SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater
Most glaciers worldwide are undergoing climate-forced recession, but the impact of glacier changes on biogeochemical cycles is unclear. This study examines the influence of proglacial sediment weathering on meltwater chemistry at the early stages of glacier recession in the High Arctic of Svalbard....
Published in: | Science of The Total Environment |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/23621 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 |
id |
ftunivsilesia:oai:rebus.us.edu.pl:20.500.12128/23621 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivsilesia:oai:rebus.us.edu.pl:20.500.12128/23621 2023-05-15T14:59:52+02:00 SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater Stachnik, Łukasz Yde, Jacob C. Krzemień, Kazimierz Uzarowicz, Łukasz Sitek, Sławomir Kenis, Piotr 2022 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/23621 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 en eng "Science of the Total Environment", T. 835, 2022, art. nr 155383, s. 1-13 0048-9697 1879-1026 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/23621 doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 Uznanie autorstwa-Użycie niekomercyjne 3.0 Polska http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/pl/ CC-BY-NC Glacier recession Silicate weathering Sulphide oxidation Iron cycle Scanning electron microscopy Chemical denudation Land-based glacier 2022 ftunivsilesia https://doi.org/20.500.12128/23621 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 2022-12-31T20:15:57Z Most glaciers worldwide are undergoing climate-forced recession, but the impact of glacier changes on biogeochemical cycles is unclear. This study examines the influence of proglacial sediment weathering on meltwater chemistry at the early stages of glacier recession in the High Arctic of Svalbard. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) in combination with a wide range of geochemical analyses were used in this study. The SEM-EDS analyses of sediments collected in front of Werenskioldbreen show general degradation of pyrite and carbonate grains with age. The outer parts of pyrite grains have a gradual decrease in sulphur and gradual increase in iron oxides due to pyrite oxidation. This process was less advanced in the proglacial zone younger than 100 years compared to older sites such as the terminal moraine from the Little Ice Age. In both the proglacial zone and the terminal moraine, physical weathering of mineral grains, including formation of microcracks and microfractures, clearly enhanced pyrite oxidation. A consequence of proglacial sediment weathering is that the river chemistry is strongly affected by carbonate dissolution driven by sulphuric acid from sulphide oxidation. Also, reactive iron oxides, a product of sulphide oxidation, are mobilized in the proglacial zone. The results of this study show that proglacial weathering in the High Arctic of Svalbard is strongly coupled to river geochemistry, especially during the early stages of proglacial exposure after glacier recession. Other/Unknown Material Arctic glacier Svalbard The Repository of the University of Silesia (RE-BUŚ) Arctic Svalbard Werenskioldbreen ENVELOPE(15.336,15.336,77.077,77.077) Science of The Total Environment 835 155383 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The Repository of the University of Silesia (RE-BUŚ) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivsilesia |
language |
English |
topic |
Glacier recession Silicate weathering Sulphide oxidation Iron cycle Scanning electron microscopy Chemical denudation Land-based glacier |
spellingShingle |
Glacier recession Silicate weathering Sulphide oxidation Iron cycle Scanning electron microscopy Chemical denudation Land-based glacier Stachnik, Łukasz Yde, Jacob C. Krzemień, Kazimierz Uzarowicz, Łukasz Sitek, Sławomir Kenis, Piotr SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
topic_facet |
Glacier recession Silicate weathering Sulphide oxidation Iron cycle Scanning electron microscopy Chemical denudation Land-based glacier |
description |
Most glaciers worldwide are undergoing climate-forced recession, but the impact of glacier changes on biogeochemical cycles is unclear. This study examines the influence of proglacial sediment weathering on meltwater chemistry at the early stages of glacier recession in the High Arctic of Svalbard. Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) in combination with a wide range of geochemical analyses were used in this study. The SEM-EDS analyses of sediments collected in front of Werenskioldbreen show general degradation of pyrite and carbonate grains with age. The outer parts of pyrite grains have a gradual decrease in sulphur and gradual increase in iron oxides due to pyrite oxidation. This process was less advanced in the proglacial zone younger than 100 years compared to older sites such as the terminal moraine from the Little Ice Age. In both the proglacial zone and the terminal moraine, physical weathering of mineral grains, including formation of microcracks and microfractures, clearly enhanced pyrite oxidation. A consequence of proglacial sediment weathering is that the river chemistry is strongly affected by carbonate dissolution driven by sulphuric acid from sulphide oxidation. Also, reactive iron oxides, a product of sulphide oxidation, are mobilized in the proglacial zone. The results of this study show that proglacial weathering in the High Arctic of Svalbard is strongly coupled to river geochemistry, especially during the early stages of proglacial exposure after glacier recession. |
author |
Stachnik, Łukasz Yde, Jacob C. Krzemień, Kazimierz Uzarowicz, Łukasz Sitek, Sławomir Kenis, Piotr |
author_facet |
Stachnik, Łukasz Yde, Jacob C. Krzemień, Kazimierz Uzarowicz, Łukasz Sitek, Sławomir Kenis, Piotr |
author_sort |
Stachnik, Łukasz |
title |
SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
title_short |
SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
title_full |
SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
title_fullStr |
SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
title_full_unstemmed |
SEM-EDS and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
title_sort |
sem-eds and water chemistry characteristics at the early stages of glacier recession reveal biogeochemical coupling between proglacial sediments and meltwater |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/23621 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(15.336,15.336,77.077,77.077) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Werenskioldbreen |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Werenskioldbreen |
genre |
Arctic glacier Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic glacier Svalbard |
op_relation |
"Science of the Total Environment", T. 835, 2022, art. nr 155383, s. 1-13 0048-9697 1879-1026 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12128/23621 doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 |
op_rights |
Uznanie autorstwa-Użycie niekomercyjne 3.0 Polska http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/pl/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.12128/23621 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155383 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
835 |
container_start_page |
155383 |
_version_ |
1766331991551115264 |