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At least 739 records · Page 41Linked to original sources
USGS2015

Organic carbon burial in lakes and reservoirs of the conterminous United States

Organic carbon (OC) burial in lacustrine sediments represents an important sink in the global carbon cycle; however, large-scale OC burial rates are poorly constrained, primarily because of the sparseness of available data sets. Here we present an analysis of OC burial rates in water bodies of the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) that takes advantage of recently developed national-scale data sets on reservoir sedimentation rates, sediment OC concentrations, lake OC burial rates, and water body distributions. We relate these data to basin characteristics and land use in a geostatistical analysis to develop an empirical model of OC burial in water bodies of the CONUS. Our results indicate that CONUS water bodies sequester 20.8 (95% CI: 9.4–65.8) Tg C yr –1 , and spatial patterns in OC burial are strongly influenced by water body type, size, and abundance; land use; and soil and vegetation characteristics in surrounding areas. Carbon burial is greatest in the central and southeastern regions of the CONUS, where cultivation and an abundance of small water bodies enhance accumulation of sediment and OC in aquatic environments.

Environmental Science & Technology↗
USGS2001

Effects of sulfur impregnation temperature on the properties and mercury adsorption capacities of activated carbon fibers (ACFs)

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine the role of sulfur functional groups and micropore surface area of carbon-based adsorbents on the adsorption of Hg0 from simulated coal combustion flue gases. In this study, raw activated carbon fibers that are microporous (ACF-20) were impregnated with elemental sulfur between 250 and 650 ??C. The resulting samples were saturated with respect to sulfur content. Total sulfur content of the sulfur impregnated ACF samples decreased with increasing impregnation temperatures from 250 and 500 ??C and then remained constant to 650 ??C. Results from sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (S-XANES) spectroscopy showed that sulfur impregnated on the ACF samples was in both elemental and organic forms. As sulfur impregnation temperature increased, however, the relative amounts of elemental sulfur decreased with a concomitant increase in the amount of organic sulfur. Thermal analyses and mass spectrometry revealed that sulfur functional groups formed at higher impregnation temperatures were more thermally stable. In general, sulfur impregnation decreased surface area and increased equilibrium Hg0 adsorption capacity when compared to the raw ACF sample. The ACF sample treated with sulfur at 400 ??C had a surface area of only 94 m2/g compared to the raw ACF sample's surface area of 1971 m2/g, but at least 86% of this sample's surface area existed as micropores and it had the largest equilibrium Hg0adsorption capacities (2211-11343 ??g/g). Such a result indicates that 400 ??C is potentially an optimal sulfur impregnation temperature for this ACF. Sulfur impregnated on the ACF that was treated at 400 ??C was in both elemental and organic forms. Thermal analyses and CS2extraction tests suggested that elemental sulfur was the main form of sulfur affecting the Hg0 adsorption capacity. These findings indicate that both the presence of elemental sulfur on the adsorbent and a microporous structure are important properties for improving the performance of carbon-based adsorbents for the removal of Hg0 from coal combustion flue gases.

Environmental Science & Technology↗
USGS2002

Cycling of beryllium and carbon through hillslope soils in Iowa

Isotopes of Be and C were used to reconstruct loess accumulation, hillslope evolution, and agricultural modification in soils of western Iowa. While both elements are derived from additions by the atmosphere (via plants in the case of carbon), the differences in element cycling allow erosional and depositional processes to be separated from biochemical processing. Based on 10Be, loess accumulation likely occurred simultaneously with hillslope degradation. Rates of loess accumulation declined five-fold between early stages (late Pleistocene and early Holocene) and later stages (late Holocene) of accumulation, but the absolute timing of accumulation requires independent dating methods. Based on 14C measurements, plant inputs and decomposition are significant near the surface, but below 1-1.5 m carbon inputs are minimal and decomposition is nearly arrested. The amount of carbon below 1.5 m is constant (0.1%) and is composed of soil organic matter that was buried by loess. Agricultural modification results in a dramatic redistribution of 10Be through soil erosion and deposition. By contrast, the redistribution of soil organic matter is masked by the rapid cycling of C through the topsoil as it continually decomposes and is replaced by plant inputs.

Biogeochemistry↗
USGS2010

The relationship between soil heterotrophic activity, soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leachate, and catchment-scale DOC export in headwater catchments

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from terrestrial sources forms the major component of the annual carbon budget in many headwater streams. In high-elevation catchments in the Rocky Mountains, DOC originates in the upper soil horizons and is flushed to the stream primarily during spring snowmelt. To identify controls on the size of the mobile soil DOC pool available to be transported during the annual melt event, we measured soil DOC production across a range of vegetation communities and soil types together with catchment DOC export in paired watersheds in Summit County, Colorado. Both surface water DOC concentrations and watershed DOC export were lower in areas where pyrite weathering resulted in lower soil p H. Similarly, the amount of DOC leached from organic soils was significantly smaller ( p < 0.01) at sites having low soil p H. Scaling point source measurements of DOC production and leaching to the two basins and assuming only vegetated areas contribute to DOC production, we calculated that the amount of mobile DOC available to be leached to surface water during melt was 20.3 g C m −2 in the circumneutral basin and 17.8 g C m −2 in the catchment characterized by pyrite weathering. The significant ( r 2 =0.91 and p < 0.05), linear relationship between over-winter CO 2 flux and the amount of DOC leached from upper soil horizons during snowmelt suggests that the mechanism for the difference in production of mobile DOC was heterotrophic processing of soil carbon in snow-covered soil. Furthermore, this strong relationship between over-winter heterotrophic activity and the size of the mobile DOC pool present in a range of soil and vegetation types provides a likely mechanism for explaining the interannual variability of DOC export observed in high-elevation catchments.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2001

