Glaciers and Land‐to‐Ocean Flux of Carbon

• Main Authors: Paulsen, Maria L., Robson, Benjamin A.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: Greenland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119300762.wsts0199; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2F9781119300762.wsts0199; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781119300762.wsts0199; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/9781119300762.wsts0199

Abstract Glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets currently cover 12% of the Earth's land surface. The vast majority of glaciers worldwide are now in a state of retreat at unprecedented rates, with the most substantial mass loss originating from Greenland (37% of the global). The mass of ice‐locked organic matter is substantial and represents a hitherto poorly understood reservoir of organic carbon. In this article, we aim to summarize the current data on the concentrations of organic carbon across glacial systems and its origin and fate. Further, we aim to discuss the land‐to‐ocean flux of organic carbon and the effect on downstream environments. Several studies have suggested the glacial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to have a pronounced impact on the coastal ecosystems because glacial DOC is highly bioavailable, i.e. has a high potential to feed downstream heterotrophic organisms. These studies, however, do not consider that the bioavailable carbon of coastal systems is in fact higher than in the glacial runoff. Contrary to previous studies, we, therefore, stress that glaciers are not a major source of neither DOC or bioavailable DOC and instead identify new focus areas in the field, such as the influence of the catchment area and the role of particulate organic carbon.