Arctic Lakes and Streams as Gas Conduits to the Atmosphere: Implications for Tundra Carbon Budgets
Arctic tundra has large amounts of stored carbon and is thought to be a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) (0.1 to 0.3 petagram of carbon per year) (1 petagram = 10 15 grams). But this estimate of carbon balance is only for terrestrial ecosystems. Measurements of the partial pressure of CO...
| Published in: | Science |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
1991
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.251.4991.298 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.251.4991.298 |
| Summary: | Arctic tundra has large amounts of stored carbon and is thought to be a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) (0.1 to 0.3 petagram of carbon per year) (1 petagram = 10 15 grams). But this estimate of carbon balance is only for terrestrial ecosystems. Measurements of the partial pressure of CO 2 in 29 aquatic ecosystems across arctic Alaska showed that in most cases (27 of 29) CO 2 was released to the atmosphere. This CO 2 probably originates in terrestrial environments; erosion of particulate carbon plus ground-water transport of dissolved carbon from tundra contribute to the CO 2 flux from surface waters to the atmosphere. If this mechanism is typical of that of other tundra areas, then current estimates of the arctic terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO 2 may be 20 percent too high. |
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