Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input
Summary Cryoconite holes are unique freshwater environments on glacier surfaces, formed when solar‐heated dark debris melts down into the ice. Active photoautotrophic microorganisms are abundant within the holes and fix inorganic carbon due to the availability of liquid water and solar radiation. Cr...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1462-2920.2008.01620.x http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x/fullpdf |
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x 2024-09-15T18:07:55+00:00 Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input Stibal, Marek Tranter, Martyn Benning, Liane G. Řehák, Josef 2008 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1462-2920.2008.01620.x http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x/fullpdf en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Environmental Microbiology volume 10, issue 8, page 2172-2178 ISSN 1462-2912 1462-2920 journal-article 2008 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x 2024-07-18T04:24:59Z Summary Cryoconite holes are unique freshwater environments on glacier surfaces, formed when solar‐heated dark debris melts down into the ice. Active photoautotrophic microorganisms are abundant within the holes and fix inorganic carbon due to the availability of liquid water and solar radiation. Cryoconite holes are potentially important sources of organic carbon to the glacial ecosystem, but the relative magnitudes of autochthonous microbial primary production and wind‐borne allochthonous organic matter brought are unknown. Here, we compare an estimate of annual microbial primary production in 2006 on Werenskioldbreen, a Svalbard glacier, with the organic carbon content of cryoconite debris. There is a great disparity between annual primary production (4.3 μg C g −1 year −1 ) and the high content of organic carbon within the debris (1.7–4.5%, equivalent to 8500–22 000 μg C g −1 debris). Long‐term accumulation of autochthonous organic matter is considered unlikely due to ablation dynamics and the surface hydrology of the glacier. Rather, it is more likely that the majority of the organic matter on Werenskioldbreen is allochthonous. Hence, although glacier surfaces can be a significant source of organic carbon for glacial environments on Svalbard, they may be reservoirs rather than oases of high productivity. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Svalbard Wiley Online Library Environmental Microbiology 10 8 2172 2178 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Summary Cryoconite holes are unique freshwater environments on glacier surfaces, formed when solar‐heated dark debris melts down into the ice. Active photoautotrophic microorganisms are abundant within the holes and fix inorganic carbon due to the availability of liquid water and solar radiation. Cryoconite holes are potentially important sources of organic carbon to the glacial ecosystem, but the relative magnitudes of autochthonous microbial primary production and wind‐borne allochthonous organic matter brought are unknown. Here, we compare an estimate of annual microbial primary production in 2006 on Werenskioldbreen, a Svalbard glacier, with the organic carbon content of cryoconite debris. There is a great disparity between annual primary production (4.3 μg C g −1 year −1 ) and the high content of organic carbon within the debris (1.7–4.5%, equivalent to 8500–22 000 μg C g −1 debris). Long‐term accumulation of autochthonous organic matter is considered unlikely due to ablation dynamics and the surface hydrology of the glacier. Rather, it is more likely that the majority of the organic matter on Werenskioldbreen is allochthonous. Hence, although glacier surfaces can be a significant source of organic carbon for glacial environments on Svalbard, they may be reservoirs rather than oases of high productivity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stibal, Marek Tranter, Martyn Benning, Liane G. Řehák, Josef |
spellingShingle |
Stibal, Marek Tranter, Martyn Benning, Liane G. Řehák, Josef Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
author_facet |
Stibal, Marek Tranter, Martyn Benning, Liane G. Řehák, Josef |
author_sort |
Stibal, Marek |
title |
Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
title_short |
Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
title_full |
Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
title_fullStr |
Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbial primary production on an Arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
title_sort |
microbial primary production on an arctic glacier is insignificant in comparison with allochthonous organic carbon input |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1462-2920.2008.01620.x http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x/fullpdf |
genre |
glacier Svalbard |
genre_facet |
glacier Svalbard |
op_source |
Environmental Microbiology volume 10, issue 8, page 2172-2178 ISSN 1462-2912 1462-2920 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01620.x |
container_title |
Environmental Microbiology |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
2172 |
op_container_end_page |
2178 |
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1810445285828067328 |