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- Feng, X., et al.
(författare)
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Multi-molecular tracers of terrestrial carbon transfer across the pan-Arctic : comparison of hydrolyzable components with plant wax lipids and lignin phenols
- 2015
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 12:15, s. 4841-4860
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 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-alpha,omega-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 omega-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.
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| 3. |
- Vonk, J. E., et al.
(författare)
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Activation of old carbon by erosion of coastal and subsea permafrost in Arctic Siberia
- 2012
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 489:7414, s. 137-140
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The future trajectory of greenhouse gas concentrations depends on interactions between climate and the biogeosphere(1,2). Thawing of Arctic permafrost could release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere in this century(3). Ancient Ice Complex deposits outcropping along the similar to 7,000-kilometre-long coastline of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS)(4,5), and associated shallow subsea permafrost(6,7), are two large pools of permafrost carbon(8), yet their vulnerabilities towards thawing and decomposition are largely unknown(9-11). Recent Arctic warming is stronger than has been predicted by several degrees, and is particularly pronounced over the coastal ESAS region(12,13). There is thus a pressing need to improve our understanding of the links between permafrost carbon and climate in this relatively inaccessible region. Here we show that extensive release of carbon from these Ice Complex deposits dominates (57 +/- 2 per cent) the sedimentary carbon budget of the ESAS, the world's largest continental shelf, overwhelming the marine and topsoil terrestrial components. Inverse modelling of the dual-carbon isotope composition of organic carbon accumulating in ESAS surface sediments, using Monte Carlo simulations to account for uncertainties, suggests that 44 +/- 10 teragrams of old carbon is activated annually from Ice Complex permafrost, an order of magnitude more than has been suggested by previous studies(14). We estimate that about two-thirds (66 +/- 16 per cent) of this old carbon escapes to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, with the remainder being re-buried in shelf sediments. Thermal collapse and erosion of these carbon-rich Pleistocene coastline and seafloor deposits may accelerate with Arctic amplification of climate warming(2,13).
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