Complex Microbial Communities Drive Iron and Sulfur Cycling in Arctic Fjord Sediments

Glacial runoff is a key source of iron for primary production in the Arctic. In the fjords of the Svalbard archipelago, glacial retreat is predicted to stimulate phytoplankton blooms that were previously restricted to outer margins. Decreased sediment delivery and enhanced primary production have be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Main Authors: Buongiorno, J., Herbert, L. C., Wehrmann, L. M., Michaud, A. B., Laufer, K., Røy, H., Jørgensen, B. B., Szynkiewicz, A., Faiia, A., Yeager, K. M., Schindler, K., Lloyd, K. G.
Other Authors: Liu, Shuang-Jiang, Simons Foundation, Explorers Club
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Society for Microbiology 2019
Subjects:
Arctic
Svalbard
Svalbard Archipelago
Van Keulenfjorden
Phytoplankton
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.00949-19
https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.00949-19
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Summary:Glacial runoff is a key source of iron for primary production in the Arctic. In the fjords of the Svalbard archipelago, glacial retreat is predicted to stimulate phytoplankton blooms that were previously restricted to outer margins. Decreased sediment delivery and enhanced primary production have been hypothesized to alter sediment biogeochemistry, wherein any free reduced iron that could potentially be delivered to the shelf will instead become buried with sulfide generated through microbial sulfate reduction. We support this hypothesis with sequencing data that showed increases in the relative abundance of sulfate reducing taxa and sulfate reduction rates with increasing distance from the glaciers in Van Keulenfjorden, Svalbard. Community structure was driven by organic geochemistry, suggesting that enhanced input of organic material will stimulate sulfate reduction in interior fjord sediments as glaciers continue to recede.

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