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Climate change is rapidly altering hydrological processes and consequently the structure and functioning of Arctic ecosystems. Predicting how these alterations will shape biogeochemical responses in rivers remains a major challenge. We measured [C]arbon and [N]itrogen concentrations continuously from two Arctic watersheds capturing a wide range of flow conditions to assess understudied event‐scale C and N concentration‐discharge (C‐Q) behavior and post‐event recovery of stoichiometric conditions. The watersheds represent low‐gradient, tundra landscapes typical of the eastern Brooks Range on the North Slope of Alaska and are part of the Arctic Long‐Term Ecological Research sites: the Kuparuk River and Oksrukuyik Creek. In both watersheds, we deployed high‐frequency optical sensors to measure dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrate (), and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) for five consecutive thaw seasons (2017–2021). Our analyses revealed a lag in DOC: stoichiometric recovery after a hydrologic perturbation: while DOC was consistently elevated after high flows, diluted during rainfall events and consequently, recovery in post‐event concentration was delayed. Conversely, the co‐enrichment of TDN at high flows, even in watersheds with relatively high N‐demand, represents a potential “leak” of hydrologically available organic N to downstream ecosystems. Our use of high‐frequency, long‐term optical sensors provides an improved method to estimate carbon and nutrient budgets and stoichiometric recovery behavior across event and seasonal timescales, enabling new insights and conceptualizations of a changing Arctic, such as assessing ecosystem disturbance and recovery across multiple timescales.

 

Processes that drive variability in catchment solute sourcing, transformation, and transport can be investigated using concentration–discharge (C–Q) relationships. These relationships reflect catchment and in‐stream processes operating across nested temporal scales, incorporating both short and long‐term patterns. Scientists can therefore leverage catchment‐scale C–Q datasets to identify and distinguish among the underlying meteorological, biological, and geological processes that drive solute export patterns from catchments and influence the shape of their respective C–Q relationships. We have synthesized current knowledge regarding the influence of biological, geological, and meteorological processes on C–Q patterns for various solute types across diel to decadal time scales. We identify cross‐scale linkages and tools researchers can use to explore these interactions across time scales. Finally, we identify knowledge gaps in our understanding of C–Q temporal dynamics as reflections of catchment and in‐stream processes. We also lay the foundation for developing an integrated approach to investigate cross‐scale linkages in the temporal dynamics of C–Q relationships, reflecting catchment biogeochemical processes and the effects of environmental change on water quality.

This article is categorized under:

Science of Water > Hydrological Processes

Science of Water > Water Quality

Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change

 

Stream dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics are an outcome of metabolic activity and subsequently regulate ecosystem functions such as in‐stream solute and sediment reactions. The synchronization of DO signals in and across stream networks is both a cause and effect of the mode and timing of these functions, but there is limited empirical evidence for network patterns of DO synchrony. We used high frequency DO measurements at 42 sites spanning five catchments and stream orders to evaluate DO signal synchrony in response to variation in light (a driver of photosynthesis) and discharge (a control on DO signal spatial extent). We hypothesized that stream network DO synchrony arises when regional controls dominate: when light inputs are synchronous and when longitudinal hydrologic connectivity is high. By complement, we predicted that DO signal synchrony decreases as light becomes more asynchronous and stream flows decline or become discontinuous. Our results supported this hypothesis: greater DO signal synchrony arose with increasing light synchrony and flow connectivity. A model including these two controls explained 70% of variation in DO synchrony. We conclude that DO synchrony patterns within‐ and across‐networks support the current paradigm of discharge and light control on stream metabolic activity. Finally, we propose that DO synchrony patterns are likely a useful prerequisite for scaling subdaily metabolism estimates to network and regional scales.

 

In Arctic catchments, bacterioplankton are dispersed through soils and streams, both of which freeze and thaw/flow in phase, seasonally. To characterize this dispersal and its potential impact on biogeochemistry, we collected bacterioplankton and measured stream physicochemistry during snowmelt and after vegetation senescence across multiple stream orders in alpine, tundra, and tundra‐dominated‐by‐lakes catchments. In all catchments, differences in community composition were associated with seasonal thaw, then attachment status (i.e. free floating or sediment associated), and then stream order. Bacterioplankton taxonomic diversity and richness were elevated in sediment‐associated fractions and in higher‐order reaches during snowmelt. FamiliesChthonomonadaceae,Pyrinomonadaceae, andXiphinematobacteraceaewere abundantly different across seasons, whileFlavobacteriaceaeandMicroscillaceaewere abundantly different between free‐floating and sediment‐associated fractions. Physicochemical data suggested there was high iron (Fe⁺) production (alpine catchment); Fe⁺production and chloride (Cl⁻) removal (tundra catchment); and phosphorus (SRP) removal and ammonium (NH₄⁺) production (lake catchment). In tundra landscapes, these ‘hot spots’ of Fe⁺production and Cl⁻removal accompanied shifts in species richness, while SRP promoted the antecedent community. Our findings suggest that freshet increases bacterial dispersal from headwater catchments to receiving catchments, where bacterioplankton‐mineral relations stabilized communities in free‐flowing reaches, but bacterioplankton‐nutrient relations stabilized those punctuated by lakes.

