Enhanced transfer of terrestrially derived carbon to the atmosphere in a flooding event
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2012 papers
Abstract
Abstract Rising CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere, global climate change, and the sustainability of the Earth's biosphere are great societal concerns for the 21st century. Global climate change has, in part, resulted in a higher frequency of flooding events, which allow for greater exchange between soil/plant litter and aquatic carbon pools. Here we demonstrate that the summer 2011 flood in the Mississippi River basin, caused by extreme precipitation events, resulted in a “flushing” of terrestrially derived dissolved organic carbon (TDOC) to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Data from the lower Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers showed that the DOC flux to the northern Gulf of Mexico during this flood was significantly higher than in previous years. We also show that consumption of radiocarbon‐modern TDOC by bacteria in floodwaters in the lower Atchafalaya River and along the adjacent shelf contributed to northern Gulf shelf waters changing from a net sink to a net source of CO 2 to the atmosphere in June and August 2011. This work shows that enhanced flooding, which may or may not be caused by climate change, can result in rapid losses of stored carbon in soils to the atmosphere via processes in aquatic ecosystems.
Related Papers
- → The boundless carbon cycle(2009)1,675 cited
- → Change in net primary production and heterotrophic respiration: How much is necessary to sustain the terrestrial carbon sink?(1996)134 cited
- → Lecture 1: Global Observations Of Atmospheric Co2(1993)16 cited
- Research progresses in carbon budget and carbon cycle of the coastal salt marshes in China(2013)
- → The ESCOBA-biosphere Project : aims and examples of achievements. / Le projet ESCOBA-Biosphère : objectifs et exemples de résultats(1997)