Title: Coastal deltas limit dissolved black carbon export despite changing wildfire regimes in a major Arctic watershed (Yukon River, Alaska), 2019-2023
As the climate changes, fire regimes at northern high latitudes are shifting, which may alter the distribution and sequestration of carbon on land, in rivers, and in the ocean. However, dissolved black carbon dynamics (DBC) within the land-ocean continuum and amid such rapidly changing wildfire regimes are poorly understood. In summer 2022, the Yukon River watershed experienced its second highest fire year on record. This dataset includes dissolved organic carbon (DOC) quantities and DBC quantities, character, and compound-specific stable carbon isotopes of Yukon River Delta and Bering Sea water (Alaska, USA), collected during the spring freshets of 2019 and 2023, as well as late summer 2022. DBC was analyzed using the benzenepolycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method. more »« less
Abstract Rivers are the major carriers of dissolved black carbon (DBC) from land to ocean; the sources of DBC during its continuous transformation and cycling in the ocean, however, are not well characterized. Here, we present new carbon isotope data for DBC in four large and two small mountainous rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow river estuaries, the East China Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. We found that the carbon isotope signatures of DBC are relatively homogeneous, and the DBC 14 C ages in rivers are predominantly young and increase during continuous transport and cycling in the ocean. The results of charcoal leaching experiments indicate that DBC is released from charcoal and degraded by bacteria. Our study suggests that riverine DBC is labile and respired during transport and mixing into the ocean and that residual DBC is cycled and aged on the same time scales as bulk DOC in the ocean.
Barton, Riley; Richardson, Christina M; Pae, Evelyn; Montalvo, Maya S; Redmond, Michael; Zimmer, Margaret A; Wagner, Sasha
(, Limnology and Oceanography Letters)
Abstract Coastal mountain rivers export disproportionately high quantities of terrestrial organic carbon (OC) directly to the ocean, feeding microbial communities and altering coastal ecology. To better predict and mitigate the effects of wildfires on aquatic ecosystems and resources, we must evaluate the relationships between fire, hydrology, and carbon export, particularly in the fire‐prone western United States. This study examined the spatiotemporal export of particulate and dissolved OC (POC and DOC, respectively) and particulate and dissolved black carbon (PBC and DBC, respectively) from five coastal mountain watersheds following the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fires (California, USA). Despite high variability in watershed burn extent (20–98%), annual POC, DOC, PBC, and DBC concentrations remained relatively stable among the different watersheds. Instead, they correlated significantly with watershed discharge. Our findings indicate that hydrology, rather than burn extent, is a primary driver of post‐fire carbon export in coastal mountain watersheds.
Burns, A J; Spencer, R_G M; Kellerman, A M; Yan, G; Leonard, L; Kaiser, K; Mannino, A; Tzortziou, M; Hernes, P J
(, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences)
Abstract Arctic amplification is leading to increased terrestrial organic carbon (terrOC) mobilization with downstream impacts on riverine and marine biogeochemistry. To improve quantification and characterization of terrOC discharged to the Arctic Ocean, Yukon River delta samples were collected during three stages of the annual hydrograph (ascending limb/peak freshet, descending limb, late summer) and across a land‐to‐ocean salinity gradient (0.08–29.06 ppt). All samples were analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and lignin phenols to determine seasonal variability in riverine terrOC and salinity‐induced transformation of highly aromatic terrestrial compounds. Additionally, the relationship between lignin and absorbance at 350 and 412 nm was assessed to determine the feasibility of using optical proxies for accurate quantification, both seasonally and across expansive salinity gradients. Lignin phenols were highest during the ascending limb/peak freshet (0.58–0.97 mg/100 mg OC) when riverine DOC was dominated by young vascular plant sources, whereas lignin phenols were lower (0.15–0.89 mg/100 mg OC) and riverine DOC more variable in terrestrial source and diagenetic state during the descending limb and late summer. Across the sampled salinity gradient, there was disproportionate depletion of lignin (up to 73%) compared to DOC (up to 22%). Finally, while optical proxies can be used to quantify lignin within seasonal or spatial contexts, increased uncertainty is likely when expanding linear correlations across Arctic land‐ocean continuums. Overall, results indicate seasonal, spatial, interannual, and climatic controls that are amplified during high‐flow conditions and important to constrain when investigating Arctic terrOC cycling and land‐ocean DOC flux.
