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Yedoma
Sign in to saveYedoma () is an organic-rich (about 2% carbon by mass) Pleistocene-age permafrost with ice content of 50–90% by volume. Yedoma are abundant in the cold regions of eastern Siberia, such as northern Yakutia, as well as in Alaska and the Yukon. ==Characteristics== thumb|Alas landscape in Megino-Kangalassky District, Yakutia The landscape of yedoma areas is of glacier plains and hills with shallow depressions known as alas. Yedoma usually form in lowlands or stretches of land with rolling hills where ice wedge polygonal networks are present, in stable relief features with accumulation zones of poo
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- Characteristics
- See also
- References
- Further reading
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Yedoma () is an organic-rich (about 2% carbon by mass) Pleistocene-age permafrost with ice content of 50–90% by volume. Yedoma are abundant in the cold regions of eastern Siberia, such as northern Yakutia, as well as in Alaska and the Yukon. ==Characteristics== thumb|Alas landscape in Megino-Kangalassky District, Yakutia The landscape of yedoma areas is of glacier plains and hills with shallow depressions known as alas. Yedoma usually form in lowlands or stretches of land with rolling hills where ice wedge polygonal networks are present, in stable relief features with accumulation zones of poor drainage, severe cold and arid continental climate zones resulting in scanty vegetation cover, intense periglacial weathering processes, as well as the proximity of sediment sources, such as low mountain ranges and foothills.
The amount of carbon trapped in this type of permafrost is much more prevalent than originally thought and may be about 210 to 500 Gt, that is a multiple of the amount of carbon released into the air each year by the burning of fossil fuels. Thawing yedoma is a significant source of atmospheric methane (about 4 Tg of per year).