Increasing dominance of terrigenous organic matter in circumpolar freshwaters due to permafrost thaw

Climate change and permafrost thaw are unlocking the vast storage of organic carbon held in northern frozen soils. Here, we evaluated the effects of thawing ice‐rich permafrost on dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwaters by optical analysis of 253 ponds across the circumpolar North. For a subse...

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Published inLimnology and oceanography letters Vol. 3; no. 3; pp. 186 - 198
Main Authors Wauthy, Maxime, Rautio, Milla, Christoffersen, Kirsten S., Forsström, Laura, Laurion, Isabelle, Mariash, Heather L., Peura, Sari, Vincent, Warwick F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hoboken John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.06.2018
Wiley
Subjects
Aquatic ecosystems
Carbon
Cellulose acetate
Climate change
Dissolved organic matter
Freshwater ecosystems
Freshwater ice
Frozen ground
Greenhouse gases
Metabolism
Oceanografi, hydrologi, vattenresurser
Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
Optical analysis
Organic carbon
Permafrost
Permafrost thaws
Research centers
Stable isotopes
Taiga & tundra
Terrestrial environments
Thawing
Tundra
Vegetation
Canada
Arctic region
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Summary:Climate change and permafrost thaw are unlocking the vast storage of organic carbon held in northern frozen soils. Here, we evaluated the effects of thawing ice‐rich permafrost on dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwaters by optical analysis of 253 ponds across the circumpolar North. For a subset of waters in subarctic Quebec, we also quantified the contribution of terrestrial sources to the DOM pool by stable isotopes. The optical measurements showed a higher proportion of terrestrial carbon and a lower algal contribution to DOM in waters affected by thawing permafrost. DOM composition was largely dominated (mean of 93%) by terrestrial substances at sites influenced by thawing permafrost, while the terrestrial influence was much less in waterbodies located on bedrock (36%) or with tundra soils unaffected by thermokarst processes (42%) in the catchment. Our results demonstrate a strong terrestrial imprint on freshwater ecosystems in degrading ice‐rich permafrost catchments, and the likely shift toward increasing dominance of land‐derived organic carbon in waters with ongoing permafrost thaw.
Bibliography:repository at
Edited by: Emily Stanley and Paul del Giorgio
MW and MR co‐led the study, which was based on a research question formulated by MR. MW and MR designed the approach and all authors contributed data. MW conducted the statistical analyses and interpretation. MW led the manuscript preparation and all authors contributed to the text.
Data Availability Statement
http://www.cen.ulaval.ca/nordicanad/dpage.aspx?doi=45520CE-0A48ADE0E2194290
Data are available in the
Nordicana D
This article is part of the Special Issue: Carbon cycling in inland waters
Author Contribution Statement
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ISSN:2378-2242
2378-2242
DOI:10.1002/lol2.10063