Dataset Information

Flocculated meltwater particles control Arctic land-sea fluxes of labile iron.

ABSTRACT: Glacial meltwater systems supply the Arctic coastal ocean with large volumes of sediment and potentially bioavailable forms of iron, nitrogen and carbon. The particulate fraction of this supply is significant but estuarine losses have been thought to limit the iron supply from land. Here, our results reveal how flocculation (particle aggregation) involving labile iron may increase horizontal transport rather than enhance deposition close to the source. This is shown by combining field observations in Disko Fjord, West Greenland, and laboratory experiments. Our data show how labile iron affects floc sizes, shapes and densities and consequently yields low settling velocities and extended sediment plumes. We highlight the importance of understanding the flocculation mechanisms when examining fluxes of meltwater transported iron in polar regions today and in the future, and we underline the influence of terrestrial hotspots on the nutrient and solute cycles in Arctic coastal waters.

SUBMITTER: Markussen TN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4822144 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Flocculated meltwater particles control Arctic land-sea fluxes of labile iron.

Markussen Thor Nygaard TN Elberling Bo B Winter Christian C Andersen Thorbjørn Joest TJ

Scientific reports 20160406

Glacial meltwater systems supply the Arctic coastal ocean with large volumes of sediment and potentially bioavailable forms of iron, nitrogen and carbon. The particulate fraction of this supply is significant but estuarine losses have been thought to limit the iron supply from land. Here, our results reveal how flocculation (particle aggregation) involving labile iron may increase horizontal transport rather than enhance deposition close to the source. This is shown by combining field observatio ...[more]

PMID: 27050673

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Project description:Meltwater streams connect the glacial cryosphere with downstream ecosystems. Dissolved and particulate matter exported from glacial ecosystems originates from contrasting supraglacial and subglacial environments, and exported microbial cells have the potential to serve as ecological and hydrological indicators for glacial ecosystem processes. Here, we compare exported microbial assemblages from the meltwater of 24 glaciers from six (sub)Arctic regions - the southwestern Greenland Ice Sheet, Qeqertarsuaq (Disko Island) in west Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, western Norway, and southeast Alaska - differing in their lithology, catchment size, and climatic characteristics, to investigate spatial and environmental factors structuring exported meltwater assemblages. We found that 16S rRNA gene sequences of all samples were dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, with Verrucomicrobia also common in Greenland localities. Clustered OTUs were largely composed of aerobic and anaerobic heterotrophs capable of degrading a wide variety of carbon substrates. A small number of OTUs dominated all assemblages, with the most abundant being from the genera Polaromonas, Methylophilus, and Nitrotoga. However, 16-32% of a region's OTUs were unique to that region, and rare taxa revealed unique metabolic potentials and reflected differences between regions, such as the elevated relative abundances of sulfur oxidizers Sulfuricurvum sp. and Thiobacillus sp. at Svalbard sites. Meltwater alpha diversity showed a pronounced decrease with increasing latitude, and multivariate analyses of assemblages revealed significant regional clusters. Distance-based redundancy and correlation analyses further resolved associations between whole assemblages and individual OTUs with variables primarily corresponding with the sampled regions. Interestingly, some OTUs indicating specific metabolic processes were not strongly associated with corresponding meltwater characteristics (e.g., nitrification and inorganic nitrogen concentrations). Thus, while exported assemblage structure appears regionally specific, and probably reflects differences in dominant hydrological flowpaths, OTUs can also serve as indicators for more localized microbially mediated processes not captured by the traditional characterization of bulk meltwater hydrochemistry. These results collectively promote a better understanding of microbial distributions across the Arctic, as well as linkages between the terrestrial cryosphere habitats and downstream ecosystems.

Dataset Information

Flocculated meltwater particles control Arctic land-sea fluxes of labile iron.

Publications

Flocculated meltwater particles control Arctic land-sea fluxes of labile iron.

Similar Datasets

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