Kurek, Martin R; Muniz, Rafael; Moura, José_M S; Peucker‐Ehrenbrink, Bernhard; Holmes, Robert M; McKenna, Amy M; Spencer, Robert_G M
(, Global Biogeochemical Cycles)
Abstract The Amazon River exports over 10% of the global riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) flux to the ocean. However, several downstream clearwater tributaries, such as the Tapajós River, are typically not included in these measurements, omitting a crucial part of the Amazon carbon cycle. This study investigated near‐monthly DOC and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition via optical, fluorescence spectroscopy, and ultra‐high resolution mass spectrometry (FT‐ICR MS) of the Tapajós River for 8 years (2016–2024) to better understand patterns and drivers of potential organic carbon export to the lower Amazon River. DOM composition and DOC export were driven by the seasonal flood pulse of the Tapajós River, exporting aromatic terrestrial DOM from the watershed during high discharge and internally produced algal or microbial DOM during dry periods. On average, we report that the Tapajós River exports 1.38 Tg DOC annually to the downstream Amazon mixing zone, representing an amount of DOC exported by other major world rivers such as the Yukon or Mekong River. Furthermore, organic carbon export varied interannually with less DOC exported during dry El Niño events and more algal‐derived DOM exported during bloom periods. Finally, as grassland and cropland landcover increased over the study period, we observed an average decrease in aromatic DOM and an increase in microbially processed fluorophores. Our study suggests that temperature, precipitation, and anthropogenic land use changes in clearwater rivers will impact carbon export across the lower Amazon River network.
Novak, Michael G.; Mannino, Antonio; Clark, J. Blake; Hernes, Peter; Tzortziou, Maria; Spencer, Robert G.; Kellerman, Anne M.; Grunert, Brice
(, Frontiers in Marine Science)
Arctic landscapes are warming and becoming wetter due to changes in precipitation and the timing of snowmelt which consequently alters seasonal runoff and river discharge patterns. These changes in hydrology lead to increased mobilization and transport of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) to Arctic coastal seas where significant impacts on biogeochemical cycling can occur. Here, we present measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) in the Yukon River-to-Bering Sea system and two river plumes on the Alaska North Slope which flow into the Beaufort Sea. Our sampling characterized optical and biogeochemical properties of DOM during high and low river discharge periods for the Yukon River-Bering Sea system. The average DOC concentration at the multiple Yukon River mouths ranged from a high of 10.36 mg C L -1 during the ascending limb of the 2019 freshet (late May), 6.4 mg C L -1 during the descending limb of the 2019 freshet (late June), and a low of 3.86 mg C L -1 during low river discharge in August 2018. CDOM absorption coefficient at 412 nm ( a CDOM (412)) averaged 8.23 m -1 , 5.07 m -1 , and 1.9 m -1 , respectively. Several approaches to model DOC concentration based on its relationship with CDOM properties demonstrated cross-system seasonal and spatial robustness for these Arctic coastal systems despite spanning an order of magnitude decrease in DOC concentration from the lower Yukon River to the Northern Bering Sea as well as the North Slope systems. “Snapshot” fluxes of DOC and CDOM across the Yukon River Delta to Norton Sound were calculated from our measurements and modeled water fluxes forced with upstream USGS river gauge data. Our findings suggest that during high river flow, DOM reaches the delta largely unaltered by inputs or physical and biogeochemical processing and that the transformations of Yukon River DOM largely occur in the plume. However, during low summer discharge, multiple processes including local precipitation events, microbial decomposition, photochemistry, and likely others can alter the DOM properties within the lower Yukon River and Delta prior to flowing into Norton Sound.
Miller, Madelyn, Wagner, S, Spencer, R, and Kellerman, A. Coastal deltas limit dissolved black carbon export despite changing wildfire regimes in a major Arctic watershed (Yukon River, Alaska), 2019-2023. Web. doi:10.18739/a2cf9j86k.
Miller, Madelyn, Wagner, S, Spencer, R, & Kellerman, A. Coastal deltas limit dissolved black carbon export despite changing wildfire regimes in a major Arctic watershed (Yukon River, Alaska), 2019-2023. https://doi.org/10.18739/a2cf9j86k
Miller, Madelyn, Wagner, S, Spencer, R, and Kellerman, A.
"Coastal deltas limit dissolved black carbon export despite changing wildfire regimes in a major Arctic watershed (Yukon River, Alaska), 2019-2023". Country unknown/Code not available: NSF Arctic Data Center. https://doi.org/10.18739/a2cf9j86k.https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10681454.
@article{osti_10681454,
place = {Country unknown/Code not available},
title = {Coastal deltas limit dissolved black carbon export despite changing wildfire regimes in a major Arctic watershed (Yukon River, Alaska), 2019-2023},
url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10681454},
DOI = {10.18739/a2cf9j86k},
abstractNote = {As the climate changes, fire regimes at northern high latitudes are shifting, which may alter the distribution and sequestration of carbon on land, in rivers, and in the ocean. However, dissolved black carbon dynamics (DBC) within the land-ocean continuum and amid such rapidly changing wildfire regimes are poorly understood. In summer 2022, the Yukon River watershed experienced its second highest fire year on record. This dataset includes dissolved organic carbon (DOC) quantities and DBC quantities, character, and compound-specific stable carbon isotopes of Yukon River Delta and Bering Sea water (Alaska, USA), collected during the spring freshets of 2019 and 2023, as well as late summer 2022. DBC was analyzed using the benzenepolycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method.},
journal = {},
publisher = {NSF Arctic Data Center},
author = {Miller, Madelyn and Wagner, S and Spencer, R and Kellerman, A},
}
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