Understanding the under-ice accumulation and emission of carbon dioxide and methane in Arctic lakes surrounding Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktutiak), Nunavut. ...

• Main Author: Walker, Zoe L
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Arts 2023
• Subjects: Carbon Cycles; Methane Accumulation; Carbon Dioxide Accumulation; Biogeochemistry; Gas exchange.; Geography; Biology > Limnology; Arctic; Cambridge Bay; Ikaluktutiak; Nunavut
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/prism/dspace/41334; https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/116490

The accumulation and emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) from high-latitude lakes has been recognized as an important contributor to the global carbon cycle and global carbon budgets. Published studies focus on the open-water season, often excluding the ice-covered period and rarely include lakes from the Canadian high Arctic. The ice-covered period is a critical component of lake carbon budgets, as the gases that accumulate over the winter and emit during the spring thaw represent a substantial fraction of total lake emissions. In this study, we collected under-ice chemistry measurements, including dissolved gases, during the early spring from 50 lakes near Cambridge Bay (Ikaluktutiak), Nunavut. The variability in concentration was substantial for CO2 (8.32-132.68 mg L-1 ) and CH4 (0.0005-3.16 mg L-1). We found strong logarithmic relationships between dissolved oxygen (O2) and CH4 as well as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and CO2. We theorized that depth of water is the primary control on ...