Regional Variability and Drivers of Below Ice CO2 in Boreal and Subarctic Lakes

Northern lakes are ice-covered for considerable portions of the year, where carbon dioxide (CO2) can accumulate below ice, subsequently leading to high CO2 emissions at ice-melt. Current knowledge on the regional control and variability of below ice partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) is lacking, creating a gap in our understanding of how ice cover dynamics affect the CO2 accumulation below ice and therefore CO2 emissions from inland waters during the ice-melt period. To narrow this gap, we identified the drivers of below ice pCO(2) variation across 506 Swedish and Finnish lakes using water chemistry, lake morphometry, catchment characteristics, lake position, and climate variables. We found that lake depth and trophic status were the most important variables explaining variations in below ice pCO(2) across the 506 lakes(.) Together, lake morphometry and water chemistry explained 53% of the site-to-site variation in below ice pCO(2). Regional climate (including ice cover duration) and latitude only explained 7% of the variation in below ice pCO(2). Thus, our results suggest that on a regional scale a shortening of the ice cover period on lakes may not directly affect the accumulation of CO2 below ice but rather indirectly through increased mobility of nutrients and carbon loading to lakes. Thus, given that climate-induced changes are most evident in northern ecosystems, adequately predicting the consequences of a changing climate on future CO2 emission estimates from northern lakes involves monitoring changes not only to ice cover but also to changes in the trophic status of lakes.Peer reviewe

Temporal and spatial carbon dioxide concentration patterns in a small boreal lake in relation to ice-cover dynamics

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emission estimates from inland waters commonly neglect the ice-cover season. To account for CO2 accumulation below ice and consequent emissions into the atmosphere at ice-melt we combined automatically-monitored and manually- sampled spatially-distributed CO2 concentration measurements from a small boreal ice-covered lake in Sweden. In early winter, CO2 accumulated continuously below ice, whereas, in late winter, CO2 concentrations remained rather constant. At ice-melt, two CO2 concentration peaks were recorded, the first one reflecting lateral CO2 transport within the upper water column, and the second one reflecting vertical CO2 transport from bottom waters. We estimated that 66%–85% of the total CO2 accumulated in the water below ice left the lake at ice-melt, while the remainder was stored in bottom waters. Our results imply that CO2 accumulation under ice and emissions at ice-melt are more dynamic than previously reported, and thus need to be more accurately integrated into annual CO2 emission estimates from inland waters

Increased winter drownings in ice-covered regions with warmer winters

Winter activities on ice are culturally important for many countries, yet they constitute a high safety risk depending upon the stability of the ice. Because consistently cold periods are required to form stable and thick ice, warmer winters could degrade ice conditions and increase the likelihood of falling through the ice. This study provides the first large-scale assessment of winter drowning from 10 Northern Hemisphere countries. We documented over 4000 winter drowning events. Winter drownings increased exponentially in regions with warmer winters when air temperatures neared 0 ̊C. The largest number of drownings occurred when winter air temperatures were between -5 ̊C and 0 ̊C, when ice is less stable, and also in regions where indigenous traditions and livelihood require extended time on ice. Rates of drowning were greatest late in the winter season when ice stability declines. Children and adults up to the age of 39 were at the highest risk of winter drownings. Beyond temperature, differences in cultures, regulations, and human behaviours can be important additional risk factors. Our findings indicate the potential for increased human mortality with warmer winter air temperatures. Incorporating drowning prevention plans would improve adaptation strategies to a changing climate.Funding was provided to SS by the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science Early Researcher Award and York University Research Chair programme. Funding support for BAD was provided by Kempestiftelserna. AL was supported by Estonian Research Council Grant PSG 32. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Funding was provided to SS by the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science Early Researcher Award and York University Research Chair programme. Funding support for BAD was provided by Kempestiftelserna. AL was supported by Estonian Research Council Grant PSG 32. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Summer CO2 evasion from streams and rivers in the Kolyma River basin, north-east Siberia

Inland water systems are generally supersaturated in carbon dioxide (CO2) and are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in the global carbon cycle. The Arctic may be particularly important in this respect, given the abundance of inland waters and carbon contained in Arctic soils; however, a lack of trace gas measurements from small streams in the Arctic currently limits this understanding.We investigated the spatial variability of CO2 evasion during the summer low-flow period from streams and rivers in the northern portion of the Kolyma River basin in north-eastern Siberia. To this end, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and gas exchange velocities (k) were measured at a diverse set of streams and rivers to calculate CO2 evasion fluxes. We combined these CO2 evasion estimates with satellite remote sensing and geographic information system techniques to calculate total areal CO2 emissions. Our results show that small streams are substantial sources of atmospheric CO2 owing to high pCO2 and k, despite being a small portion of total inland water surface area. In contrast, large rivers were generally near equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. Extrapolating our findings across the Panteleikha-Ambolikha sub-watersheds demonstrated that small streams play a major role in CO2 evasion, accounting for 86% of the total summer CO2 emissions from inland waters within these two sub-watersheds. Further expansion of these regional CO2 emission estimates across time and space will be critical to accurately quantify and understand the role of Arctic streams and rivers in the global carbon budget

