The Organic Carbon Cycle in the Arctic Ocean

2004 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

scholarly journals GDGT distributions on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf: implications for organic carbon export, burial and degradation

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3753-3768 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Sparkes ◽  
A. Doğrul Selver ◽  
J. Bischoff ◽  
H. M. Talbot ◽  
Ö. Gustafsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Coastal Erosion ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Arctic Shelf ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Fluvial Erosion ◽  
Siberian Arctic ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. Siberian permafrost contains a globally significant pool of organic carbon (OC) that is vulnerable to enhanced warming and subsequent release into the contemporary carbon cycle. OC release by both fluvial and coastal erosion has been reported in the region, but the behaviour of this material in the Arctic Ocean is insufficiently understood. The balance between OC deposition and degradation on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) influences the climate–carbon cycle feedback in this area. In this study we couple measurements of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) with bulk geochemical observations to improve knowledge of the sources of OC to the ESAS, the behaviour of specific biomarkers on the shelf and the balance between delivery and removal of different carbon pools. Branched GDGT (brGDGT) concentrations were highest close to river mouths, yet low in "ice complex" permafrost deposits, supporting recent observations that brGDGTs are mostly delivered by fluvial erosion, and may be a tracer for this in complex sedimentary environments. BrGDGT concentrations and the branched and isoprenoidal tetraether (BIT) index reduced quickly offshore, demonstrating a rapid reduction in river influence. Stable carbon isotope ratios changed at a different rate to the BIT index, suggesting not only that OC on the shelf is sourced from fluvial erosion but also that erosion of coastal sediments delivers substantial quantities of OC to the Arctic Ocean. A model of OC export from fluvial, coastal and marine sources is able to recreate the biomarker and bulk observations and provide estimates for the influence of fluvial and coastal OC across the whole shelf. The model shows that coastal erosion delivers 43 % of the OC and 87 % of the mineral sediment to the ESAS, but that rivers deliver 72 % of brGDGTs, indicating that brGDGTs can be used as a proxy for river-derived sediment.

scholarly journals GDGT distributions in the East Siberian Sea: implications for organic carbon export, burial and degradation

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 637-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. Sparkes ◽  
A. Doğrul Selver ◽  
J. Bischoff ◽  
H. M. Talbot ◽  
Ö. Gustafsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Coastal Erosion ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Coastal Sediments ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Rapid Reduction ◽  
Fluvial Erosion ◽  
The Arctic Ocean

Abstract. Siberian permafrost contains a globally-significant pool of organic carbon (OC) that is vulnerable to enhanced warming and subsequent release into the contemporary carbon cycle. OC release by both fluvial and coastal erosion has been reported in the region, but the behaviour of this material in the Arctic Ocean is insufficiently understood. The balance between OC deposition and degradation on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) influences the climate-carbon cycle feedback in this area. In this study we couple measurements of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) with bulk geochemical observations to improve knowledge of the sources of OC to the ESAS, the behaviour of specific biomarkers on the shelf and the balance between delivery and removal of different carbon pools. Branched GDGT (brGDGT) concentrations were highest close to river mouths, yet low in "Yedoma" permafrost deposits, supporting recent observations that brGDGTs are mostly delivered by fluvial erosion, and may be a tracer for this in complex sedimentary environments. BrGDGT concentrations and the Branched and Isoprenoidal Tetraether (BIT) index reduced quickly offshore, demonstrating a rapid reduction in river influence. Stable carbon isotope ratios changed at a different rate to the BIT index, suggesting that OC on the shelf is not only sourced from fluvial erosion, but that erosion of coastal sediments delivers substantial quantities of OC to the Arctic Ocean. A model of OC export from fluvial, coastal and marine sources is able to recreate the biomarker and bulk observations and provide estimates for the influence of fluvial and coastal OC across the whole shelf. The model shows that coastal erosion delivers 43% of the OC and 87% of the mineral sediment to the ESAS, but that rivers deliver 72% of brGDGTs, indicating that brGDGTs can be used as a proxy for river-derived sediment.

scholarly journals Changes in the Arctic Ocean carbon cycle with diminishing ice cover

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. DeGrandpre ◽  
Wiley Evans ◽  
Mary-Louise Timmermans ◽  
Richard A. Krishfield ◽  
William J Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ocean Carbon Cycle ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Carbon

scholarly journals Distribution, fluxes and balance of particulate organic carbon in the Arctic ocean

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-552
Author(s):  
A. A. Vetrov ◽  
E. A. Romankevich
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Arctic Seas ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Depth Horizon

Particulate organic carbon (POC) is one of main component of carbon cycle in the Ocean. In this study an attempt to construct a picture of the distribution and fluxes of POC in the Arctic Ocean adjusting for interchange with the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans has been made. The specificity of this construction is associated with an irregular distribution of POC measurements and complicated structure and hydrodynamics of the waters masses. To overcome these difficulties, Multiple Linear Regression technic (MLR) was performed to test the significant relation between POC, temperature, salinity, as well depth, horizon, latitude and offshore distance. The mapping of POC distribution and its fluxes was carrying out at 38 horizons from 5 to 4150 m (resolution 1°×1°). Data on temperature, salinity, meridional and zonal components of current velocities were obtained from ORA S4 database (Integrated Climate Data Center, http://icdc.cen.uni-hamburg.de/las). The import-export of POC between the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as between Arctic Seas was precomputed by summer fluxes. The import of POC in the Arctic Ocean is estimated to be 38±8Tg Cyr-1, and the export is -9.5±4.4Tg Cyr-1.

scholarly journals On the biogeochemical signature of the Lena River from its headwaters to the Arctic Ocean

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 2093-2143 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. P. Semiletov ◽  
I. I. Pipko ◽  
N. E. Shakhova ◽  
O. V. Dudarev ◽  
S. P. Pugach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Time Shift ◽  
Laptev Sea ◽  
Lena River ◽  
The Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Laptev Sea

Abstract. The Lena River integrates biogeochemical signals from its vast drainage basin and its signal reaches far out over the Arctic Ocean. Transformation of riverine organic carbon into mineral carbon, and mineral carbon into the organic form in the Lena River watershed, can be considered a quasi-equilibrated processes. Increasing the Lena discharge causes opposite effects on total organic (TOC) and inorganic (TCO2) carbon: TOC concentration increases, while TCO2 concentration decreases. Significant inter-annual variability in mean values of TCO2, TOC, and their sum (TC) has been found. This variability is determined by changes in land hydrology which cause differences in the Lena River discharge, because a negative correlation may be found between TC in September and mean discharge in August (a time shift of about one month is required for water to travel from Yakutsk to the Laptev Sea). Total carbon entering the sea with the Lena discharge is estimated to be almost 10 Tg C y−1. The annual Lena River discharge of particulate organic carbon (POC) may be equal to 0.38 Tg (moderate to high estimate). If we instead accept Lisytsin's (1994) statement concerning the precipitation of 85–95% of total particulate matter (PM) (and POC) on the marginal "filter", then only about 0.03–0.04 Tg of POC reaches the Laptev Sea from the Lena River. The Lena's POC export would then be two orders of magnitude less than the annual input of eroded terrestrial carbon onto the shelf of the Laptev and East Siberian seas, which is about 4 Tg. The Lena River is characterized by relatively high concentrations of primary greenhouse gases: CO2 and dissolved CH4. During all seasons the river is supersaturated in CO2 compared to the atmosphere: up to 1.5–2 fold in summer, and 4–5 fold in winter. This results in a narrow zone of significant CO2 supersaturation in the adjacent coastal sea. Spots of dissolved CH4 in the Lena delta channels may reach 100 nM, but the CH4 concentration decreases to 5–20 nM towards the sea, which suggests only a minor role of riverborne export of CH4 for the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) CH4 budget in coastal waters. Instead, the seabed appears to be the source that provides most of the CH4 to the Arctic Ocean.

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