Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland
The relative roles of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition and climate change in causing ecological change in remote Arctic ecosystems, especially lakes, have been the subject of debate over the last decade. Some palaeoecological studies have cited isotopic signals ( δ ( 15 N)) preserved in lake se...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:26a1e5007f334f3784bbd76a58e28c82 2023-05-15T15:03:48+02:00 Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland C. J. Curtis J. Kaiser A. Marca N. J. Anderson G. Simpson V. Jones E. Whiteford 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 https://doaj.org/article/26a1e5007f334f3784bbd76a58e28c82 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/529/2018/bg-15-529-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/26a1e5007f334f3784bbd76a58e28c82 Biogeosciences, Vol 15, Pp 529-550 (2018) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 2022-12-31T15:41:06Z The relative roles of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition and climate change in causing ecological change in remote Arctic ecosystems, especially lakes, have been the subject of debate over the last decade. Some palaeoecological studies have cited isotopic signals ( δ ( 15 N)) preserved in lake sediments as evidence linking N deposition with ecological change, but a key limitation has been the lack of co-located data on both deposition input fluxes and isotopic composition of deposited nitrate (NO 3 − ). In Arctic lakes, including those in western Greenland, previous palaeolimnological studies have indicated a spatial variation in δ ( 15 N) trends in lake sediments but data are lacking for deposition chemistry, input fluxes and stable isotope composition of NO 3 − . In the present study, snowpack chemistry, NO 3 − stable isotopes and net deposition fluxes for the largest ice-free region in Greenland were investigated to determine whether there are spatial gradients from the ice sheet margin to the coast linked to a gradient in precipitation. Late-season snowpack was sampled in March 2011 at eight locations within three lake catchments in each of three regions (ice sheet margin in the east, the central area near Kelly Ville and the coastal zone to the west). At the coast, snowpack accumulation averaged 181 mm snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with 36 mm SWE by the ice sheet. Coastal snowpack showed significantly greater concentrations of marine salts (Na + , Cl − , other major cations), ammonium (NH 4 + regional means 1.4–2.7 µmol L −1 ), total and non-sea-salt sulfate (SO 4 2− total 1.8–7.7, non-sea-salt 1.0–1.8 µmol L −1 ) than the two inland regions. Nitrate (1.5–2.4 µmol L −1 ) showed significantly lower concentrations at the coast. Despite lower concentrations, higher precipitation at the coast results in greater net deposition for NO 3 − as well as NH 4 + and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO 4 2− ) relative to the inland regions (lowest at Kelly Ville 6, 4 and 3; highest at coast 9, 17 and 11 mol ha −1 ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Greenland Biogeosciences 15 2 529 550 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 C. J. Curtis J. Kaiser A. Marca N. J. Anderson G. Simpson V. Jones E. Whiteford Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
The relative roles of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition and climate change in causing ecological change in remote Arctic ecosystems, especially lakes, have been the subject of debate over the last decade. Some palaeoecological studies have cited isotopic signals ( δ ( 15 N)) preserved in lake sediments as evidence linking N deposition with ecological change, but a key limitation has been the lack of co-located data on both deposition input fluxes and isotopic composition of deposited nitrate (NO 3 − ). In Arctic lakes, including those in western Greenland, previous palaeolimnological studies have indicated a spatial variation in δ ( 15 N) trends in lake sediments but data are lacking for deposition chemistry, input fluxes and stable isotope composition of NO 3 − . In the present study, snowpack chemistry, NO 3 − stable isotopes and net deposition fluxes for the largest ice-free region in Greenland were investigated to determine whether there are spatial gradients from the ice sheet margin to the coast linked to a gradient in precipitation. Late-season snowpack was sampled in March 2011 at eight locations within three lake catchments in each of three regions (ice sheet margin in the east, the central area near Kelly Ville and the coastal zone to the west). At the coast, snowpack accumulation averaged 181 mm snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with 36 mm SWE by the ice sheet. Coastal snowpack showed significantly greater concentrations of marine salts (Na + , Cl − , other major cations), ammonium (NH 4 + regional means 1.4–2.7 µmol L −1 ), total and non-sea-salt sulfate (SO 4 2− total 1.8–7.7, non-sea-salt 1.0–1.8 µmol L −1 ) than the two inland regions. Nitrate (1.5–2.4 µmol L −1 ) showed significantly lower concentrations at the coast. Despite lower concentrations, higher precipitation at the coast results in greater net deposition for NO 3 − as well as NH 4 + and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO 4 2− ) relative to the inland regions (lowest at Kelly Ville 6, 4 and 3; highest at coast 9, 17 and 11 mol ha −1 ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
C. J. Curtis J. Kaiser A. Marca N. J. Anderson G. Simpson V. Jones E. Whiteford |
author_facet |
C. J. Curtis J. Kaiser A. Marca N. J. Anderson G. Simpson V. Jones E. Whiteford |
author_sort |
C. J. Curtis |
title |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_short |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_full |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_sort |
spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of no 3 − and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western greenland |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 https://doaj.org/article/26a1e5007f334f3784bbd76a58e28c82 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 15, Pp 529-550 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/529/2018/bg-15-529-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/26a1e5007f334f3784bbd76a58e28c82 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
529 |
op_container_end_page |
550 |
_version_ |
1766335651693723648 |