Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada
ABSTRACTSubglacial meltwater of land-terminating glaciers in Greenland and Iceland are sources of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, but sparse empirical data exist about the spatial distribution of subglacial CH4 production and emission from glaciers in other regions of the world. This study presents...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 https://doaj.org/article/6d2f4816c7e14a4e89e4a681910ba61b |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6d2f4816c7e14a4e89e4a681910ba61b 2024-09-15T17:49:03+00:00 Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada Sarah Elise Sapper Christian Juncher Jørgensen Moritz Schroll Frank Keppler Jesper Riis Christiansen 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 https://doaj.org/article/6d2f4816c7e14a4e89e4a681910ba61b EN eng Taylor & Francis Group https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 1938-4246 1523-0430 https://doaj.org/article/6d2f4816c7e14a4e89e4a681910ba61b Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 55, Iss 1 (2023) Methane emissions subglacial meltwater alpine glacier carbon isotopes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 2024-08-05T17:49:40Z ABSTRACTSubglacial meltwater of land-terminating glaciers in Greenland and Iceland are sources of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, but sparse empirical data exist about the spatial distribution of subglacial CH4 production and emission from glaciers in other regions of the world. This study presents the first measurements of CH4 emissions from the subglacial meltwater of three outlet glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains in Yukon, Canada. Dissolved CH4 concentrations were highly elevated at 45, 135, and 250 times compared to the atmospheric equilibrium concentration in the meltwater of Dusty, Kluane, and Donjek glaciers, respectively. Dissolved CO2 concentrations were depleted relative to the atmospheric equilibrium. This points to the meltwater being a source of CH4 and a sink of CO2. Stable carbon (13C) and hydrogen (2H) isotopic signatures of the subglacial CH4 were depleted compared to atmospheric CH4 at all sites, indicating both biotic and abiotic sources and possible alteration from bacterial CH4 oxidation in the meltwater. No relation was found between CH4 concentrations in the meltwater and the meltwater chemistry or the size of the glaciers in this study. These findings suggest that CH4 emissions from subglacial environments under alpine glaciers may be a more common phenomenon than previously thought. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic glacier glacier glacier* Greenland Iceland Yukon Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 55 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Methane emissions subglacial meltwater alpine glacier carbon isotopes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
Methane emissions subglacial meltwater alpine glacier carbon isotopes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Sarah Elise Sapper Christian Juncher Jørgensen Moritz Schroll Frank Keppler Jesper Riis Christiansen Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada |
topic_facet |
Methane emissions subglacial meltwater alpine glacier carbon isotopes Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
ABSTRACTSubglacial meltwater of land-terminating glaciers in Greenland and Iceland are sources of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, but sparse empirical data exist about the spatial distribution of subglacial CH4 production and emission from glaciers in other regions of the world. This study presents the first measurements of CH4 emissions from the subglacial meltwater of three outlet glaciers of the St. Elias Mountains in Yukon, Canada. Dissolved CH4 concentrations were highly elevated at 45, 135, and 250 times compared to the atmospheric equilibrium concentration in the meltwater of Dusty, Kluane, and Donjek glaciers, respectively. Dissolved CO2 concentrations were depleted relative to the atmospheric equilibrium. This points to the meltwater being a source of CH4 and a sink of CO2. Stable carbon (13C) and hydrogen (2H) isotopic signatures of the subglacial CH4 were depleted compared to atmospheric CH4 at all sites, indicating both biotic and abiotic sources and possible alteration from bacterial CH4 oxidation in the meltwater. No relation was found between CH4 concentrations in the meltwater and the meltwater chemistry or the size of the glaciers in this study. These findings suggest that CH4 emissions from subglacial environments under alpine glaciers may be a more common phenomenon than previously thought. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sarah Elise Sapper Christian Juncher Jørgensen Moritz Schroll Frank Keppler Jesper Riis Christiansen |
author_facet |
Sarah Elise Sapper Christian Juncher Jørgensen Moritz Schroll Frank Keppler Jesper Riis Christiansen |
author_sort |
Sarah Elise Sapper |
title |
Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada |
title_short |
Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada |
title_full |
Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in Yukon, Canada |
title_sort |
methane emissions from subglacial meltwater of three alpine glaciers in yukon, canada |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 https://doaj.org/article/6d2f4816c7e14a4e89e4a681910ba61b |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic glacier glacier glacier* Greenland Iceland Yukon |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic glacier glacier glacier* Greenland Iceland Yukon |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 55, Iss 1 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 1938-4246 1523-0430 https://doaj.org/article/6d2f4816c7e14a4e89e4a681910ba61b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2023.2284456 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
55 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1810290751449333760 |