David Olefeldt
@olefeldt.bsky.social
Professor in Catchment and Wetland Sciences at University of Alberta. Research on impacts of disturbances on function of northern peatlands, with focus on carbon cycling, greenhouse gas emissions, and on downstream water quality.
Pinned
David Olefeldt
@olefeldt.bsky.social
· Aug 28
Current and future methane emissions from boreal-Arctic wetlands and lakes - Nature Climate Change
How much methane will be emitted from the boreal-Arctic region under climate change is not well constrained. Here the authors show that accounting for distinct wetland and lake classes leads to lower ...
www.nature.com
New study where McKenzie Kuhn, I and co-authors show that accounting for differences among wetland and lake types is crucial for estimating current and future boreal-Arctic methane emissions – out now in Nature Climate Change.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
Do you love bogs and Halloween? If so, please follow and share this thread to explore the eerie, the dark and the supernatural side of bog ecosystems. BogBoo. 1/
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
October 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Do you love bogs and Halloween? If so, please follow and share this thread to explore the eerie, the dark and the supernatural side of bog ecosystems. BogBoo. 1/
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
You are terrifying
and strange and
beautiful,
something not
everyone knows how
to love.
-Warsan Shire
Reposted by David Olefeldt
Exciting 24-month Postdoc opportunity for a peatland palaeoecologist, working with Dr Jenna Sutherland at Leeds Beckett U. on the NERC-funded InSPIRE project. Investigating initiation of new peatlands in deglaciating parts of Alaska, including fieldwork vacancies.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/ce0984li_web...
Job profile
vacancies.leedsbeckett.ac.uk
October 17, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Exciting 24-month Postdoc opportunity for a peatland palaeoecologist, working with Dr Jenna Sutherland at Leeds Beckett U. on the NERC-funded InSPIRE project. Investigating initiation of new peatlands in deglaciating parts of Alaska, including fieldwork vacancies.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/ce0984li_web...
So permafrost peatlands burn and they release lots of CO2 through combustion - but that's just the start. Christopher Schulze shows in a new GRL study that slow recovery causes continued CO2 losses in the following decade - overall similar in magnitude to the combustion!
doi.org/10.1029/2025...
doi.org/10.1029/2025...
doi.org
October 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM
So permafrost peatlands burn and they release lots of CO2 through combustion - but that's just the start. Christopher Schulze shows in a new GRL study that slow recovery causes continued CO2 losses in the following decade - overall similar in magnitude to the combustion!
doi.org/10.1029/2025...
doi.org/10.1029/2025...
New Study in ES&T! Permafrost peatlands accumulate mercury from distant sources, but thaw causes collapse into wetter bogs and fens. Lauren Thompson shows that these bogs, and especially fens, become hotspots for mercury methylation, and potential downstream transport.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
September 4, 2025 at 2:26 PM
New Study in ES&T! Permafrost peatlands accumulate mercury from distant sources, but thaw causes collapse into wetter bogs and fens. Lauren Thompson shows that these bogs, and especially fens, become hotspots for mercury methylation, and potential downstream transport.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
New study where McKenzie Kuhn, I and co-authors show that accounting for differences among wetland and lake types is crucial for estimating current and future boreal-Arctic methane emissions – out now in Nature Climate Change.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Current and future methane emissions from boreal-Arctic wetlands and lakes - Nature Climate Change
How much methane will be emitted from the boreal-Arctic region under climate change is not well constrained. Here the authors show that accounting for distinct wetland and lake classes leads to lower ...
www.nature.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
New study where McKenzie Kuhn, I and co-authors show that accounting for differences among wetland and lake types is crucial for estimating current and future boreal-Arctic methane emissions – out now in Nature Climate Change.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
Freshwater Ecology position!!! careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1652277...
August 23, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Freshwater Ecology position!!! careers.ucalgary.ca/jobs/1652277...
Perfect day for measuring carbon dioxide and methane emissions from our thawed (former permafrost) fen in northern Alberta. 20 deg C, light breeze and almost no mosquitoes.
August 14, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Perfect day for measuring carbon dioxide and methane emissions from our thawed (former permafrost) fen in northern Alberta. 20 deg C, light breeze and almost no mosquitoes.
