Long-Term Changes in Concentration and Yield of Riverine Dissolved Silicon From the Poles to the Tropics ...

• Main Authors: Jankowski, Kathi Jo, Johnson, Keira, Sethna, Lienne, Julian, Paul, Wymore, Adam S., Shogren, Arial J., Thomas, Patrick K., Sullivan, Pamela L., McKnight, Diane M., McDowell, William H., Heindel, Ruth, Jones, Jeremy B., Wollheim, Wilfred, Abbott, Benjamin, Deegan, Linda, Carey, Joanna C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2023
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctic; Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000652557; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/652557

Abstract Riverine exports of silicon (Si) influence global carbon cycling through the growth of marine diatoms, which account for ∼25% of global primary production. Climate change will likely alter river Si exports in biome-specific ways due to interacting shifts in chemical weathering rates, hydrologic connectivity, and metabolic processes in aquatic and terrestrial systems. Nonetheless, factors driving long-term changes in Si exports remain unexplored at local, regional, and global scales. We evaluated how concentrations and yields of dissolved Si (DSi) changed over the last several decades of rapid climate warming using long-term data sets from 60 rivers and streams spanning the globe (e.g., Antarctic, tropical, temperate, boreal, alpine, Arctic systems). We show that widespread changes in river DSi concentration and yield have occurred, with the most substantial shifts occurring in alpine and polar regions. The magnitude and direction of trends varied within and among biomes, were most strongly ... : Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 37 (9) ...