Spatial and Temporal Drivers of Arctic and Boreal Dissolved Organic Matter Composition across Latitudinal Gradients

• Other Authors: Johnston, Sarah Ellen (author), Spencer, Robert G. M. (Professor Directing Dissertation), Marshall, Alan G. (Alan George) (University Representative), Chanton, Jeffrey P. (Committee Member), Huettel, Markus (Committee Member), Knapp, Angela Noel (Committee Member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (degree granting departmentdgg)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Tallahassee, Florida: Florida State University 2019
• Subjects: Chemical oceanography; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Climate change; permafrost
• Online Access: https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu%3A709298/datastream/TN/view/Spatial%20and%20Temporal%20Drivers%20of%20Arctic%20and%20Boreal%20Dissolved%20Organic%20Matter%20Composition%20across%20Latitudinal%20Gradients.jpg

Northern high-latitude regions are undergoing rapid changes as the Arctic warms at about twice the rate of mid-latitudes. Climate change is causing permafrost thaw, vegetation and hydrologic shifts, and the increased incidence of wildfire, all of which have major implications for regional and global carbon (C) cycling. In this study, I evaluate dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition across temporal and spatial gradients using chromophoric DOM (CDOM), the biomarker lignin phenol, and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). The goal of this dissertation was to improve spatial and temporal understanding of DOM composition and cycling across aquatic gradients by improving spatial (Chapter 1) and temporal (Chapter 2) coverage of DOM composition, and using space for time gradients to understand the seasonal and landscape scale controls on DOM composition in lakes and rivers (Chapters 3 and 4, respectively) and how they may change into the future. Finally, an overarching theme of these studies were the utilization of optical measurements to estimate dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and DOM composition for future applications for in situ and remote sensing technology. By including an understudied, mid-sized watershed in pan-Arctic flux estimates as a model for the unsampled portion of the pan-Arctic watershed (i.e. not encompassed in the major six Arctic rivers from which historic estimates are extrapolated) DOC flux estimates were increased from 27 Tg C to 34 Tg C annually to the Arctic Ocean. Additionally, the residence time of lignin and thus terrestrial DOM was further constrained from previous studies to 0.5 to 1.8 years. This refinement of the pan-Arctic flux estimate and terrestrial DOM residence time is important for the accurate assessment of land-ocean C fluxes and their implications for future change. Temporal DOM dynamics were also evaluated in both rivers and lakes. Diel lake sampling revealed that seasonal variability accounted for the greatest changes in ...