight both the sensitivity and resilience of Arctic ecosystems to climate change and the unstable nature of permafrost landscapes.