Evidence for surface organic matter modulation of air-sea CO2 gas exchange

Air-sea CO2 exchange depends on the air-sea CO2 gradient and the gas transfer velocity (k), computed as a function of wind speed. Large discrepancies among relationships predicting k from wind suggest that other processes also contribute significantly to modulate CO2 exchange. Here we report, on the basis of the relationship between the measured gas transfer velocity and the organic carbon concentration at the ocean surface, a significant role of surface organic matter in suppressing air-sea gas exchange, at low and intermediate winds, in the open ocean, confirming previous observations. The potential role of total surface organic matter concentration (TOC) on gas transfer velocity (k) was evaluated by direct measurements of air-sea CO2 fluxes at different wind speeds and locations in the open ocean. According to the results obtained, high surface organic matter contents may lead to lower air-sea CO2 fluxes, for a given air-sea CO2 partial pressure gradient and wind speed below 5 m s−1, compared to that observed at low organic matter contents. We found the bias in calculated gas fluxes resulting from neglecting TOC to co-vary geographically and seasonally with marine productivity. These results support previous evidences that consideration of the role of organic matter in modulating air-sea CO2 exchange may improve flux estimates and help avoid possible bias associated to variability in surface organic concentration across the ocean

Whole-system metabolism and CO₂ fluxes in a Mediterranean Bay dominated by seagrass beds (Palma Bay, NW Mediterranean)

The relationship between whole-system metabolism estimates based on planktonic and benthic incubations (bare sediments and seagrass, Posidonia oceanica meadows), and CO2 fluxes across the air-sea interface were examined in the Bay of Palma (Mallorca, Spain) during two cruises in March and June 2002. Moreover, planktonic and benthic incubations were performed at monthly intervals from March 2001 to October 2002 in a seagrass vegetated area of the bay. From the annual study, results showed a contrast between the planktonic compartment, which was heterotrophic during most of the year, except for occasional bloom episodes, and the benthic compartment, which was slightly autotrophic. Whereas the seagrass community was autotrophic, the excess organic carbon production therein could only balance the excess respiration of the planktonic compartment in shallow waters (<10 m) relative to the maximum depth of the bay (55 m). This generated a horizontal gradient from autotrophic or balanced communities in the shallow, seagrass-covered areas of the bay, to strongly heterotrophic communities in deeper areas, consistent with the patterns of CO2 fields and fluxes across the bay observed during the two extensive cruises in 2002. Finally, dissolved inorganic carbon and oxygen budgets provided NEP estimates in fair agreement with those derived from direct metabolic estimates based on incubated samples over the Posidonia oceanica meadow

Anthropogenic alteration of nutrient supply increases the global freshwater carbon sink

Lakes have a disproportionate effect on the global carbon (C) cycle relative to their area, mediating C transfer from land to atmosphere, and burying organic-C in their sediments. The magnitude and temporal variability of C burial is, however, poorly constrained, and the degree to which humans have influenced lake C cycling through landscape alteration has not been systematically assessed. Here, we report global and biome specific trajectories of lake C sequestration based on 516 lakes and show that some lake C burial rates (i.e., those in tropical forest and grassland biomes) have quadrupled over the last 100 years. Global lake C-sequestration (~0.12 Pg year-1) has increased by ~72 Tg year-1 since 1900, offsetting 20% of annual CO2 freshwater emissions rising to ~30% if reservoirs are included and contributing to the residual continental C sink. Nutrient availability explains ~70% of the observed increase, while rising temperatures have a minimal effect

Diatom-inferred decline of macrophyte abundance in lakes of southern Quebec, Canada

Submerged macrophytes play a central role in lake ecosystem functioning; however, their long-term dynamics are poorly understood. We have used the paleolimnological top-bottom approach to reconstruct changes in whole-lake macrophyte biomass between predisturbance and present-day conditions in 37 southern Quebec lakes. Estimates of whole-lake macrophyte biomass were produced using a diatom-based multivariate regression tree model (MRT) and modern analogue approach. Both approaches indicated an overall pattern of declining macrophyte abundance in the region. Based on MRT analysis, 80% of study lakes were classified as historically being in the macrophyte-dominated state, but now only 43% of the lakes are currently in this state. The lakes that shifted MRT group were found to have significantly (p = 0.03) greater building densities in their catchments compared with lakes that did not shift state. These results suggest that human impacts, primarily nutrient inputs and water level fluctuations, have played a role in reducing macrophyte abundance in southern Quebec lakes. Because submerged macrophyte beds help stabilize lake ecosystems and act as a phosphorus sink, a reduction in whole-lake macrophyte biomass could make lake ecosystems more susceptible to eutrophication

Sediment organic carbon burial in agriculturally eutrophic impoundments over the last century

We estimated organic carbon (OC) burial over the past century in 40 impoundments in one of the most intensively agricultural regions of the world. The volume of sediment deposited per unit time varied as a function of lake and watershed size, but smaller impoundments had greater deposition and accumulation rates per unit area. Annual water storage losses varied from 0.1–20% and were negatively correlated with impoundment size. Estimated sediment OC content was greatest in lakes with low ratios of watershed to impoundment area. Sediment OC burial rates were higher than those assumed for fertile impoundments by previous studies and were much higher than those measured in natural lakes. OC burial ranged from a high of 17,000 g C m−2 a−1 to a low of 148 g C m−2 a−1 and was significantly greater in small impoundments than large ones. The OC buried in these lakes originates in both autochthonous and allochthonous production. These analyses suggest that OC sequestration in moderate to large impoundments may be double the rate assumed in previous analyses. Extrapolation suggests that they may bury 4 times as much carbon (C) as the world's oceans. The world's farm ponds alone may bury more OC than the oceans and 33% as much as the world's rivers deliver to the sea.

