Can carbon storage in West Antarctic fjords have an impact on climate change, following glacier retreat?
Date
2021-12-19
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Wiley
Abstract
Zwerschke et al’s (2021) paper ‘Quantification of blue carbon pathways contributing to
negative feedback on climate change following glacier retreat in West Antarctic fjords’ provides
an interesting insight into the potential for Antarctic fjords to store carbon, following glacial
retreat. The authors used ash free dry mass (AFDM) as a proxy for carbon content in the carbon
content of sediments and microbenthic infauna within the fjords to estimate their carbon
sequestration potential. This equates to between 0.05 and 0.19 % of the estimated carbon buried
at the seafloor. Consequently, the paper’s assertion that these fjords could provide a negative
feedback against climate change is tenuous when considered against the wider impacts of
Antarctic deglaciation.
Description
Publication history: Accepted - 10 December 2021; Published online - 19 December 2021.
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Citation
Hunter, W.R. (2021) ‘Can carbon storage in West Antarctic fjords have an impact on climate change, following glacier retreat?’, Global Change Biology. Wiley. doi:10.1111/gcb.16047.