Characterizing Methane Emission Hotspots From Thawing Permafrost

Methane (CH4) emissions from climate‐sensitive ecosystems within the northern permafrost region represent a potentially large but highly uncertain source, with current estimates spanning a factor of seven (11–75 Tg CH4 yr−1). Accelerating permafrost thaw threatens significant increases in pan‐Arctic CH4 emissions, amplifying the permafrost carbon feedback. We used airborne imaging spectroscopy with meter‐scale spatial resolution and broad coverage to identify a previously undiscovered CH4 emission hotspot adjacent to a thermokarst lake in interior Alaska. Hotspot emissions were confined to