Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland
The relative roles of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition and climate change in causing ecological change in remote Arctic ecosystems, especially lakes, have been the subject of debate over the last decade. Some palaeoecological studies have cited isotopic signals (δ(15N)) preserved in lake sedime...
Published in: | Biogeosciences |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/ https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/1/Published_manuscript.pdf https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/4/Published_manuscript.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 |
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ftuniveastangl:oai:ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk:66131 2023-05-15T15:03:54+02:00 Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland Curtis, Chris J. Kaiser, Jan Marca, Alina Anderson, N. John Simpson, Gavin Jones, Vivienne Whiteford, Erika 2018-01-29 application/pdf https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/ https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/1/Published_manuscript.pdf https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/4/Published_manuscript.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 en eng https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/1/Published_manuscript.pdf https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/4/Published_manuscript.pdf Curtis, Chris J., Kaiser, Jan, Marca, Alina, Anderson, N. John, Simpson, Gavin, Jones, Vivienne and Whiteford, Erika (2018) Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland. Biogeosciences, 15 (2). pp. 529-550. ISSN 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 cc_by Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftuniveastangl https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 2023-03-23T23:32:23Z The relative roles of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition and climate change in causing ecological change in remote Arctic ecosystems, especially lakes, have been the subject of debate over the last decade. Some palaeoecological studies have cited isotopic signals (δ(15N)) preserved in lake sediments as evidence linking N deposition with ecological change, but a key limitation has been the lack of co-located data on both deposition input fluxes and isotopic composition of deposited nitrate (NO3−). In Arctic lakes, including those in western Greenland, previous palaeolimnological studies have indicated a spatial variation in δ(15N) trends in lake sediments but data are lacking for deposition chemistry, input fluxes and stable isotope composition of NO3−. In the present study, snowpack chemistry, NO3− stable isotopes and net deposition fluxes for the largest ice-free region in Greenland were investigated to determine whether there are spatial gradients from the ice sheet margin to the coast linked to a gradient in precipitation. Late-season snowpack was sampled in March 2011 at eight locations within three lake catchments in each of three regions (ice sheet margin in the east, the central area near Kelly Ville and the coastal zone to the west). At the coast, snowpack accumulation averaged 181 mm snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with 36 mm SWE by the ice sheet. Coastal snowpack showed significantly greater concentrations of marine salts (Na+, Cl−, other major cations), ammonium (NH4+; regional means 1.4–2.7 µmol L−1), total and non-sea-salt sulfate (SO42−; total 1.8–7.7, non-sea-salt 1.0–1.8 µmol L−1) than the two inland regions. Nitrate (1.5–2.4 µmol L−1) showed significantly lower concentrations at the coast. Despite lower concentrations, higher precipitation at the coast results in greater net deposition for NO3− as well as NH4+ and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO42−) relative to the inland regions (lowest at Kelly Ville 6, 4 and 3; highest at coast 9, 17 and 11 mol ha−1 a−1 of NO3−, NH4+ and nss-SO42− ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet University of East Anglia: UEA Digital Repository Arctic Greenland Biogeosciences 15 2 529 550 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of East Anglia: UEA Digital Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftuniveastangl |
language |
English |
description |
The relative roles of anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition and climate change in causing ecological change in remote Arctic ecosystems, especially lakes, have been the subject of debate over the last decade. Some palaeoecological studies have cited isotopic signals (δ(15N)) preserved in lake sediments as evidence linking N deposition with ecological change, but a key limitation has been the lack of co-located data on both deposition input fluxes and isotopic composition of deposited nitrate (NO3−). In Arctic lakes, including those in western Greenland, previous palaeolimnological studies have indicated a spatial variation in δ(15N) trends in lake sediments but data are lacking for deposition chemistry, input fluxes and stable isotope composition of NO3−. In the present study, snowpack chemistry, NO3− stable isotopes and net deposition fluxes for the largest ice-free region in Greenland were investigated to determine whether there are spatial gradients from the ice sheet margin to the coast linked to a gradient in precipitation. Late-season snowpack was sampled in March 2011 at eight locations within three lake catchments in each of three regions (ice sheet margin in the east, the central area near Kelly Ville and the coastal zone to the west). At the coast, snowpack accumulation averaged 181 mm snow water equivalent (SWE) compared with 36 mm SWE by the ice sheet. Coastal snowpack showed significantly greater concentrations of marine salts (Na+, Cl−, other major cations), ammonium (NH4+; regional means 1.4–2.7 µmol L−1), total and non-sea-salt sulfate (SO42−; total 1.8–7.7, non-sea-salt 1.0–1.8 µmol L−1) than the two inland regions. Nitrate (1.5–2.4 µmol L−1) showed significantly lower concentrations at the coast. Despite lower concentrations, higher precipitation at the coast results in greater net deposition for NO3− as well as NH4+ and non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO42−) relative to the inland regions (lowest at Kelly Ville 6, 4 and 3; highest at coast 9, 17 and 11 mol ha−1 a−1 of NO3−, NH4+ and nss-SO42− ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Curtis, Chris J. Kaiser, Jan Marca, Alina Anderson, N. John Simpson, Gavin Jones, Vivienne Whiteford, Erika |
spellingShingle |
Curtis, Chris J. Kaiser, Jan Marca, Alina Anderson, N. John Simpson, Gavin Jones, Vivienne Whiteford, Erika Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
author_facet |
Curtis, Chris J. Kaiser, Jan Marca, Alina Anderson, N. John Simpson, Gavin Jones, Vivienne Whiteford, Erika |
author_sort |
Curtis, Chris J. |
title |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_short |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_full |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland |
title_sort |
spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of no3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western greenland |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/ https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/1/Published_manuscript.pdf https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/4/Published_manuscript.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/1/Published_manuscript.pdf https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/66131/4/Published_manuscript.pdf Curtis, Chris J., Kaiser, Jan, Marca, Alina, Anderson, N. John, Simpson, Gavin, Jones, Vivienne and Whiteford, Erika (2018) Spatial variations in snowpack chemistry, isotopic composition of NO3− and nitrogen deposition from the ice sheet margin to the coast of western Greenland. Biogeosciences, 15 (2). pp. 529-550. ISSN 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 |
op_rights |
cc_by |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-529-2018 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
2 |
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529 |
op_container_end_page |
550 |
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1766335746186149888 |