Radiocarbon Dating of Polar Soils: Application Features and Genetic Interpretations of Results (A Review)

The radiocarbon method is actively used in soil science to determine the age of soils, rates of carbon exchange in the soil–atmosphere system, dynamics of organic matter, and for geochronological reconstructions in paleopedology. Given climate change, intensive thawing of permafrost and, accordingly, the release of deposited carbon, the question of the fate of this carbon in polar ecosystems is quite pressing. The review systematizes modern theoretical, methodological, and methodical approaches to the use of the 14C method in soil science and for studying soils and soil-like bodies (soloids) of polar regions. The capabilities of the method for assessing carbon mobilization during permafrost thawing, including the identification of “old” carbon involved in carbon exchange, are shown. Based on 14C data, it has been shown that the greatest release of “old” soil carbon sources during thawing occurs in soil organic carbon-rich ecosystems that are located in well-drained positions. The article presents the results of dating of Antarctic soils and soloids with a modern age and about 500–1000 years old, linked to active exogenous processes in the oases of Antarctica. The article also presents the results of dating of supraglacial systems on the surface of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctica, which have a range from modern to n × 10 000 years depending on the carbon source, from plant remains to carbon from soils buried under the glacier and fossil coals. The development of the 14C method in terms of reducing the required sample volume and increasing the productivity of scientific equipment will allow it to be effectively used in studying the behavior of carbon over time in soils, paleosols, and environmental studies, improving climate change models.