Reposted by David Olefeldt
The term “abrupt permafrost thaw” is increasingly used in the scientific literature. The concept comes with challenges as authors look at “abrupt“ change with different perspectives on time scales, magnitudes, and impacts. Webb et al developed a new conceptual framework: doi.org/10.1007/s406...
A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework - Current Climate Change Reports
Purpose of Review We review how ‘abrupt thaw’ has been used in published studies, compare these definitions to abrupt processes in other Earth science disciplines, and provide a definitive framework f...
doi.org
July 28, 2025 at 12:09 AM
The term “abrupt permafrost thaw” is increasingly used in the scientific literature. The concept comes with challenges as authors look at “abrupt“ change with different perspectives on time scales, magnitudes, and impacts. Webb et al developed a new conceptual framework: doi.org/10.1007/s406...
CBC highlights the issue of greenhouse gas emissions from peatland fires in Canada.
www.cbc.ca/news/science...
www.cbc.ca/news/science...
Carbon emissions from Canada's wildfires are spiking. But that's not counting our vast peatlands | CBC News
A new government model to estimate peatland emissions and their impact on climate change could provide a new perspective on the problem — and spark new discussions about solutions.
www.cbc.ca
July 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM
CBC highlights the issue of greenhouse gas emissions from peatland fires in Canada.
www.cbc.ca/news/science...
www.cbc.ca/news/science...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
#TansleyReview: The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of #SphagnumMoss
@queenofpeat.bsky.social, et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
@queenofpeat.bsky.social, et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
July 19, 2025 at 11:45 AM
#TansleyReview: The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of #SphagnumMoss
@queenofpeat.bsky.social, et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
@queenofpeat.bsky.social, et al. 👇
📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#LatestIssue
I spent this week collecting river samples in northwestern Canada (Dehcho, Hay, and South Slave regions), an area the size of England with ~4,000 km of driving.
And so much of the landscape is burned - we drove hours and hours through charred forests. The last decade has been unprecedented.
And so much of the landscape is burned - we drove hours and hours through charred forests. The last decade has been unprecedented.
July 17, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I spent this week collecting river samples in northwestern Canada (Dehcho, Hay, and South Slave regions), an area the size of England with ~4,000 km of driving.
And so much of the landscape is burned - we drove hours and hours through charred forests. The last decade has been unprecedented.
And so much of the landscape is burned - we drove hours and hours through charred forests. The last decade has been unprecedented.
The bog gives and the bog takes. Liam Heffernan's PhD site, the Lutose thermokarst big - photos from 2015 and today 10 years later... Note the trees dying in the background due to permafrost thaw, and the growth of Sphagnum mosses covering our once proud boardwalk!
July 11, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The bog gives and the bog takes. Liam Heffernan's PhD site, the Lutose thermokarst big - photos from 2015 and today 10 years later... Note the trees dying in the background due to permafrost thaw, and the growth of Sphagnum mosses covering our once proud boardwalk!
I have a fully funded PhD position open for start in Jan or May 2026. Field work in peatlands of the Northwest Territories, with lab work to understand potential downstream mobilization of carbon, nutrients, mercury after thaw or wildfire. Reach out for more information, and please send on!
July 7, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I have a fully funded PhD position open for start in Jan or May 2026. Field work in peatlands of the Northwest Territories, with lab work to understand potential downstream mobilization of carbon, nutrients, mercury after thaw or wildfire. Reach out for more information, and please send on!
When the Arctic burns, the soils thaw. How much and for how long? Anna Talucci compiled depth of thaw measurements from 157 sites, now published in ESSD. Main impact occurs 4-10 years after fire, but effects remain 20+ years. Key information to estimate losses of soil C!
doi.org/10.5194/essd...
doi.org/10.5194/essd...
June 26, 2025 at 2:59 PM
When the Arctic burns, the soils thaw. How much and for how long? Anna Talucci compiled depth of thaw measurements from 157 sites, now published in ESSD. Main impact occurs 4-10 years after fire, but effects remain 20+ years. Key information to estimate losses of soil C!
doi.org/10.5194/essd...
doi.org/10.5194/essd...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
'We should restore peatlands to slow down the invading Russians' as an idea tells us a lot about the state we are in.
www.aeco.earth/blog/peatlan...
www.aeco.earth/blog/peatlan...
