An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers.
Permafrost thaw in Arctic watersheds threatens to mobilize hitherto sequestered carbon. We examine the radiocarbon activity (F14C) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the northern Mackenzie River basin. From 2003-2017, DOC-F14C signatures (1.00 ± 0.04; n = 39) tracked atmospheric 14CO2, indicating...
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ftunivcam:oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/315156 2023-07-30T04:01:20+02:00 An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. Schwab, Melissa S Hilton, Robert G Raymond, Peter A Haghipour, Negar Amos, Edwin Tank, Suzanne E Holmes, Robert M Tipper, Edward T Eglinton, Timothy I 2020-12-16 Print-Electronic application/pdf https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.62261 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/315156 eng eng American Geophysical Union (AGU) http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2020gl088823 Geophys Res Lett doi:10.17863/CAM.62261 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/315156 Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Mackenzie River discharge dissolved organic carbon permafrost warming Article 2020 ftunivcam https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.62261 2023-07-10T21:59:11Z Permafrost thaw in Arctic watersheds threatens to mobilize hitherto sequestered carbon. We examine the radiocarbon activity (F14C) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the northern Mackenzie River basin. From 2003-2017, DOC-F14C signatures (1.00 ± 0.04; n = 39) tracked atmospheric 14CO2, indicating export of "modern" carbon. This trend was interrupted in June 2018 by the widespread release of aged DOC (0.85 ± 0.16, n = 28) measured across three separate catchment areas. Increased nitrate concentrations in June 2018 lead us to attribute this pulse of 14C-depleted DOC to mobilization of previously frozen soil organic matter. We propose export through lateral perennial thaw zones that occurred at the base of the active layer weakened by preceding warm summer and winter seasons. Although we are not yet able to ascertain the broader significance of this "anomalous" mobilization event, it highlights the potential for rapid and large-scale release of aged carbon from permafrost. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Mackenzie river permafrost Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository Arctic Mackenzie River |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcam |
language |
English |
topic |
Mackenzie River discharge dissolved organic carbon permafrost warming |
spellingShingle |
Mackenzie River discharge dissolved organic carbon permafrost warming Schwab, Melissa S Hilton, Robert G Raymond, Peter A Haghipour, Negar Amos, Edwin Tank, Suzanne E Holmes, Robert M Tipper, Edward T Eglinton, Timothy I An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. |
topic_facet |
Mackenzie River discharge dissolved organic carbon permafrost warming |
description |
Permafrost thaw in Arctic watersheds threatens to mobilize hitherto sequestered carbon. We examine the radiocarbon activity (F14C) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the northern Mackenzie River basin. From 2003-2017, DOC-F14C signatures (1.00 ± 0.04; n = 39) tracked atmospheric 14CO2, indicating export of "modern" carbon. This trend was interrupted in June 2018 by the widespread release of aged DOC (0.85 ± 0.16, n = 28) measured across three separate catchment areas. Increased nitrate concentrations in June 2018 lead us to attribute this pulse of 14C-depleted DOC to mobilization of previously frozen soil organic matter. We propose export through lateral perennial thaw zones that occurred at the base of the active layer weakened by preceding warm summer and winter seasons. Although we are not yet able to ascertain the broader significance of this "anomalous" mobilization event, it highlights the potential for rapid and large-scale release of aged carbon from permafrost. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Schwab, Melissa S Hilton, Robert G Raymond, Peter A Haghipour, Negar Amos, Edwin Tank, Suzanne E Holmes, Robert M Tipper, Edward T Eglinton, Timothy I |
author_facet |
Schwab, Melissa S Hilton, Robert G Raymond, Peter A Haghipour, Negar Amos, Edwin Tank, Suzanne E Holmes, Robert M Tipper, Edward T Eglinton, Timothy I |
author_sort |
Schwab, Melissa S |
title |
An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. |
title_short |
An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. |
title_full |
An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. |
title_fullStr |
An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. |
title_full_unstemmed |
An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers. |
title_sort |
abrupt aging of dissolved organic carbon in large arctic rivers. |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.62261 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/315156 |
geographic |
Arctic Mackenzie River |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Mackenzie River |
genre |
Arctic Mackenzie river permafrost |
genre_facet |
Arctic Mackenzie river permafrost |
op_relation |
doi:10.17863/CAM.62261 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/315156 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.62261 |
_version_ |
1772812072845836288 |