Contrasts in dissolved, particulate, and sedimentary organic carbon from the Kolyma River to the East Siberian Shelf

Abstract δ 13 C, Δ 14 C), lignin phenol, and lipid biomarker proxies show a contrasting composition and degradation state of these different carbon pools. Dual C isotope source apportionment calculations imply that old permafrost-OC is mostly associated with sediments (SOC; contribution of 68 ± 10  %), and less dominant in POC (38 ± 8  %), whereas autochthonous primary production contributes around 44 ± 10  % to POC in the main stem and up to 79 ± 11  % in tributaries. Biomarker degradation indices suggest that Kolyma DOC might be relatively degraded, regardless of its generally young age shown by previous studies. In contrast, SOC shows the lowest Δ 14 C value (oldest OC), yet relatively fresh compositional signatures. Furthermore, decreasing mineral surface area-normalised OC- and biomarker loadings suggest that SOC might be reactive along the land–ocean continuum and almost all parameters were subjected to rapid change when moving from freshwater to the marine environment. This suggests that sedimentary dynamics play a crucial role when targeting permafrost-derived OC in aquatic systems and support earlier studies highlighting the fact that the land–ocean transition zone is an efficient reactor and a dynamic environment. The prevailing inconsistencies between freshwater and marine research (i.e. targeting predominantly DOC and SOC respectively) need to be better aligned in order to determine to what degree thawed permafrost OC may be destined for long-term burial, thereby attenuating further global warming.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Contrasts in dissolved, particulate, and sedimentary organic carbon from the Kolyma River to the East Siberian Shelf ; volume:20 ; number:1 ; year:2023 ; pages:271-294 ; extent:24 ; Biogeosciences ; 20, Heft 1 (2023), 271-294 (gesamt 24)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Jong, Dirk ; Bröder, Lisa ; Tesi, Tommaso ; Keskitalo, Kirsi H. ; Zimov, Nikita ; Davydova, Anna ; Pika, Philip ; Haghipour, Negar ; Eglinton, Timothy I. ; Vonk, Jorien E.

Further information

• DOI: 10.5194/bg-20-271-2023
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2023011904201160815666
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:32 AM CEST