Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland)
Holocene permafrost from ice wedge polygons in the vicinity of large seabird breeding colonies in the Thule District, NW Greenland, was drilled to explore the relation between permafrost aggradation and seabird presence. The latter is reliant on the presence of the North Water Polynya (NOW) in the n...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b2b1d450601b41ddb2f5a7b27f3389a3 2023-05-15T13:16:25+02:00 Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) S. Wetterich T. A. Davidson A. Bobrov T. Opel T. Windirsch K. L. Johansen I. González-Bergonzoni A. Mosbech E. Jeppesen 2019-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4261-2019 https://doaj.org/article/b2b1d450601b41ddb2f5a7b27f3389a3 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.biogeosciences.net/16/4261/2019/bg-16-4261-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-16-4261-2019 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/b2b1d450601b41ddb2f5a7b27f3389a3 Biogeosciences, Vol 16, Pp 4261-4275 (2019) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4261-2019 2022-12-31T03:39:45Z Holocene permafrost from ice wedge polygons in the vicinity of large seabird breeding colonies in the Thule District, NW Greenland, was drilled to explore the relation between permafrost aggradation and seabird presence. The latter is reliant on the presence of the North Water Polynya (NOW) in the northern Baffin Bay. The onset of peat accumulation associated with the arrival of little auks ( Alle alle ) in a breeding colony at Annikitisoq, north of Cape York, is radiocarbon-dated to 4400 cal BP. A thick-billed murre ( Uria lomvia ) colony on Appat (Saunders Island) in the mouth of the Wolstenholme Fjord started 5650 cal BP. Both species provide marine-derived nutrients (MDNs) that fertilize vegetation and promote peat growth. The geochemical signature of organic matter left by the birds is traceable in the frozen Holocene peat. The peat accumulation rates at both sites are highest after the onset, decrease over time, and were about 2-times faster at the little auk site than at the thick-billed murre site. High accumulation rates induce shorter periods of organic matter (OM) decomposition before it enters the perennially frozen state. This is seen in comparably high C∕N ratios and less depleted δ 13 C, pointing to a lower degree of OM decomposition at the little auk site, while the opposite pattern can be discerned at the thick-billed murre site. Peat accumulation rates correspond to δ 15 N trends, where decreasing accumulation led to increasing depletion in δ 15 N as seen in the little-auk-related data. In contrast, the more decomposed OM of the thick-billed murre site shows almost stable δ 15 N. Late Holocene wedge ice fed by cold season precipitation was studied at the little auk site and provides the first stable-water isotopic record from Greenland with mean δ 18 O of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">18.0</mn><mo>±</mo><mn ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Alle alle Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Ice little auk permafrost Saunders Island thick-billed murre Thule Uria lomvia wedge* Wolstenholme fjord uria Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Baffin Bay Greenland Saunders ENVELOPE(-45.316,-45.316,-60.700,-60.700) Cape York ENVELOPE(-87.000,-87.000,73.801,73.801) Saunders Island ENVELOPE(-26.450,-26.450,-57.783,-57.783) Wolstenholme Fjord ENVELOPE(-68.650,-68.650,76.628,76.628) Biogeosciences 16 21 4261 4275 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
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 S. Wetterich T. A. Davidson A. Bobrov T. Opel T. Windirsch K. L. Johansen I. González-Bergonzoni A. Mosbech E. Jeppesen Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Holocene permafrost from ice wedge polygons in the vicinity of large seabird breeding colonies in the Thule District, NW Greenland, was drilled to explore the relation between permafrost aggradation and seabird presence. The latter is reliant on the presence of the North Water Polynya (NOW) in the northern Baffin Bay. The onset of peat accumulation associated with the arrival of little auks ( Alle alle ) in a breeding colony at Annikitisoq, north of Cape York, is radiocarbon-dated to 4400 cal BP. A thick-billed murre ( Uria lomvia ) colony on Appat (Saunders Island) in the mouth of the Wolstenholme Fjord started 5650 cal BP. Both species provide marine-derived nutrients (MDNs) that fertilize vegetation and promote peat growth. The geochemical signature of organic matter left by the birds is traceable in the frozen Holocene peat. The peat accumulation rates at both sites are highest after the onset, decrease over time, and were about 2-times faster at the little auk site than at the thick-billed murre site. High accumulation rates induce shorter periods of organic matter (OM) decomposition before it enters the perennially frozen state. This is seen in comparably high C∕N ratios and less depleted δ 13 C, pointing to a lower degree of OM decomposition at the little auk site, while the opposite pattern can be discerned at the thick-billed murre site. Peat accumulation rates correspond to δ 15 N trends, where decreasing accumulation led to increasing depletion in δ 15 N as seen in the little-auk-related data. In contrast, the more decomposed OM of the thick-billed murre site shows almost stable δ 15 N. Late Holocene wedge ice fed by cold season precipitation was studied at the little auk site and provides the first stable-water isotopic record from Greenland with mean δ 18 O of <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M7" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">18.0</mn><mo>±</mo><mn ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
S. Wetterich T. A. Davidson A. Bobrov T. Opel T. Windirsch K. L. Johansen I. González-Bergonzoni A. Mosbech E. Jeppesen |
author_facet |
S. Wetterich T. A. Davidson A. Bobrov T. Opel T. Windirsch K. L. Johansen I. González-Bergonzoni A. Mosbech E. Jeppesen |
author_sort |
S. Wetterich |
title |
Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) |
title_short |
Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) |
title_full |
Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) |
title_fullStr |
Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stable isotope signatures of Holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the Thule District (NW Greenland) |
title_sort |
stable isotope signatures of holocene syngenetic permafrost trace seabird presence in the thule district (nw greenland) |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4261-2019 https://doaj.org/article/b2b1d450601b41ddb2f5a7b27f3389a3 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.316,-45.316,-60.700,-60.700) ENVELOPE(-87.000,-87.000,73.801,73.801) ENVELOPE(-26.450,-26.450,-57.783,-57.783) ENVELOPE(-68.650,-68.650,76.628,76.628) |
geographic |
Baffin Bay Greenland Saunders Cape York Saunders Island Wolstenholme Fjord |
geographic_facet |
Baffin Bay Greenland Saunders Cape York Saunders Island Wolstenholme Fjord |
genre |
Alle alle Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Ice little auk permafrost Saunders Island thick-billed murre Thule Uria lomvia wedge* Wolstenholme fjord uria |
genre_facet |
Alle alle Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Ice little auk permafrost Saunders Island thick-billed murre Thule Uria lomvia wedge* Wolstenholme fjord uria |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 16, Pp 4261-4275 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://www.biogeosciences.net/16/4261/2019/bg-16-4261-2019.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-16-4261-2019 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/b2b1d450601b41ddb2f5a7b27f3389a3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4261-2019 |
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Biogeosciences |
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16 |
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