Biogeochemistry of Glacier Ecosystems (Workshop Presentation)

Tags: Alaska CASC, Glaciers and Permafrost, Science Tools For Managers, Sea-Level Rise and Coasts, State of the Science, All tags... Water, Coasts and Ice, biogeochemistry, glacier ecosystems, Fewer tags

Seasonal variability of organic matter composition in an Alaskan glacier outflow: insights into glacier carbon sources

Abstract (from http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/9/5/055005): Glacier ecosystems are a significant source of bioavailable, yet ancient dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Characterizing DOC in Mendenhall Glacier outflow (southeast Alaska) we document a seasonal persistence to the radiocarbon-depleted signature of DOC, highlighting ancient DOC as a ubiquitous feature of glacier outflow. We observed no systematic depletion in Δ 14 C-DOC with increasing discharge during the melt season that would suggest mobilization of an aged subglacial carbon store. However, DOC concentration, δ 13 C-DOC, Δ 14 C-DOC and fluorescence signatures appear to have been influenced by runoff from vegetated hillslopes above the glacier...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Alaska CASC, Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), Forests, Glacier Runoff, Glaciers and Permafrost, All tags... Landscapes, Mendenhall Glacier, Sea-Level Rise and Coasts, Water, Coasts and Ice, glacier ecosystems, Fewer tags