 

Climate change is intensifying the Arctic hydrologic cycle, potentially accelerating the release of carbon and nutrients from permafrost landscapes to rivers. However, there are limited riverine flow and solute data of adequate frequency and duration to test how seasonality and catchment landscape characteristics influence production and transport of carbon and nutrients in Arctic river networks. We measured high frequency hydrochemical dynamics at the outlets of three headwater catchments in Arctic Alaska over 3 years. The catchments represent common Arctic landscapes: low‐gradient tundra, low‐gradient and lake‐influenced tundra, and high‐gradient alpine tundra. Using in‐situ spectrophotometers, we measured dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate (NO₃⁻) concentrations at 15‐min intervals through the flow seasons of 2017, 2018, and 2019. These high‐frequency data allowed us to quantify concentration–discharge (C‐Q) responses during individual storm events across the flow season. Differences in C‐Q responses among catchments indicated strong landscape and seasonal controls on lateral DOC and NO₃⁻flux. For the two low‐gradient tundra catchments, we observed consistent DOC enrichment (transport‐limitation) and NO₃⁻dilution (source‐limitation) during flow events. Conversely, we found consistent NO₃⁻enrichment and DOC dilution in the high‐gradient alpine catchment. Our analysis revealed how high flow events may contribute disproportionately to downstream export in these Arctic streams. Because the duration of the flow season is expected to lengthen and the intensity of Arctic storms are expected to increase, understanding how discharge and solute concentration are coupled is crucial to understanding carbon and nutrient dynamics in rapidly changing permafrost ecosystems.

 

Climate change is creating widespread ecosystem disturbance across the permafrost zone, including a rapid increase in the extent and severity of tundra wildfire. The expansion of this previously rare disturbance has unknown consequences for lateral nutrient flux from terrestrial to aquatic environments. Lateral loss of nutrients could reduce carbon uptake and slow recovery of already nutrient‐limited tundra ecosystems. To investigate the effects of tundra wildfire on lateral nutrient export, we analyzed water chemistry in and around the 10‐year‐old  Anaktuvuk River fire scar in northern Alaska. We collected water samples from 21 burned and 21 unburned watersheds during snowmelt, at peak growing season, and after plant senescence in 2017 and 2018. After a decade of ecosystem recovery, aboveground biomass had recovered in burned watersheds, but overall carbon and nitrogen remained ~20% lower, and the active layer remained ~10% deeper. Despite lower organic matter stocks, dissolved organic nutrients were substantially elevated in burned watersheds, with higher flow‐weighted concentrations of organic carbon (25% higher), organic nitrogen (59% higher), organic phosphorus (65% higher), and organic sulfur (47% higher). Geochemical proxies indicated greater interaction with mineral soils in watersheds with surface subsidence, but optical analysis and isotopes suggested that recent plant growth, not mineral soil, was the main source of organic nutrients in burned watersheds. Burned and unburned watersheds had similar δ¹⁵N‐NO₃⁻, indicating that exported nitrogen was of preburn origin (i.e., not recently fixed). Lateral nitrogen flux from burned watersheds was 2‐ to 10‐fold higher than rates of background nitrogen fixation and atmospheric deposition estimated in this area. These findings indicate that wildfire in Arctic tundra can destabilize nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur previously stored in permafrost via plant uptake and leaching. This plant‐mediated nutrient loss could exacerbate terrestrial nutrient limitation after disturbance or serve as an important nutrient release mechanism during succession.

