We use sediment records of lignin to reconstruct deglacial vegetation change and permafrost mobilization, which occurred earlier in the Yukon than in the Amur river basin. Sea ice extent or surface temperatures of adjacent oceans might have had a strong influence on the timing of permafrost mobilization. In contrast to previous evidence, our records imply that during glacial peaks of permafrost decomposition, lipids and lignin might have been delivered to the ocean by identical processes.