Permafrost Soils

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Geological, Chemical and Physical Properties of Permafrost

   1. Arctic Permafrost Soils

      • Charles Tarnocai

      Pages 3-16

   2. Antarctic Permafrost Soils

      • Iain B. Campbell, Graeme G. C. Claridge

      Pages 17-31

   3. Mountain Permafrost

      • Stephan Gruber, Wilfried Haeberli

      Pages 33-44

3. Biodiversity in Permafrost

   1. Very Old DNA

      • Martin B. Hebsgaard, Eske Willerslev

      Pages 47-57

   2. Bacterial and Archaeal Diversity in Permafrost

      • Blaire Steven, Thomas D. Niederberger, Lyle G. Whyte

      Pages 59-72

   3. Viable Cyanobacteria and Green Algae from the Permafrost Darkness

      • Tatiana A. Vishnivetskaya

      Pages 73-84

   4. Fungi in Permafrost

      • Svetlana Ozerskaya, Galina Kochkina, Natalia Ivanushkina, David A. Gilichinsky

      Pages 85-95

   5. Ancient Protozoa Isolated from Permafrost

      • Anastassia V. Shatilovich, Lubov A. Shmakova, Alexander P. Mylnikov, David A. Gilichinsky

      Pages 97-115

4. Biological Activity in Permafrost

   1. Microbial Activity in Frozen Soils

      • Nicolai S. Panikov

      Pages 119-147

   2. Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation (Anammox)

      • C. Ryan Penton

      Pages 149-158

   3. Genomic Insights into Cold Adaptation of Permafrost Bacteria

      • Corien Bakermans, Peter W. Bergholz, Hector Ayala-del-Río, James Tiedje

      Pages 159-168

   4. Proteomic Insights: Cryoadaptation of Permafrost Bacteria

      • Yinghua Qiu, Tatiana A. Vishnivetskaya, David M. Lubman

      Pages 169-181

5. Impact of Global Warming On Permafrost Properties

   1. Global Warming and Thermokarst

      • Julian B. Murton

      Pages 185-203

   2. Global Warming and Mountain Permafrost

      • Wilfried Haeberli, Stephan Gruber

      Pages 205-218

   3. Global Warming and Carbon Dynamics in Permafrost Soils: Methane Production and Oxidation

      • Dirk Wagner, Susanne Liebner

      Pages 219-236

   4. Global Warming and Dissolved Organic Carbon Release from Permafrost Soils

      • Anatoly S. Prokushkin, Masayuki Kawahigashi, Irina V. Tokareva

      Pages 237-250

   5. Climate Change and Foundations of Buildings in Permafrost Regions

      • Yuri Shur, Douglas J. Goering

      Pages 251-260

6. Contaminants in Frozen Ground

   1. Migration of Petroleum in Permafrost-Affected Regions

      • David L. Barnes, Evgeny Chuvilin

      Pages 263-278

   2. Remediation of Frozen Ground Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbons: Feasibility and Limits

      • Dennis M. Filler, Dale R. Van Stempvoort, Mary B. Leigh

      Pages 279-301

Most of the Earth’s biosphere is characterized by low temperatures. Vast areas (>20%) of the soil ecosystem are permanently frozen or are unfrozen for only a few weeks in summer. Permafrost regions occur at high latitudes and also at high ele- tions; a significant part of the global permafrost area is represented by mountains. Permafrost soils are of global interest, since a significant increase in temperature is predicted for polar regions. Global warming will have a great impact on these soils, especially in northern regions, since they contain large amounts of organic carbon and act as carbon sinks, and a temperature increase will result in a release of carbon into the atmosphere. Additionally, the intensified release of the clima- relevant tracer gas methane represents a potential environmental harzard. Significant numbers of viable microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, p- totrophic cyanobacteria and green algae, fungi and protozoa, are present in per- frost, and the characteristics of these microorganisms reflect the unique and extreme conditions of the permafrost environment. Remarkably, these microorg- isms have been reported to be metabolically active at subzero temperatures, even down to ?20°C.

• Biodiversity
• Global warming
• Permafrost
• ecosystem
• geomorphology
• microorganism
• soil
• climate change

From the reviews:

"Permafrost Soils summarizes recent knowledge on a wide variety of aspects concerning permafrost and frozen soils that occupy over 20 percent of the Earth’s surface. … The book consists of 21 short essays by experts in the numerous micro-specializations. … Summing Up: … Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, and faculty." (J. D. Ives, Choice, Vol. 46 (10), June, 2009)

• Institute of Microbiology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

  Rosa Margesin

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