Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica
Glaciers overrun organic matter (OM) during periods of advance, making this overrun OM available as a metabolic substrate for subglacial microbes. The biogeochemical fate of this overrun OM remains poorly understood, ultimately limiting our understanding of subglacial biogeochemical cycling, particu...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/article/9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 2023-05-15T13:37:35+02:00 Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica Joel D. Barker Andréa G. Grottoli W. Berry Lyons 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/article/9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/article/9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) mcmurdo dry valleys subglacial biogeochemistry stable isotopes nitrogen cycling basal ice Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 2022-12-31T09:47:16Z Glaciers overrun organic matter (OM) during periods of advance, making this overrun OM available as a metabolic substrate for subglacial microbes. The biogeochemical fate of this overrun OM remains poorly understood, ultimately limiting our understanding of subglacial biogeochemical cycling, particularly for cold-based glaciers. This study presents evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of algal mat material that was overrun by a cold-based glacier (Suess Glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica) during its advance 4840–3570 years BP. We use a suite of stable isotope analyses to show that active nitrogen cycling has depleted N-isotope values to amongst the lowest reported in Taylor Valley (-15.59 ‰) from an initial value of ~-1.88 ‰, while potentially depleting C-isotope values by 2.46 ‰. While this study examines biogeochemical conditions beneath a single glacier, all glaciers export meltwater during the melt season that may host algae and other OM in proglacial streams and lakes that may be overridden during glacier advance. As such, subglacial nitrogen cycling detected here may represent processes that occur in cold zones beneath glaciers generally. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic and Alpine Research Antarctica Arctic Cold-based glacier McMurdo Dry Valleys Suess Glacier Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) Glacier Taylor ENVELOPE(162.167,162.167,-77.733,-77.733) Suess Glacier ENVELOPE(162.667,162.667,-77.633,-77.633) Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 50 1 e1448643 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
mcmurdo dry valleys subglacial biogeochemistry stable isotopes nitrogen cycling basal ice Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
mcmurdo dry valleys subglacial biogeochemistry stable isotopes nitrogen cycling basal ice Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Joel D. Barker Andréa G. Grottoli W. Berry Lyons Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
mcmurdo dry valleys subglacial biogeochemistry stable isotopes nitrogen cycling basal ice Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Glaciers overrun organic matter (OM) during periods of advance, making this overrun OM available as a metabolic substrate for subglacial microbes. The biogeochemical fate of this overrun OM remains poorly understood, ultimately limiting our understanding of subglacial biogeochemical cycling, particularly for cold-based glaciers. This study presents evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of algal mat material that was overrun by a cold-based glacier (Suess Glacier, Taylor Valley, Antarctica) during its advance 4840–3570 years BP. We use a suite of stable isotope analyses to show that active nitrogen cycling has depleted N-isotope values to amongst the lowest reported in Taylor Valley (-15.59 ‰) from an initial value of ~-1.88 ‰, while potentially depleting C-isotope values by 2.46 ‰. While this study examines biogeochemical conditions beneath a single glacier, all glaciers export meltwater during the melt season that may host algae and other OM in proglacial streams and lakes that may be overridden during glacier advance. As such, subglacial nitrogen cycling detected here may represent processes that occur in cold zones beneath glaciers generally. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Joel D. Barker Andréa G. Grottoli W. Berry Lyons |
author_facet |
Joel D. Barker Andréa G. Grottoli W. Berry Lyons |
author_sort |
Joel D. Barker |
title |
Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica |
title_short |
Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica |
title_full |
Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath Suess Glacier, Antarctica |
title_sort |
stable isotope evidence for the biogeochemical transformation of ancient organic matter beneath suess glacier, antarctica |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/article/9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.000,163.000,-77.617,-77.617) ENVELOPE(162.167,162.167,-77.733,-77.733) ENVELOPE(162.667,162.667,-77.633,-77.633) |
geographic |
McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley Glacier Taylor Suess Glacier |
geographic_facet |
McMurdo Dry Valleys Taylor Valley Glacier Taylor Suess Glacier |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic and Alpine Research Antarctica Arctic Cold-based glacier McMurdo Dry Valleys Suess Glacier |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic and Alpine Research Antarctica Arctic Cold-based glacier McMurdo Dry Valleys Suess Glacier |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 https://doaj.org/article/9b87836e8bb848eea4d99f2383d1fc39 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1448643 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
e1448643 |
_version_ |
1766094376699691008 |