Chemical Indicators of Arctic Biological and Environmental Activities.

• Main Authors: McCown, Brent, Coyne, Patrick, Brown, Jerry, Murrmann, R. P.
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1972
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *ECOLOGY; *ARCTIC REGIONS; *CARBON DIOXIDE; ARCTIC REGIONS; PLANTS(BOTANY); SOILS; PERMAFROST; LIPIDS; ALCOHOLS; CARBOHYDRATES; ATMOSPHERES; NUTRITION; SEASONAL VARIATIONS; *TUNDRA; Arctic; Barrow; Ice; permafrost; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0741797; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0741797

Two approaches were used to study the carbon cycling in a cold-dominated ecosystem at Barrow, Alaska. One involved a detailed analysis of the flow of CO2 between the atmosphere, soil and biota and the other concentrated on the internal carbon cycling in plants. A pilot study was also conducted which investigated the possibility of estimating underground plant biomass by biochemical means. Both laboratory and field studies were conducted to analyze the input of CO2 to the arctic atmosphere by frozen tundra soils. Data are presented which indicate that frozen soil is a major source of CO2. A procedure for the extraction and estimation of organic nutrients (lipids and carbohydrates) was developed and used. Plant survival and organic nutrient levels were followed during the winter. (Author)