Publication Date:
2017-06-29
Description:
In Siberia and Alaska, permafrost thaw has been associated with significant increases in the delivery of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to recipient stream ecosystems. Here, we examine the effect of retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) on DOC concentration and transport, using data from eight RTS features on the Peel Plateau, NT, Canada. Like extensive regions of northwestern Canada, the Peel Plateau is comprised of thick, ice-rich tills that were deposited at the margins of the continental ice sheet. RTS features are now widespread in this region, with headwall exposures up to 30 m high, and total disturbed areas often exceeding 30 ha. We find that intensive slumping on the Peel Plateau is universally associated with decreasing DOC concentrations downstream of slumps, even though the composition of slump-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM; assessed using specific UV absorbance and slope ratios) is similar to permafrost-derived DOM from other regions. Comparisons of upstream and downstream DOC flux relative to a conservative tracer suggest that the substantial fine-grained sediments released by slumping may sequester DOC on this landscape. Runoff obtained directly from within slump features, above entry into recipient streams, indicates that the deepest RTS features, which thaw the greatest extent of buried, Pleistocene-aged glacial tills, have the lowest runoff DOC concentrations when compared to upstream, un-disturbed locations. In contrast, shallower features, with exposures that are more limited to a relict Holocene active layer, have within-slump DOC concentrations more similar to upstream sites. Finally, fine-scale work at a single RTS feature indicates that temperature and precipitation serve as primary environmental controls on above-slump and below-slump DOC flux, but that the relationship between climatic parameters and DOC flux is complex for these dynamic thermokarst features. These results demonstrate that we should expect striking variation in thermokarst-associated DOC mobilization across Arctic regions, but that within-region variation in thermokarst intensity and other landscape factors are also important for determining biogeochemical response. An understanding of landscape and climate history, permafrost genesis, soil composition, the nature and intensity of thermokarst, and the interaction of these factors, is critical for predicting changes in land-to-water carbon mobilization in a warming circumpolar world.
Print ISSN:
1810-6277
Electronic ISSN:
1810-6285
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
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