Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet
Fjord and continental shelf environments in the polar regions are host to some of the planet's most productive ecosystems and support economically important fisheries. Their productivity, however, is often critically dependent upon nutrient supply from upstream terrestrial environments delivere...
Published in: | Biogeosciences |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2016
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/102519525/bg_13_6339_2016.pdf https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/102519527/bg_13_6339_2016_supplement.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84999024965&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a 2024-04-28T08:07:30+00:00 Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet Wadham, Jemma Louise Hawkings, Jonathan Telling, Jon Chandler, Dave Alcock, Jon O'Donnell, Emily Kaur, Preeti Bagshaw, Elizabeth Tranter, Martyn Tedstone, Andrew J Nienow, Peter 2016-11-25 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1983/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/102519525/bg_13_6339_2016.pdf https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/102519527/bg_13_6339_2016_supplement.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84999024965&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Wadham , J L , Hawkings , J , Telling , J , Chandler , D , Alcock , J , O'Donnell , E , Kaur , P , Bagshaw , E , Tranter , M , Tedstone , A J & Nienow , P 2016 , ' Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet ' , Biogeosciences , vol. 13 , no. 22 , pp. 6339-6352 . https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 article 2016 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 2024-04-09T23:58:07Z Fjord and continental shelf environments in the polar regions are host to some of the planet's most productive ecosystems and support economically important fisheries. Their productivity, however, is often critically dependent upon nutrient supply from upstream terrestrial environments delivered via river systems. In glacially fed coastal ecosystems, riverine nutrients are largely sourced from melting snow and ice. The largest and most extensive glacially fed coastal ecosystem in the Arctic is that bordering the Greenland Ice Sheet. The future primary productivity of this ecosystem, however, is uncertain. A potential increase in primary productivity driven by reduced sea ice extent and associated increased light levels may be curtailed by insufficient nutrient supply, and specifically nitrogen. Research on small valley glaciers indicates that glaciers are important sources of nitrogen to downstream environments. However, no data exist from ice sheet systems such as Greenland. Time series of nitrogen concentrations in runoff are documented from a large Greenland glacier, demonstrating seasonally elevated fluxes to the ocean. Fluxes are highest in mid-summer, when nitrogen limitation is commonly reported in coastal waters. It is estimated that approximately half of the glacially exported nitrogen is sourced from microbial activity within glacial sediments at the surface and bed of the ice sheet, doubling nitrogen fluxes in runoff. Summer dissolved inorganic nitrogen fluxes from the Greenland Ice Sheet (30-40 Gg) are a similar order of magnitude to those from a large Arctic river (Holmes et al., 2012). Nitrogen yields from the ice sheet (236 kgTDNkm2 a1/, however, are approximately double those from Arctic riverine catchments.We assert that this ice sheet nitrogen subsidy to Arctic coastal ecosystems may be important for understanding coastal biodiversity, productivity and fisheries and should be considered in future biogeochemical modelling studies of coastal marine productivity in the Arctic regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Sea ice University of Bristol: Bristol Research Biogeosciences 13 22 6339 6352 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
op_collection_id |
ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
description |
Fjord and continental shelf environments in the polar regions are host to some of the planet's most productive ecosystems and support economically important fisheries. Their productivity, however, is often critically dependent upon nutrient supply from upstream terrestrial environments delivered via river systems. In glacially fed coastal ecosystems, riverine nutrients are largely sourced from melting snow and ice. The largest and most extensive glacially fed coastal ecosystem in the Arctic is that bordering the Greenland Ice Sheet. The future primary productivity of this ecosystem, however, is uncertain. A potential increase in primary productivity driven by reduced sea ice extent and associated increased light levels may be curtailed by insufficient nutrient supply, and specifically nitrogen. Research on small valley glaciers indicates that glaciers are important sources of nitrogen to downstream environments. However, no data exist from ice sheet systems such as Greenland. Time series of nitrogen concentrations in runoff are documented from a large Greenland glacier, demonstrating seasonally elevated fluxes to the ocean. Fluxes are highest in mid-summer, when nitrogen limitation is commonly reported in coastal waters. It is estimated that approximately half of the glacially exported nitrogen is sourced from microbial activity within glacial sediments at the surface and bed of the ice sheet, doubling nitrogen fluxes in runoff. Summer dissolved inorganic nitrogen fluxes from the Greenland Ice Sheet (30-40 Gg) are a similar order of magnitude to those from a large Arctic river (Holmes et al., 2012). Nitrogen yields from the ice sheet (236 kgTDNkm2 a1/, however, are approximately double those from Arctic riverine catchments.We assert that this ice sheet nitrogen subsidy to Arctic coastal ecosystems may be important for understanding coastal biodiversity, productivity and fisheries and should be considered in future biogeochemical modelling studies of coastal marine productivity in the Arctic regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wadham, Jemma Louise Hawkings, Jonathan Telling, Jon Chandler, Dave Alcock, Jon O'Donnell, Emily Kaur, Preeti Bagshaw, Elizabeth Tranter, Martyn Tedstone, Andrew J Nienow, Peter |
spellingShingle |
Wadham, Jemma Louise Hawkings, Jonathan Telling, Jon Chandler, Dave Alcock, Jon O'Donnell, Emily Kaur, Preeti Bagshaw, Elizabeth Tranter, Martyn Tedstone, Andrew J Nienow, Peter Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet |
author_facet |
Wadham, Jemma Louise Hawkings, Jonathan Telling, Jon Chandler, Dave Alcock, Jon O'Donnell, Emily Kaur, Preeti Bagshaw, Elizabeth Tranter, Martyn Tedstone, Andrew J Nienow, Peter |
author_sort |
Wadham, Jemma Louise |
title |
Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_short |
Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full |
Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_fullStr |
Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet |
title_sort |
sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the greenland ice sheet |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/102519525/bg_13_6339_2016.pdf https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/102519527/bg_13_6339_2016_supplement.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84999024965&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Greenland Ice Sheet Sea ice |
op_source |
Wadham , J L , Hawkings , J , Telling , J , Chandler , D , Alcock , J , O'Donnell , E , Kaur , P , Bagshaw , E , Tranter , M , Tedstone , A J & Nienow , P 2016 , ' Sources, cycling and export of nitrogen on the Greenland Ice Sheet ' , Biogeosciences , vol. 13 , no. 22 , pp. 6339-6352 . https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 |
op_relation |
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/03420b9a-b244-426c-86e3-3d576b5f797a |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-6339-2016 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
22 |
container_start_page |
6339 |
op_container_end_page |
6352 |
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1797576601081217024 |