Peatlands as a natural defence: An innovative approach to Europe's security
Europe’s defence needs a rethink. Rewetting peatlands offers a low-cost, dual solution for security, climate action, and nature conservation.
www.aeco.earth
June 18, 2025 at 8:41 AM
'We should restore peatlands to slow down the invading Russians' as an idea tells us a lot about the state we are in.
www.aeco.earth/blog/peatlan...
www.aeco.earth/blog/peatlan...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
My perspective “Tree methane exchange in a changing world” is now out in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com rdcu.be/erF4j
June 19, 2025 at 9:22 AM
My perspective “Tree methane exchange in a changing world” is now out in @natrevearthenviron.nature.com rdcu.be/erF4j
This new map provides a global view of the distribution of a multitude of aquatic ecosystems, including various wetlands. It's a pretty big step forward, and I look forward to seeing how it will be used e.g. to study wetland greenhouse gases.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Mapping the world's inland surface waters: an upgrade to the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD v2)
Abstract. In recognition of the importance of inland waters, numerous datasets mapping their extents, types, or changes have been created using sources ranging from historical wetland maps to real-tim...
essd.copernicus.org
June 4, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This new map provides a global view of the distribution of a multitude of aquatic ecosystems, including various wetlands. It's a pretty big step forward, and I look forward to seeing how it will be used e.g. to study wetland greenhouse gases.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
We are looking for a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Community Ecology, Biological Invasions, Allelopathy, and Plant-Soil Feedbacks.
Details here:
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
Details here:
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
Search Jobs - University Affairs
universityaffairs.ca
May 16, 2025 at 3:57 PM
We are looking for a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Community Ecology, Biological Invasions, Allelopathy, and Plant-Soil Feedbacks.
Details here:
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
Details here:
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
1/3
The new Global Methane Budget is now published, open access.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
The new Global Methane Budget is now published, open access.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
May 13, 2025 at 5:34 AM
1/3
The new Global Methane Budget is now published, open access.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
The new Global Methane Budget is now published, open access.
essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
We are hiring. We are looking for an early career researcher to work with us in project MOOSland to investigate the effect of Sphagnum paludiculture on GHG exchange of rewetted peat. www.uni-greifswald.de/en/universit... @greifswaldmoor.bsky.social @unigreifswald.bsky.social
Research Fellow (Pre/Post-Doc) - Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology 25/Wi16
Stellenausschreibung AG Morrforschung
www.uni-greifswald.de
April 27, 2025 at 2:12 PM
We are hiring. We are looking for an early career researcher to work with us in project MOOSland to investigate the effect of Sphagnum paludiculture on GHG exchange of rewetted peat. www.uni-greifswald.de/en/universit... @greifswaldmoor.bsky.social @unigreifswald.bsky.social
Reposted by David Olefeldt
We're new here! Help us connect with our members and interested followers 😀
April 22, 2025 at 11:13 PM
We're new here! Help us connect with our members and interested followers 😀
I run a mid-size research group (7 graduate students / staff, 3 field assistants) which focuses on field-based research in northern Canada. Last year (2024-2025) our total expenses were ~CAD$370,000, provided in grants from federal/provincial/industry agencies, and it was spent as shown below.
March 20, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I run a mid-size research group (7 graduate students / staff, 3 field assistants) which focuses on field-based research in northern Canada. Last year (2024-2025) our total expenses were ~CAD$370,000, provided in grants from federal/provincial/industry agencies, and it was spent as shown below.
Reposted by David Olefeldt
JOB ALERT Exciting opportunity for a Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in #PhysicalGeography specialising in #peatland science to join our #Geography department at @uniofmanchester.bsky.social.
Full details for the job can be found here: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Full details for the job can be found here: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Lecturer in Physical Geography :Oxford Road
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
March 11, 2025 at 8:30 PM
JOB ALERT Exciting opportunity for a Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in #PhysicalGeography specialising in #peatland science to join our #Geography department at @uniofmanchester.bsky.social.
Full details for the job can be found here: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Full details for the job can be found here: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Reposted by David Olefeldt
For more on carbon loss from thawing permafrost peatlands, see our NWT paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Permafrost thaw causes large carbon loss in boreal peatlands while changes to peat quality are limited
Permafrost peatlands in northern Canada are globally significant carbon stores, but they are vulnerable to ongoing permafrost thaw. Our study shows thawing permafrost peatlands lose large quantities ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 17, 2025 at 3:45 PM
For more on carbon loss from thawing permafrost peatlands, see our NWT paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...