Summary
Permafrost is perennially frozen ground that contains 1300±200 Pg of organic carbon accounting for over twice as much as the carbon stock in the atmosphere before the industrial revolution. Thawing followed by decomposition of this mega OC pool can potentially free large quantities of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs; i.e., CO2 and CH4) into the atmosphere which, in turn, can further accelerate climate warming. In addition to carbon, permafrost thaw can release large amounts of previously frozen-lock pollutants into the aquatic environment. To what extent permafrost will contribute to the future GHGs rise, release of pollutants and in changing the aquatic ecology is debated but it will certainly depended on the magnitude of the thaw, the permafrost reactivity upon thawing and its transport across the coupled watershed-margin system. PRIMA will focus on the effect of permafrost thawing in coastal systems including Arctic fjords and continental margins.

Objectives
The overarching goal of PRIMA is to understand the land-ocean exchange and ultimate fate of permafrost carbon and associated contaminants in the Arctic Ocean. This will be achieved under the umbrella of the joint Research Centre ENI-CNR (Aldo Pontermoli).

Project Partners
• Stockholm University

Other informations
This project is run in collaboration with Stockholm University and Norwegian Polar Institute