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The Arctic is a water-rich region, with freshwater systems covering 16 % of the northern permafrost landscape. The thawing of this permafrost creates new freshwater ecosystems, while at the same time modifying the existing lakes, streams, and rivers that are impacted by thaw. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge regarding how permafrost thaw affects lentic and lotic systems, exploring the effects of both thermokarst (thawing and collapse of ice-rich permafrost) and deepening of the active layer (the surface soil layer that thaws and refreezes each year). Within thermokarst, we further differentiate between the effects of thermokarst in lowland areas, vs. that on hillslopes. For almost all of the processes that we explore, the effects of thaw vary regionally, and between lake and stream systems. Much of this regional variation is caused by differences in ground ice content, topography, soil type, and permafrost coverage. Together, these modifying variables determine the degree to which permafrost thaw manifests as thermokarst, whether thermokarst leads to slumping or the formation of thermokarst lakes, and the manner in which constituent delivery to freshwater systems is altered by thaw. Differences in thaw-enabled constituent delivery can be considerable, with these modifying variables determining, for example, the balance between delivery of particulate vs. dissolved constituents, and inorganic vs. organic materials. Changes in the composition of thaw-impacted waters, coupled with changes in lake morphology, can strongly affect the physical and optical properties of thermokarst lakes. The ecology of thaw-impacted systems is also likely to change, with thaw-impacted lakes and streams having unique microbiological communities, and showing differences in respiration, primary production, and food web structure that are largely driven by differences in sediment, dissolved organic matter and nutrient delivery. The degree to which thaw enables the delivery of dissolved vs. particulate organic matter, coupled with the composition of that organic matter and the morphology and stratification characteristics of recipient systems will play an important role in determining the balance between the release of organic matter as greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), its burial in sediments, and its loss downstream. The magnitude of thaw impacts on northern aquatic ecosystems is increasing, as is the prevalence of thaw-impacted lakes and streams. There is therefore an urgent need to address the key gaps in understanding in order to predict the full effects of permafrost thaw on aquatic ecosystems throughout the Arctic, and their consequential feedbacks to climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As high latitudes warm, vast stocks of carbon and nitrogen stored in permafrost will become available for transport to aquatic ecosystems. While there is a growing understanding of the potential effects of permafrost collapse (thermokarst) on aquatic biogeochemical cycles, neither the spatial extent nor temporal duration of these effects is known. To test hypotheses concerning patterns and persistence of elemental export from upland thermokarst, we sampled hydrologic outflow from 83 thermokarst features in various stages of development across the North Slope of Alaska. We hypothesized that an initial pulse of carbon and nutrients would be followed by a period of elemental retention during feature recovery, and that the duration of these stages would depend on feature morphology. Thermokarst caused substantial increases in dissolved organic carbon and other solute concentrations with a particularly large impact on inorganic nitrogen. Magnitude and duration of thermokarst effects on water chemistry differed by feature type and secondarily by landscape age. Most solutes returned to undisturbed concentrations after feature stabilization, but elevated dissolved carbon, inorganic nitrogen, and sulfate concentrations persisted through stabilization for some feature types, suggesting that aquatic disturbance by thermokarst for these solutes is long-lived. Dissolved methane decreased by 90% for most feature types, potentially due to high concentrations of sulfate and inorganic nitrogen. Spatial patterns of carbon and nutrient export from thermokarst suggest that upland thermokarst may be a dominant linkage transferring carbon and nutrients from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems as the Arctic warms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]