Heterogeneous CO2 and CH4 patterns across space and time in a small boreal lake

Small boreal lakes emit large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. Yet emissions of these greenhouse gases are variable in space and time, in part due to variable within-lake CO2 and CH4 concentrations. To determine the extent and the underlying drivers of this variation, we measured lake water CO2 and CH4 concentrations and estimated associated emissions using spatially discrete water samples collected every 2 weeks from a small boreal lake. On select dates, we also collected groundwater samples from the surrounding catchment. On average, groundwater draining a connected peat mire complex had significantly higher CO2 and CH4 concentrations compared to waters draining forest on mineral soils. However, within the lake, only CH4 concentrations nearshore from the mire complex were significantly elevated. We observed little spatial variability in surface water CO2; however, bottom water CO2 in the pelagic zone was significantly higher than bottom waters at nearshore locations. Overall, temperature, precipitation, and thermal stratification explained temporal patterns of CO2 concentration, whereas hydrology (discharge and precipitation) best predicted the variation in CH4 concentration. Consistent with these different controls, the highest CO2 emission was related to lake turnover at the end of August while the highest CH4 emission was associated with precipitation events at the end of June. These results suggest that annual carbon emissions from small boreal lakes are influenced by temporal variation in weather conditions that regulate thermal stratification and trigger hydrologic land-water connections that supply gases from catchment soils to the lake

Heterogeneous CO2 and CH4 patterns across space and time in a small boreal lake

Este artículo contiene 12 páginas, 6 figuras, 2 tablas.Small boreal lakes emit large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. Yet emissions of these greenhouse gases are variable in space and time, in part due to variable within-lake CO2 and CH4 concentrations. To determine the extent and the underlying drivers of this variation, we measured lake water CO2 and CH4 concentrations and estimated associated emissions using spatially discrete water samples collected every 2 weeks from a small boreal lake. On select dates, we also collected groundwater samples from the surrounding catchment. On average, groundwater draining a connected peat mire complex had significantly higher CO2 and CH4 concentrations compared to waters draining forest on mineral soils. However, within the lake, only CH4 concentrations nearshore from the mire complex were significantly elevated. We observed little spatial variability in surface water CO2; however, bottom water CO2 in the pelagic zone was significantly higher than bottom waters at nearshore locations. Overall, temperature, precipitation, and thermal stratification explained temporal patterns of CO2 concentration, whereas hydrology (discharge and precipitation) best predicted the variation in CH4 concentration. Consistent with these different controls, the highest CO2 emission was related to lake turnover at the end of August while the highest CH4 emission was associated with precipitation events at the end of June. These results suggest that annual carbon emissions from small boreal lakes are influenced by temporal variation in weather conditions that regulate thermal stratification and trigger hydrologic land–water connections that supply gases from catchment soils to the lake.This work was supported by Kempestiftelserna; Beatriu de Pinos: [Grant Number BP-2018-00082]. This work was supported by Kempestiftelserna; Beatriu de Pinós fellowship programme funded by the Secretary of Universities and Research (Government of Catalonia) and is co-funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 801370.Peer reviewe

Discrete groundwater inflows influence patterns of nitrogen uptake in a boreal headwater stream

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) influences stream nitrogen (N) dynamics by regulating the nutrient demand of heterotrophic microbes and mediating their interactions with nitrifiers. However, DOC supply to streams is dynamic in space and time, which may create variability in N dynamics as a result of shifts between heterotrophic and chemoautotrophic influences. To test this, we measured spatial and temporal variation in concentrations and net uptake of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), ammonium (NH4+), and nitrate (NO3−) along a 1.4-km boreal stream fed by 4 discrete groundwater inflow zones. We also performed constant rate additions of NH4+, with and without acetate, to test the influence of labile DOC availability on N cycling. Groundwater N supply did not drive spatial patterns in N concentrations. However, we observed high rates of net NH4+ uptake at the sub-reach with the greatest groundwater DOC inputs, whereas net nitrification occurred where such inputs were negligible. At the reach scale, net DON and NH4+ uptake increased with greater groundwater discharge, DOC∶DIN, and ecosystem respiration, whereas net nitrification increased with greater DOC aromaticity. Finally, constant rate additions showed that, under increased DOC availability, NH4+ uptake increased 2×, whereas the proportion of NH4+ nitrified decreased from 42 to 15%. Together, these observations suggest that nitrification rivals heterotrophic uptake when aromatic DOC promotes heterotrophic carbon limitation. Discrete groundwater inflows and periods of elevated discharge can partially alleviate this limitation by supplying labile DOC from riparian soils. Hence, accounting for these land–water connections, over both time and space, is critical for understanding N dynamics in boreal streams.Peer reviewe

