Radium isotopes and radon-222 as tracers of sediment-water interaction in Arctic coastal and lacustrine environments

• Main Author: Dabrowski, Jessica Stephanie.
• Other Authors: Matthew A, Charette., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2020
• Subjects: Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering; Earth; Atmospheric; and Planetary Sciences; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Arctic; Yukon; Climate change; Ice; Kuskokwim; permafrost; Sea ice; Subarctic; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/128993

Thesis: S.M., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2020 Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. Arctic marine and lacustrine systems are experiencing rapid warming due to climate change. These changes are especially important at the interface between sediments and surface waters because they are hotspots for biogeochemical transformations such as redox reactions, nutrient consumption and regeneration, organic matter leaching and degradation, and mineral weathering. Radium isotopes (²²³Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra) and radon-222, naturally occurring radioactive isotopes produced in sediments, are well-suited as tracers of nutrients, trace metals, and organic matter cycling processes at the sediment-water interface. In this thesis, I have applied radon-222 and the quartet of radium isotopes to study fundamental processes in subarctic lakes and on the Arctic continental shelf. First, radon-222 is used to quantify groundwater discharge into a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska in summer of 2017. Radon-derived groundwater fluxes were then paired with methane (CH₄) measurements to determine delivery rates of methane into the lake via groundwater. Groundwater CH₄ fluxes significantly exceeded diffusive air-water fluxes from the lake to the atmosphere, suggesting that groundwater is an important source of CH₄ to Arctic lakes and may drive observed CH₄ emissions. Higher CH₄ emissions were observed compared to those reported previously in high latitude lakes, like due to higher CH₄ concentrations in groundwater. These findings indicate that deltaic lakes across warmer permafrost regions may act as important hotspots for methane release across Arctic landscapes. Then, the quartet of radium isotopes is used to study the impacts of storms and sea ice formation as drivers of ...