The Arctic is getting warmer and wetter. Here, we document two independent examples of how associated extreme precipitation patterns have severe implications for high Arctic ecosystems. The events stand out in a 23-year record of continuous observations of a wide range of ecosystem parameters and act as an early indication of conditions projected to increase in the future. In NE Greenland, August 2015, one-quarter of the average annual precipitation fell during a 9-day intensive rain event. This ranked number one for daily sums during the 1996–2018 period and caused a strong and prolonged reduction in solar radiation decreasing CO2 uptake in the order of 18–23 g C m−2, a reduction comparable to typical annual C budgets in Arctic tundra. In a different type of event, but also due to changed weather patterns, an extreme snow melt season in 2018 triggered a dramatic gully thermokarst causing rapid transformation in ecosystem functioning from consistent annual ecosystem CO2 uptake and low methane exchange to highly elevated methane release, net source of CO2, and substantial export of organic carbon downstream as riverine and coastal input. In addition to climate warming alone, more frequent occurrence of extreme weather patterns will have large implications for otherwise undisturbed tundra ecosystems including their element transport and carbon interactions with the atmosphere and ocean.

Abstract. The carbon balance of high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems plays an essential role in the atmospheric concentration of trace gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Increasing atmospheric methane levels have contributed to ∼ 20 % of the observed global warming since the pre-industrial era. Rising temperatures in the Arctic are expected to promote the release of methane from Arctic ecosystems. Still, existing methane flux measurement efforts are sparse and highly scattered, and further attempts to assess the landscape fluxes over multiple years are needed. Here we combine multi-year July–August methane flux monitoring (2006–2019) from automated flux chambers in the central fens of Zackenberg Valley, northeast Greenland, with several flux measurement campaigns on the most common vegetation types in the valley to estimate the landscape fluxes over 14 years. Methane fluxes based on manual chamber measurements are available from campaigns in 1997, 1999–2000, and in shorter periods from 2007–2013 and were summarized in several published studies. The landscape fluxes are calculated for the entire valley floor and a smaller subsection of the valley floor, containing the productive fen area, Rylekærene. When integrated for the valley floor, the estimated July–August landscape fluxes were low compared to the single previous estimate, while the landscape fluxes for Rylekærene were comparable to previous estimates. The valley floor was a net methane source during July–August, with estimated mean methane fluxes ranging from 0.18 to 0.67 mg m−2 h−1. The mean methane fluxes in the fen-rich Rylekærene were substantially higher, with fluxes ranging from 0.98 to 3.26 mg m−2 h−1. A 2017–2018 erosion event indicates that some fen and grassland areas in the center of the valley are becoming unstable following pronounced fluvial erosion and a prolonged period of permafrost warming. Although such physical disturbance in the landscape can disrupt the current ecosystem–atmosphere flux patterns, even pronounced future erosion of ice-rich areas is unlikely to impact methane fluxes on a landscape scale significantly. Instead, projected changes in future climate in the valley play a more critical role. The results show that multi-year landscape methane fluxes are highly variable on a landscape scale and stress the need for long-term spatially distributed measurements in the Arctic.

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Abstract. The carbon balance of high-latitude terrestrial ecosystems plays an essential role in the atmospheric concentration of trace gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Increasing levels of atmospheric methane have contributed to ~20 % of the observed global warming since the pre-industrial era. Rising temperatures in the Arctic are expected to promote the release of methane from Arctic ecosystems. Still, existing methane flux data collection efforts are sparse and highly scattered, and further attempts to assess the landscape fluxes over multiple years are needed.Here we use multiyear monitoring from automated flux chambers located on the fringe of a fen area in the center of Zackenberg Valley, northeast Greenland, from July and August (2006–2019). Direct measurements of methane fluxes showed high variability, with mean July–August fluxes ranging from 0.26 to 3.41 mg CH4 m−2 h−1. Methane fluxes based on manual chamber measurements are available from campaigns in 1997, 1999–2000, and in shorter periods from 2007–2013 and have been summarized in several published studies. Fluxes from the multiyear monitoring were combined with fluxes from the most common vegetation types, measured in 2007, and a detailed vegetation cover map to assess the methane flux on a landscape-scale and its variability over time.July–August landscape fluxes, estimated in the current study for the 2006–2019 period, were low compared to previous estimations. For the full study area covering the valley floor, the net methane source during these months was estimated as 0.06 to 0.83 mg CH4 m−2 h−1 and as 0.26 to 3.45 mg CH4 m−2 h−1 for the central fen-rich areas.A 2017–2018 erosion event indicates that some fen and grassland areas along the river in the center of the valley are becoming unstable following pronounced fluvial erosion and a prolonged period of permafrost warming. Although such physical disturbance in the landscape can disrupt the current ecosystem–atmosphere flux patterns, even pronounced future erosion along the river is unlikely to impact methane fluxes at a landscape-scale significantly. Instead, projected changes in future climate in the valley play a more critical role. The results show that multiyear landscape methane fluxes are highly variable at a landscape-scale and stress the need for long-term spatially distributed measurements in the Arctic.

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