 

Permafrost degradation is delivering bioavailable dissolved organic matter (DOM) and inorganic nutrients to surface water networks. While these permafrost subsidies represent a small portion of total fluvial DOM and nutrient fluxes, they could influence food webs and net ecosystem carbon balance via priming or nutrient effects that destabilize background DOM. We investigated how addition of biolabile carbon (acetate) and inorganic nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) affected DOM decomposition with 28‐day incubations. We incubated late‐summer stream water from 23 locations nested in seven northern or high‐altitude regions in Asia, Europe, and North America. DOM loss ranged from 3% to 52%, showing a variety of longitudinal patterns within stream networks. DOM optical properties varied widely, but DOM showed compositional similarity based on Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT‐ICR MS) analysis. Addition of acetate and nutrients decreased bulk DOM mineralization (i.e., negative priming), with more negative effects on biodegradable DOM but neutral or positive effects on stable DOM. Unexpectedly, acetate and nutrients triggered breakdown of colored DOM (CDOM), with median decreases of 1.6% in the control and 22% in the amended treatment. Additionally, the uptake of added acetate was strongly limited by nutrient availability across sites. These findings suggest that biolabile DOM and nutrients released from degrading permafrost may decrease background DOM mineralization but alter stoichiometry and light conditions in receiving waterbodies. We conclude that priming and nutrient effects are coupled in northern aquatic ecosystems and that quantifying two‐way interactions between DOM properties and environmental conditions could resolve conflicting observations about the drivers of DOM in permafrost zone waterways.

 

Key Points We compared tools for describing streamflow timeseries, including streamflow metrics, wavelet, and Fourier analysis Each method indicated streamflow data are structured: variability at short timescales is negatively correlated with long timescales Globally, dams were less correlated with streamflow regime than catchment size and climate were 

Hypoxia, or dissolved oxygen (DO) at low enough levels to impair organisms, is a particularly useful indicator of the health of freshwater ecosystems. However, due to limited sampling in headwater networks, the degree, distribution, and timing of hypoxia events are not known across the vast majority of most river networks. We thus sought to clarify the extent of hypoxia in headwater networks through three years of instrumentation of 78 sites across eight temperate, agricultural watersheds. We observed broadly distributed hypoxia, occurring 4 % of the time across 51 of the 78 sites over 20 months. The hypoxia was driven by three mechanisms: storm events, drying, and rewetting, with drying as the most common driver of hypoxia (55 % of all hypoxic event types). Drying induced hypoxia was most severe in smaller streams (Strahler orders ≤ 3), whereas storm events pref- erentially induced hypoxia in the larger streams (Strahler orders 3–5). A large diversity in DO trajectories to- wards hypoxia depended on hydrologic event type, with subsequent expected differences in mortality profiles of a sensitive species. Predictive models showed the most vulnerable sites to hypoxia were small streams with low slope, particularly during hot, low discharge periods. Despite variation among hypoxic events, there was remarkable similarity in the rate of DO drawdown during hypoxia events (ca. 1 mg O2 L− 1 d− 1). This drawdown similarity may be a useful rule-of-thumb for managers, and we hypothesize that it is either a signal of increasing lateral inflow of low DO water or a signal of increasing downstream oxygen demand. Overall, we posit that hypoxia is likely a common feature of most headwater networks that often goes undetected. Headwater hypoxia may become more common under increasingly dry conditions associated with climate and water resource management changes, with important implications for biological communities and biogeochemical processes. 

Climate change is an existential threat to the vast global permafrost domain. The diverse human cultures, ecological communities, and biogeochemical cycles of this tenth of the planet depend on the persistence of frozen conditions. The complexity, immensity, and remoteness of permafrost ecosystems make it difficult to grasp how quickly things are changing and what can be done about it. Here, we summarize terrestrial and marine changes in the permafrost domain with an eye toward global policy. While many questions remain, we know that continued fossil fuel burning is incompatible with the continued existence of the permafrost domain as we know it. If we fail to protect permafrost ecosystems, the consequences for human rights, biosphere integrity, and global climate will be severe. The policy implications are clear: the faster we reduce human emissions and draw down atmospheric CO 2 , the more of the permafrost domain we can save. Emissions reduction targets must be strengthened and accompanied by support for local peoples to protect intact ecological communities and natural carbon sinks within the permafrost domain. Some proposed geoengineering interventions such as solar shading, surface albedo modification, and vegetation manipulations are unproven and may exacerbate environmental injustice without providing lasting protection. Conversely, astounding advances in renewable energy have reopened viable pathways to halve human greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and effectively stop them well before 2050. We call on leaders, corporations, researchers, and citizens everywhere to acknowledge the global importance of the permafrost domain and work towards climate restoration and empowerment of Indigenous and immigrant communities in these regions.