Methane oxidation at the water-ice interface of an ice-covered lake

Lakes are important components of the global methane (CH4) cycle. In seasonally ice-covered lakes, CH4 transported by ebullition (bubbling) from anoxic sediments gets trapped at the water-ice interface. If not oxidized by methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB), this can potentially lead to high episodic CH4 emissions at ice-melt. To understand the fate of CH4 trapped below ice, we measured depth-distributions of CH4 concentrations in the water column near bubbles trapped below ice in Lake Erken. We also performed a 21 d incubation experiment at low temperature (2.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C) to investigate the potential for CH4 oxidation. During most sampling occasions, we found steep CH4 concentration gradients just below the ice with a 13-fold decrease from the surface to a depth of 20 cm. In vitro incubations revealed that CH4 oxidation can occur at low temperatures typical for the water-ice interface. CH4 oxidation was observed as a significant decrease in CH4 concentration, a significant increase in stable isotope C-13 signature, and an increase in MOB during the incubation. Thus, CH4 accumulating in the top 20 cm of the water column, fed by diffusion from CH4 in trapped bubbles, may fuel significant CH4 oxidation. Since northern latitude lakes can be ice-covered for many months of the year and significant amounts of CH4 accumulate below the ice, the extent of CH4 oxidation under these low temperature-conditions is important for understanding the potential CH4 emissions to the atmosphere during ice-melt.Funding Agencies|Malmens foundation; Swedish Research Council; Swedish Research Council FORMAS; NordForsk approved Nordic Centre of Excellence "CRAICC"</p

Constraints on methane oxidation in ice-covered boreal lakes

Boreal lakes can be ice covered for a substantial portion of the year at which time methane (CH4) can accumulate below ice. The amount of CH4 emitted at ice melt is partially determined by the interplay between CH4 production and CH4 oxidation, performed by methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB). Yet the balance between oxidation and emission and the potential for CH4 oxidation in various lakes during winter is largely unknown. To address this, we performed incubations at 2 degrees C to screen for wintertime CH4 oxidation potential in seven lakes. Results showed that CH4 oxidation was restricted to three lakes, where the phosphate concentrations were highest. Molecular analyses revealed that MOB were initially detected in all lakes, although an increase in type I MOB only occurred in the three lake water incubations where oxidation could be observed. Accordingly, the increase in CO2 was on average 5 times higher in these three lake water incubations. For one lake where no oxidation was measured, we tested if temperature and CH4 availability could trigger CH4 oxidation. However, regardless of incubation temperatures and CH4 concentrations, ranging from 2 to 20 degrees C and 1-500M, respectively, no oxidation was observed. Our study indicates that some lakes with active wintertime CH4 oxidation may have low emissions during ice melt, while other and particularly nutrient poor lakes may accumulate large amounts of CH4 below ice that, in the absence of CH4 oxidation, will be emitted following ice melt. This variability in CH4 oxidation rates between lakes needs to be accounted for in large-scale CH4 emission estimates.Funding Agencies|Malmens foundation; Swedish Research Council; Swedish Research Council FORMAS; Nord Forsk approved Nordic Centre of Excellence "CRAICC"; Carl Tryggers stiftelse</p

Winter inverse lake stratification under historic and future climate change

Millions of lakes inversely stratify during winter. Seemingly subtle variations in the duration of winter stratification can have major ecological effects by, for example, altering the vertical distribution of oxygen and nutrients in lakes. Yet, the influence of climate change on winter stratification has been largely unexplored. To fill this knowledge gap, here we used a lake-climate model ensemble to investigate changes in winter stratification from 1901 to 2099 across 12,242 representative lakes situated throughout the Northern Hemisphere. By the end of the 21st century, winter stratification duration is projected to shorten by an average of 18.5–53.9 d under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6–8.5. Projected changes are faster in warmer geographical regions, in which 35–69% of lakes will no longer inversely stratify by 2070–2099 under RCPs 2.6–8.5. This shortening and loss of winter stratification will likely have numerous implications for lakes, including the misalignment of lifecycle events causing shifts in biodiversity