Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Northern lakes are a source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and contribute substantially to the global carbon budget. However, the sources of methane (CH4) to northern lakes are poorly constrained limiting our ability to the assess impacts of future Arctic change. Here we present measurements...
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ftunivnorthumb:oai:nrl.northumbria.ac.uk:42318 2023-05-15T14:54:14+02:00 Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska Dabrowski, Jessica S. Charette, Matthew A. Mann, Paul Ludwig, Sarah M. Natali, Susan M. Holmes, Robert Max Schade, John D. Powell, Margaret Henderson, Paul B. 2020-03 text https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42318/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00647-w https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42318/1/manuscript_Biogeochemistry_revision1_clean.pdf en eng Springer https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42318/1/manuscript_Biogeochemistry_revision1_clean.pdf Dabrowski, Jessica S., Charette, Matthew A., Mann, Paul, Ludwig, Sarah M., Natali, Susan M., Holmes, Robert Max, Schade, John D., Powell, Margaret and Henderson, Paul B. (2020) Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Biogeochemistry, 148 (1). pp. 69-89. ISSN 0168-2563 F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftunivnorthumb https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00647-w 2022-09-25T06:11:34Z Northern lakes are a source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and contribute substantially to the global carbon budget. However, the sources of methane (CH4) to northern lakes are poorly constrained limiting our ability to the assess impacts of future Arctic change. Here we present measurements of the natural groundwater tracer, radon, and CH4 in a shallow lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, AK and quantify groundwater discharge rates and fluxes of groundwater-derived CH4. We found that groundwater was significantly enriched (2000%) in radon and CH4 relative to lake water. Using a mass balance approach, we calculated average groundwater fluxes of 1.2 ± 0.6 and 4.3 ± 2.0 cm day−1, respectively as conservative and upper limit estimates. Groundwater CH4 fluxes were 7—24 mmol m−2 day−1 and significantly exceeded diffusive air–water CH4 fluxes (1.3–2.3 mmol m−2 day−1) from the lake to the atmosphere, suggesting that groundwater is an important source of CH4 to Arctic lakes and may drive observed CH4 emissions. Isotopic signatures of CH4 were depleted in groundwaters, consistent with microbial production. Higher methane concentrations in groundwater compared to other high latitude lakes were likely the source of the comparatively higher CH4 diffusive fluxes, as compared to those reported previously in high latitude lakes. These findings indicate that deltaic lakes across warmer permafrost regions may act as important hotspots for CH4 release across Arctic landscapes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Kuskokwim permafrost Tundra Alaska Yukon Northumbria University, Newcastle: Northumbria Research Link (NRL) Arctic Yukon Biogeochemistry 148 1 69 89 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Northumbria University, Newcastle: Northumbria Research Link (NRL) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnorthumb |
language |
English |
topic |
F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences |
spellingShingle |
F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences Dabrowski, Jessica S. Charette, Matthew A. Mann, Paul Ludwig, Sarah M. Natali, Susan M. Holmes, Robert Max Schade, John D. Powell, Margaret Henderson, Paul B. Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
topic_facet |
F800 Physical and Terrestrial Geographical and Environmental Sciences |
description |
Northern lakes are a source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and contribute substantially to the global carbon budget. However, the sources of methane (CH4) to northern lakes are poorly constrained limiting our ability to the assess impacts of future Arctic change. Here we present measurements of the natural groundwater tracer, radon, and CH4 in a shallow lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, AK and quantify groundwater discharge rates and fluxes of groundwater-derived CH4. We found that groundwater was significantly enriched (2000%) in radon and CH4 relative to lake water. Using a mass balance approach, we calculated average groundwater fluxes of 1.2 ± 0.6 and 4.3 ± 2.0 cm day−1, respectively as conservative and upper limit estimates. Groundwater CH4 fluxes were 7—24 mmol m−2 day−1 and significantly exceeded diffusive air–water CH4 fluxes (1.3–2.3 mmol m−2 day−1) from the lake to the atmosphere, suggesting that groundwater is an important source of CH4 to Arctic lakes and may drive observed CH4 emissions. Isotopic signatures of CH4 were depleted in groundwaters, consistent with microbial production. Higher methane concentrations in groundwater compared to other high latitude lakes were likely the source of the comparatively higher CH4 diffusive fluxes, as compared to those reported previously in high latitude lakes. These findings indicate that deltaic lakes across warmer permafrost regions may act as important hotspots for CH4 release across Arctic landscapes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dabrowski, Jessica S. Charette, Matthew A. Mann, Paul Ludwig, Sarah M. Natali, Susan M. Holmes, Robert Max Schade, John D. Powell, Margaret Henderson, Paul B. |
author_facet |
Dabrowski, Jessica S. Charette, Matthew A. Mann, Paul Ludwig, Sarah M. Natali, Susan M. Holmes, Robert Max Schade, John D. Powell, Margaret Henderson, Paul B. |
author_sort |
Dabrowski, Jessica S. |
title |
Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
title_short |
Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
title_full |
Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska |
title_sort |
using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the yukon-kuskokwim delta, alaska |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42318/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00647-w https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42318/1/manuscript_Biogeochemistry_revision1_clean.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Kuskokwim permafrost Tundra Alaska Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Kuskokwim permafrost Tundra Alaska Yukon |
op_relation |
https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/42318/1/manuscript_Biogeochemistry_revision1_clean.pdf Dabrowski, Jessica S., Charette, Matthew A., Mann, Paul, Ludwig, Sarah M., Natali, Susan M., Holmes, Robert Max, Schade, John D., Powell, Margaret and Henderson, Paul B. (2020) Using radon to quantify groundwater discharge and methane fluxes to a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. Biogeochemistry, 148 (1). pp. 69-89. ISSN 0168-2563 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00647-w |
container_title |
Biogeochemistry |
container_volume |
148 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
69 |
op_container_end_page |
89 |
_version_ |
1766325963516280832 |