The East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) is a significant source of atmospheric methane, and the coastal Laptev Sea near the Lena River Delta is a documented hotspot for methane seepage. While anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) acts as a critical biofilter, the specific pathways and electron acceptors driving this process in the unique river-influenced settings of the Arctic remain poorly understood. The Lena River delivers substantial terrigenous nutrients to this region, contributing approximately 10 % of the total riverine nitrogen and 17 % of the iron input to the Arctic Ocean. This study examines the hypothesis that these nutrient fluxes play a crucial role in regulating AOM, a key process mitigating methane emissions. We compared the geochemical conditions at active methane seep sites and background areas, with a special focus on nitrogen and iron compounds in bottom and pore waters.Our geochemical investigation reveals three key findings: (1) Methane concentrations were substantially elevated at seep sites (up to 3118 nM) compared to background areas (as low as 5.5 nM) and showed negative correlations with nitrate (NO3−) and iron (Fe) concentrations. (2) A clear decoupling of the FeMn cycles at seep sites, which was absent in background sediments, indicates the preferential utilization of reactive iron oxides in AOM (Fe-AOM). (3) A severe depletion of bioavailable nitrogen species was observed in seep zones, where nitrate and nitrite concentrations were 5.5-fold and 2-fold lower, respectively, than in background areas, suggesting active nitrate/nitrite-dependent AOM (N-AOM).These findings demonstrate that on the nutrient-rich, river-influenced Laptev Sea shelf, AOM is primarily driven not by canonical sulfate reduction, but by the reduction of nitrogen species and iron. This newly identified coupling between riverine nutrient fluxes and AOM pathways represents a critical, yet previously overlooked, mechanism that could significantly suppress methane emissions from climate-sensitive Arctic shelves. To our knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive investigation of nitrogen and iron transformation mechanisms coupled with methane oxidation at the water-sediment interface in the cold seeps of the coastal Laptev Sea shelf.

Global warming increases the vegetation cover and leads to shifts in vegetation types in the Arctic. An increase in the vegetation cover might substantially enhance carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from northern permafrost soils, since root exudation of labile carbon and nitrogen can stimulate soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition via the rhizosphere priming effect. The current understanding of Arctic rhizosphere priming largely rests on soil incubation studies that simulate root exudation by adding various organic substrates in varying concentrations to soils. How the specific exudates of different plants influence rhizosphere priming is unclear as Arctic plant root exudate release rates and composition are largely unknown. Using targeted and non-targeted liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, we compared the exudate composition and exudation rates of total organic carbon, 7 organic acids, 14 amino acids and 9 carbohydrates from three abundant and functionally different tundra plants (Betula glandulosa, Alnus viridis and Eriophorum vaginatum). While organic carbon and primary metabolites exudation were similar among the studied plants despite their different nitrogen acquisition strategies, distinct differences between the plant species were found in the overall root exudate composition. Between 80 and 94 % of the root exudate metabolome was not shared among the three plants. Our findings indicate that a change in vegetation types across the Arctic will primarily alter the release of secondary plant metabolites into the soil and thereby could alter soil microbial processes. Our observations further suggest that previous laboratory experiments studying priming frequently oversaturated microorganisms with labile substrates compared to natural conditions; this highlights the need for more realistic priming studies. Our data on root exudation provide critical background information for improving laboratory experiments.

Meiofauna (all invertebrates smaller than 1 mm) are not only sensitive to environmental changes but also contribute significantly to nutrient cycling and energy transfer to higher trophic levels. Despite their importance, meiofauna distribution and ecology in the Siberian seas remain understudied. Here, we employ sediment environmental DNA metabarcoding to characterize meiofauna diversity across the unexplored Siberian seas. We show that meiofauna community structure is primarily driven by river discharge and coastal erosion, which are heavily influenced by climate change, rather than geographical distinctions between the seas. We observed higher meiofauna diversity in nearshore areas where river plumes promoted colonizer nematode communities that are resilient to disturbances. Yet, their dominance may lead to decreased ecosystem stability in the future. This study provides a valuable baseline for meiofauna diversity in remote Siberian seas undergoing rapid environmental change, which will be useful for assessing the future direction and pace of benthic ecological trajectories.

Land permafrost thaw transfers increasing amounts of organic matter and nutrients to the Arctic Ocean. These nutrients could stimulate primary production directly, or indirectly following remineralization in sediments. Projections of this effect are limited by scarce observations and poor understanding of the underlying controls. Here, we focus on the Kara, Laptev, and East Siberian Sea shelves that receive strong input from large rivers and coastal erosion, linking ship-board measurements of sediment–water nutrient fluxes to environmental parameters associated with land input. Ammonium and nitrite releases were positively related to high concentration and low decomposition state of terrigenous organic matter, based on biomarkers. Nitrate release was related to O2 penetration depth. Phosphate and silicate release were highest at stations with strong marine influence. Our findings suggest that changes in environmental conditions, such as land input, might alter the nutrient balance in the Siberian Arctic Ocean, with implications for ecological and biogeochemical processes.

Arctic climate warming is causing permafrost thaw and erosion, which may lead to enhanced inputs of terrestrial organic matter into Arctic Ocean shelf sediments. Degradation of terrestrial organic matter in sediments might contribute to carbon dioxide production and bottom water acidification. Yet, the degradability of organic matter in shallow Arctic Ocean sediments, as well as the contribution of terrestrial input, is poorly quantified. Here, potential organic matter degradation rates were investigated for 16 surface sediments from the Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and the western East Siberian Sea and compared with physicochemical sediment properties including molecular biomarkers, stable and radioactive carbon isotopes, and grain size. Aerobic oxygen and carbon dioxide fluxes, measured in laboratory incubations of sediment slurry, showed high spatial variability and correlated significantly with organic carbon content as well as with the amount and degradation state of terrestrial organic matter. The dependency on terrestrial organic matter declined with increasing distance from land, indicating that the presence of terrestrial organic matter is likely a constraining factor for organic matter degradation in shallow shelf seas. However, sediment oxygen consumption rates, measured in incubations of intact sediment cores, also exhibited substantial spatial variability but were not related to organic carbon content or terrestrial influence. Oxygen consumption of intact sediments may be more strongly influenced by in situ redox conditions. Together with previous observations, our findings support that terrestrial organic matter is easily degradable in shelf sea sediments and might substantially contribute to aerobic carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption.