Description: It has been suggested that increasing freshwater discharge to the Arctic Ocean may also occur as submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), yet there are no direct observations of this phenomenon in the Arctic shelf seas. This study tests the hypothesis that SGD does exist in the Siberian-Arctic shelf seas but its dynamics may be largely controlled by complicated geocryological conditions such as permafrost. The field-observational approach in the southeast Laptev Sea used a combination of hydrological (temperature, salinity), geological (bottom sediment drilling, geoelectric surveys) and geochemical (224Ra, 223Ra and 222Rn) techniques. Active SGD was documented in the vicinity of the Lena River delta with two different operational modes. In the first system, groundwater discharges through tectonogenic permafrost talik zones was registered in both wintertime and summertime seasons. The second SGD mechanism was cryogenic squeezing out of brine and water-soluble salts detected on the periphery of ice hummocks in the wintertime season. The proposed mechanisms of groundwater transport and discharge in the arctic land-shelf system is elaborated. Through salinity versus 224Ra and 224Ra/223Ra diagrams, the three main SGD-influenced water masses were identified and their end-member composition was constrained. Further studies should apply these techniques to a broader scale with the objective to reach an estimate of the relative importance of the SGD transport vector relative to surface freshwater discharge for both the water balance and aquatic components such as dissolved organic carbon, carbon dioxide, methane, and nutrients.

Description: © The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Biogeosciences 12 (2015): 4841-4860, doi:10.5194/bg-12-4841-2015.

Description: Hydrolyzable organic carbon (OC) comprises a significant component of sedimentary particulate matter transferred from land into oceans via rivers. Its abundance and nature are however not well studied in Arctic river systems, and yet may represent an important pool of carbon whose fate remains unclear in the context of mobilization and related processes associated with a changing climate. Here, we examine the molecular composition and source of hydrolyzable compounds isolated from sedimentary particles derived from nine rivers across the pan-Arctic. Bound fatty acids (b-FAs), hydroxy FAs, n-alkane-α,ω-dioic acids (DAs) and phenols were the major components released upon hydrolysis of these sediments. Among them, b-FAs received considerable inputs from bacterial and/or algal sources, whereas ω-hydroxy FAs, mid-chain substituted acids, DAs, and hydrolyzable phenols were mainly derived from cutin and suberin of higher plants. We further compared the distribution and fate of suberin- and cutin-derived compounds with those of other terrestrial biomarkers (plant wax lipids and lignin phenols) from the same Arctic river sedimentary particles and conducted a benchmark assessment of several biomarker-based indicators of OC source and extent of degradation. While suberin-specific biomarkers were positively correlated with plant-derived high-molecular-weight (HMW) FAs, lignin phenols were correlated with cutin-derived compounds. These correlations suggest that, similar to leaf-derived cutin, lignin was mainly derived from litter and surface soil horizons, whereas suberin and HMW FAs incorporated significant inputs from belowground sources (roots and deeper soil). This conclusion is supported by the negative correlation between lignin phenols and the ratio of suberin-to-cutin biomarkers. Furthermore, the molecular composition of investigated biomarkers differed between Eurasian and North American Arctic rivers: while lignin dominated in the terrestrial OC of Eurasian river sediments, hydrolyzable OC represented a much larger fraction in the sedimentary particles from Colville River. Hence, studies exclusively focusing on either plant wax lipids or lignin phenols will not be able to fully unravel the mobilization and fate of bound OC in Arctic rivers. More comprehensive, multi-molecular investigations are needed to better constrain the land–ocean transfer of carbon in the changing Arctic, including further research on the degradation and transfer of both free and bound components in Arctic river sediments.

Description: X. Feng acknowledges support from the Chinese National Key Development Program for Basic Research (2014CB954003, 2015CB954201). The ISSS program is supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, headquarters of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Research Council, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (#13-05-12028, 13-05-12041), the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and the Nordic Council of Ministers (Arctic Co-Op and TRI-DEFROST programs). Collection of the Mackenzie sediment samples was supported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada as part of the NOGAP B.6 project. Ö. Gustafsson acknowledges an Academy Research Fellow grant from the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences. I. P. Semiletov and O. V. Dudarev thank the Government of the Russian Federation (#2013-220-04-157) for support as well as A. I. Khanchuk personally. T. I. Eglinton acknowledges support from Swiss National Science foundation (SNF) grant no. 200021_140850, and grants OCE-9907129, OCE-0137005, and OCE-0526268 from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Stanley Watson Chair for Excellence in Oceanography, and ETH Zurich. J. E. Vonk is thankful for support from NWO Rubicon (#825.10.022) and Veni (#863.12.004). B. E. van Dongen is thankful for support from the UK NERC (NE/I024798/1). R. M. Holmes acknowledges support from NSF 0436118, NSF 0732555, and NSF 1107774. X. Feng thanks WHOI for a postdoctoral scholar fellowship and for postdoctoral support from ETH Zurich.

Description: Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 (2015): 1855–1873, doi:10.1002/2015GB005204.

Description: Distinguishing the sources, ages, and fate of various terrestrial organic carbon (OC) pools mobilized from heterogeneous Arctic landscapes is key to assessing climatic impacts on the fluvial release of carbon from permafrost. Through molecular 14C measurements, including novel analyses of suberin- and/or cutin-derived diacids (DAs) and hydroxy fatty acids (FAs), we compared the radiocarbon characteristics of a comprehensive suite of terrestrial markers (including plant wax lipids, cutin, suberin, lignin, and hydroxy phenols) in the sedimentary particles from nine major arctic and subarctic rivers in order to establish a benchmark assessment of the mobilization patterns of terrestrial OC pools across the pan-Arctic. Terrestrial lipids, including suberin-derived longer-chain DAs (C24,26,28), plant wax FAs (C24,26,28), and n-alkanes (C27,29,31), incorporated significant inputs of aged carbon, presumably from deeper soil horizons. Mobilization and translocation of these “old” terrestrial carbon components was dependent on nonlinear processes associated with permafrost distributions. By contrast, shorter-chain (C16,18) DAs and lignin phenols (as well as hydroxy phenols in rivers outside eastern Eurasian Arctic) were much more enriched in 14C, suggesting incorporation of relatively young carbon supplied by runoff processes from recent vegetation debris and surface layers. Furthermore, the radiocarbon content of terrestrial markers is heavily influenced by specific OC sources and degradation status. Overall, multitracer molecular 14C analysis sheds new light on the mobilization of terrestrial OC from arctic watersheds. Our findings of distinct ages for various terrestrial carbon components may aid in elucidating fate of different terrestrial OC pools in the face of increasing arctic permafrost thaw.

Description: Chinese National Key Development Program for Basic Research Grant Numbers: 2014CB954003, 2015CB954201; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; Headquarters of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Swedish Research Council; US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Russian Foundation of Basic Research Grant Numbers: (13-05-12028, 13-05-12041; Swedish Polar Research Secretariat; Nordic Council of Ministers; Government of the Russian Federation Grant Number: 2013-220-04-157; Swiss National Science foundation. Grant Number: (200021_140850 US National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant Numbers: OCE-9907129, OCE-0137005, OCE-0526268; Stanley Watson Chair for Excellence in Oceanography Grant Number: 825.10.022; ETH Zürich; NWO Rubicon; Veni Grant Number: 863.12.004; UK NERC Grant Number: NE/I024798/1; NSF. Grant Numbers: 0436118, 0732555, 1107774

Description: 2016-05-02

Description: © The Authors, 2010. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. The definitive version was published in Biogeosciences 7 (2010): 3153-3166, doi:10.5194/bg-7-3153-2010.

Description: Climate warming in northeastern Siberia may induce thaw-mobilization of the organic carbon (OC) now held in permafrost. This study investigated the composition of terrestrial OC exported to Arctic coastal waters to both obtain a natural integration of terrestrial permafrost OC release and to further understand the fate of released carbon in the extensive Siberian Shelf Seas. Application of a variety of elemental, molecular and isotopic (δ13C and Δ14C) analyses of both surface water suspended particulate matter and underlying surface sediments along a 500 km transect from Kolyma River mouth to the mid-shelf of the East Siberian Sea yielded information on the sources, degradation status and transport processes of thaw-mobilized soil OC. A three end-member dual-carbon-isotopic mixing model was applied to deduce the relative contributions from riverine, coastal erosion and marine sources. The mixing model was solved numerically using Monte Carlo simulations to obtain a fair representation of the uncertainties of both end-member composition and the end results. Riverine OC contributions to sediment OC decrease with increasing distance offshore (35±15 to 13±9%), whereas coastal erosion OC exhibits a constantly high contribution (51±11 to 60±12%) and marine OC increases offshore (9±7 to 36±10%). We attribute the remarkably strong imprint of OC from coastal erosion, extending up to ~500 km from the coast, to efficient offshoreward transport in these shallow waters presumably through both the benthic boundary layer and ice-rafting. There are also indications of simultaneous selective preservation of erosion OC compared to riverine OC. Molecular degradation proxies and radiocarbon contents indicated a degraded but young (Δ14C ca. −60‰ or ca. 500 14C years) terrestrial OC pool in surface water particulate matter, underlain by a less degraded but old (Δ14C ca. −500‰ or ca. 5500 14C years) terrestrial OC pool in bottom sediments. We suggest that the terrestrial OC fraction in surface water particulate matter is mainly derived from surface soil and recent vegetation fluvially released as buoyant organic-rich aggregates (e.g., humics), which are subjected to extensive processing during coastal transport. In contrast, terrestrial OC in the underlying sediments is postulated to originate predominantly from erosion of mineral-rich Pleistocene coasts (i.e., yedoma) and inland mineral soils. Sorptive association of this organic matter with mineral particles protects the OC from remineralization and also promotes rapid settling (ballasting) of the OC. Our findings corroborate recent studies by indicating that different Arctic surface soil OC pools exhibit distinguishing susceptibilities to degradation in coastal waters. Consequently, the general postulation of a positive feedback to global warming from degradation of permafrost carbon may be both attenuated (by reburial of one portion) and geographically displaced (degradation of released terrestrial permafrost OC far out over the Arctic shelf seas).

Description: The ISSS-08 program was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Headquarters of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Research Council (VR Contract No. 621-2004-4039 and 621-2007-4631), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Siberian Shelf Study), the Russian Foundation of Basic Research (08-05-13572, 08-05-00191-a, and 07-05-00050a), the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, the Arctic Co-Op Program of the Nordic Council of Ministers (331080-70219) and the National Science Foundation (OPP ARC 0909546). O¨ . G. also acknowledges financial support as an Academy Research Fellow from the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, L. S. a Marie Curie grant (contract no. PIEF-GA-2008-220424), T. E. an NSF grant (ARC-0909377) and A. A. support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Description: Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2013. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of National Academy of Sciences for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110 (2013): 14168–14173, doi:10.1073/pnas.1307031110.

Description: Mobilization of Arctic permafrost carbon is expected to increase with warming-induced thawing. However, this effect is challenging to assess due to the diverse processes controlling the release of various organic carbon (OC) pools from heterogeneous Arctic landscapes. Here, by radiocarbon dating various terrestrial OC components in fluvially- and coastally-integrated estuarine sediments, we present a unique framework for deconvoluting the contrasting mobilization mechanisms of surface versus deep (permafrost) carbon pools across the climosequence of the Eurasian Arctic. Vascular-plant-derived lignin phenol 14C contents reveal significant inputs of young carbon from surface sources whose delivery is dominantly controlled by river runoff. In contrast, plant wax lipids predominantly trace ancient (permafrost) OC that is preferentially mobilized from discontinuous permafrost regions where hydrological conduits penetrate deeper into soils and thermokarst erosion occurs more frequently. As river runoff has significantly increased across the Eurasian Arctic in recent decades, we estimate from an isotopic mixing model that, in tandem with an increased transfer of young surface carbon, the proportion of mobilized terrestrial OC accounted for by ancient carbon has increased by 3-6% between 1985-2004. These findings suggest that, while partly masked by surface-carbon export, climate-change-induced mobilization of old permafrost carbon is well under way in the Arctic.

Description: The ISSS program is supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Research Council, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Russian Foundation of Basic Research, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and the Nordic Council of Ministers (Arctic Co-Op and TRI-DEFROST programs). Ö.G. acknowledges an Academy Research Fellow grant from the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences. Grants OCE-9907129, OCE-0137005, and OCE-0526268 from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Stanley Watson Chair for Excellence in Oceanography (to T.I.E.) and ETH Zürich enabled this research. J.E.V. thanks support from NWO-Rubicon (#825.10.022). B.E.v.D thanks support from the UK NERC (NE/I024798/1). X.F. thanks WHOI for a postdoctoral scholar fellowship and for postdoctoral support from ETH Zürich.

Description: 2014-01-01

Description: The rapidly changing East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) receives large amounts of terrestrial organic carbon (OC) from coastal erosion and Russian-Arctic rivers. Climate warming increases thawing of coastal Ice Complex Deposits (ICD) and can change both the amount of released OC, as well as its propensity to be converted to greenhouse gases (fueling further global warming) or to be buried in coastal sediments. This study aimed to unravel the susceptibility to degradation, and transport and dispersal patterns of OC delivered to the ESAS. Bulk and molecular radiocarbon analyses on surface particulate matter (PM), sinking PM and underlying surface sediments illustrate the active release of old OC from coastal permafrost. Molecular tracers for recalcitrant soil OC showed ages of 3.4–13 14C-ky in surface PM and 5.5–18 14C-ky in surface sediments. The age difference of these markers between surface PM and surface sediments is larger (i) in regions with low OC accumulation rates, suggesting a weaker exchange between water column and sediments, and (ii) with increasing distance from the Lena River, suggesting preferential settling of fluvially derived old OC nearshore. A dual-carbon end-member mixing model showed that (i) contemporary terrestrial OC is dispersed mainly by horizontal transport while being subject to active degradation, (ii) marine OC is most affected by vertical transport and also actively degraded in the water column, and (iii) OC from ICD settles rapidly and dominates surface sediments. Preferential burial of ICD-OC released into ESAS coastal waters might therefore lower the suggested carbon cycle climate feedback from thawing ICD permafrost.

Description: Macrobenthos biomass and bottom biocoenoses were studied in the sublittoral zone of the southern East Siberian Sea. The macrobenthos is characterized by relatively high abundance (from 30 to 2680 #/m**2), biomass (from 0.25 to 578.8 g/m**2), and diversity (83 species in total). Lateral distribution of macrobenthos biomass correlates with a substrate type and salinity and is substantially higher in areas washed by the Arctic water mass than in estuaries with mixed fresh and Arctic waters and shows a tendency to decreasing in the convergence zone of different water masses. The highest macrobenthos biomass is observed in cores of water masses in the Long Strait area and in the eastern part of the sea.

Description: The chemical composition of organic matter (Corg, Norg, d13C, d1SN, and n-alkanes) was studied in the top layer of bottom sediments of the East Siberian Sea. Possible ways were proposed to estimate the amount of the terrigenous component in their organic matter (OM). The fraction of terrigenous OM estimated by the combined use of genetic indicators varied from 15% in the eastern part of the sea, near the Long Strait, to 95% in the estuaries of the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers, averaging 62% over the sea area.