Global abundance and size distribution of streams and rivers

To better integrate lotic ecosystems into global cycles and budgets, we provide approximations of the size-distribution and areal extent of streams and rivers. One approach we used was to employ stream network theory combined with data on stream width. We also used detailed stream networks on 2 continents to estimate the fraction of continental area occupied by streams worldwide and corrected remote sensing stream inventories for unresolved small streams. Our estimates of global fluvial area are 485 000 to 662 000 km2 and are +30–300% of published appraisals. Moderately sized rivers (orders 5–9) seem to comprise the greatest global area, with less area covered by low and high order streams, while global stream length, and therefore the riparian interface, is dominated by 1st order streams. Rivers and streams are likely to cover 0.30–0.56% of the land surface and make contributions to global processes and greenhouse gas emissions that may be +20–200% greater than those implied by previous estimates.

Whole-system metabolism and CO2 fluxes in a Mediterranean Bay dominated by seagrass beds (Palma Bay, NW Mediterranean)

Planktonic and benthic incubations (bare and Posidonia oceanica vegetated sediments) were performed at monthly intervals from March 2001 to October 2002 in a seagrass vegetated area of the Bay of Palma (Mallorca, Spain). Results showed a contrast between the planktonic compartment, which was on average near metabolic balance (-4.6 +/- 5.9 mmol O-2 m(-2) d(-1)) and the benthic compartment, which was autotrophic (17.6 +/- 8.5 mmol O-2 m(-2) d(-1)). During two cruises in March and June 2002, planktonic and benthic incubations were performed at several stations in the bay to estimate the whole-system metabolism and to examine its relationship with partial pressure of CO2 (pCO(2)) and apparent oxygen utilisation (AOU) spatial patterns. Moreover, during the second cruise, when the residence time of water was long enough, net ecosystem production (NEP) estimates based on incubations were compared, over the Posidonia oceanica meadow, to rates derived from dissolved inorganic carbon ! (DIC) and oxygen (O-2) mass balance budgets. These budgets provided NEP estimates in fair agreement with those derived from direct metabolic estimates based on incubated samples over the Posidonia oceanica meadow. Whereas the seagrass community was autotrophic, the excess organic carbon production therein could only balance the planktonic heterotrophy in shallow waters relative to the maximum depth of the bay ( 55 m). This generated a horizontal gradient from autotrophic or balanced communities in the shallow seagrass-covered areas, to strongly heterotrophic communities in deeper areas of the bay. It seems therefore that, on an annual scale in the whole bay, the organic matter production by the Posidonia oceanica may not be sufficient to fully compensate the heterotrophy of the planktonic compartment, which may require external organic carbon inputs, most likely from land

The global abundance and size distribution of lakes, ponds, and impoundments

One of the major impediments to the integration of lentic ecosystems into global environmental analyses has been fragmentary data on the extent and size distribution of lakes, ponds, and impoundments. We use new data sources, enhanced spatial resolution, and new analytical approaches to provide new estimates of the global abundance of surface-water bodies. A global model based on the Pareto distribution shows that the global extent of natural lakes is twice as large as previously known (304 million lakes; 4.2 million km2 in area) and is dominated in area by millions of water bodies smaller than 1 km2. Similar analyses of impoundments based on inventories of large, engineered dams show that impounded waters cover approximately 0.26 million km2. However, construction of low-tech farm impoundments is estimated to be between 0.1% and 6% of farm area worldwide, dependent upon precipitation, and represents >77,000 km2 globally, at present. Overall, about 4.6 million km2 of the earth’s continental ‘‘land’’ surface (>3%) is covered by water. These analyses underscore the importance of explicitly considering lakes, ponds, and impoundments, especially small ones, in global analyses of rates and processes

Plumbing the global carbon cycle: Integrating inland waters into the terrestrial carbon budget

Because freshwater covers such a small fraction of the Earth’s surface area, inland freshwater ecosystems (particularly lakes, rivers, and reservoirs) have rarely been considered as potentially important quantitative components of the carbon cycle at either global or regional scales. By taking published estimates of gas exchange, sediment accumulation, and carbon transport for a variety of aquatic systems, we have constructed a budget for the role of inland water ecosystems in the global carbon cycle. Our analysis conservatively estimates that inland waters annually receive, from a combination of background and anthropogenically altered sources, on the order of 1.9 Pg C y−1 from the terrestrial landscape, of which about 0.2 is buried in aquatic sediments, at least 0.8 (possibly much more) is returned to the atmosphere as gas exchange while the remaining 0.9 Pg y−1 is delivered to the oceans, roughly equally as inorganic and organic carbon. Thus, roughly twice as much C enters inland aquatic systems from land as is exported from land to the sea. Over prolonged time net carbon fluxes in aquatic systems tend to be greater per unit area than in much of the surrounding land. Although their area is small, these freshwater aquatic systems can affect regional C balances. Further, the inclusion of inland, freshwater ecosystems provides useful insight about the storage, oxidation and transport of terrestrial C, and may warrant a revision of how the modern net C sink on land is described.