Carbon gas exchange at a southern Rocky Mountain wetland, 1996-1998

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) exchange between the atmosphere and a subalpine wetland located in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, at 3200 m elevation were measured during 1996-1998. Respiration, net CO2 flux, and CH4 flux were measured using the closed chamber method during snow-free periods and using gas diffusion calculations during snow-covered periods. The ranges of measured flux were 1.2-526 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1 (respiration), -1056-100 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1 (net CO2 exchange), and 0.1-36.8 mmol CH4 m-2 d-1 (a positive value represents efflux to the atmosphere). Respiration and CH4 emission were significantly correlated with 5 cm soil temperature. Annual respiration and CH4 emission were modeled by applying the flux-temperature relationships to a continuous soil temperature record during 1996-1998. Gross photosynthesis was modeled using a hyperbolic equation relating gross photosynthesis, photon flux density, and soil temperature. Modeled annual flux estimates indicate that the wetland was a net source of carbon gas to the atmosphere each of the three years: 8.9 mol C m-2 yr-1 in 1996, 9.5 mol C m-2 yr-1 in 1997, and 9.6 mol C m-2 yr-1 in 1998. This contrasts with the long-term carbon accumulation of ???0.7 mol m-2 yr-1 determined from 14C analyses of a peat core collected from the wetland.

Global Biogeochemical Cycles↗
USGS2006

Change in atmospheric mineral aerosols in response to climate: Last glacial period, preindustrial, modern, and doubled carbon dioxide climates

Desert dust simulations generated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Community Climate System Model for the current climate are shown to be consistent with present day satellite and deposition data. The response of the dust cycle to last glacial maximum, preindustrial, modern, and doubled-carbon dioxide climates is analyzed. Only natural (non-land use related) dust sources are included in this simulation. Similar to some previous studies, dust production mainly responds to changes in the source areas from vegetation changes, not from winds or soil moisture changes alone. This model simulates a +92%, +33%, and -60% change in dust loading for the last glacial maximum, preindustrial, and doubled-carbon dioxide climate, respectively, when impacts of carbon dioxide fertilization on vegetation are included in the model. Terrestrial sediment records from the last glacial maximum compiled here indicate a large underestimate of deposition in continental regions, probably due to the lack of simulation of glaciogenic dust sources. In order to include the glaciogenic dust sources as a first approximation, we designate the location of these sources, and infer the size of the sources using an inversion method that best matches the available data. The inclusion of these inferred glaciogenic dust sources increases our dust flux in the last glacial maximum from 2.1 to 3.3 times current deposition. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres↗
USGS2006

Modeling physical and biogeochemical controls over carbon accumulation in a boreal forest soil

Boreal soils are important to the global C cycle owing to large C stocks, repeated disturbance from fire, and the potential for permafrost thaw to expose previously stable, buried C. To evaluate the primary mechanisms responsible for both short- and long-term C accumulation in boreal soils, we developed a multi-isotope (12,14C) Soil C model with dynamic soil layers that develop through time as soil organic matter burns and reaccumulates. We then evaluated the mechanisms that control organic matter turnover in boreal regions including carbon input rates, substrate recalcitrance, soil moisture and temperature, and the presence of historical permafrost to assess the importance of these factors in boreal C accumulation. Results indicate that total C accumulation is controlled by the rate of carbon input, decomposition rates, and the presence of historical permafrost. However, unlike more temperate ecosystems, one of the key mechanisms involved in C preservation in boreal soils examined here is the cooling of subsurface soil layers as soil depth increases rather than increasing recalcitrance in subsurface soils. The propagation of the 14C bomb spike into soils also illustrates the importance of historical permafrost and twentieth century warming in contemporary boreal soil respiration fluxes. Both 14C and total C simulation data also strongly suggest that boreal SOM need not be recalcitrant to accumulate; the strong role of soil temperature controls on boreal C accumulation at our modeling test site in Manitoba, Canada, indicates that carbon in the deep organic soil horizons is probably relatively labile and thus subject to perturbations that result from changing climatic conditions in the future. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2007

State factor relationships of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen losses from unpolluted temperate forest watersheds

We sampled 100 unpolluted, old-growth forested watersheds, divided among 13 separate study areas over 5 years in temperate southern Chile and Argentina, to evaluate relationships among dominant soil-forming state factors and dissolved carbon and nitrogen concentrations in watershed streams. These watersheds provide a unique opportunity to examine broad-scale controls over carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) biogeochemistry in the absence of significant human disturbance from chronic N deposition and land use change. Variations in the ratio dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to nitrogen (DON) in watershed streams differed by underlying soil parent material, with average C:N = 29 for watersheds underlain by volcanic ash and basalt versus C:N = 73 for sedimentary and metamorphic parent materials, consistent with stronger adsorption of low C:N hydrophobic materials by amorphous clays commonly associated with volcanic ash and basalt weathering. Mean annual precipitation was related positively to variations in both DOC (range: 0.2-9.7 mg C/L) and DON (range: 0.008-0.135 mg N/L) across study areas, suggesting that variations in water volume and concentration may act synergistically to influence C and N losses across dry to wet gradients in these forest ecosystems. Dominance of vegetation by broadleaf versus coniferous trees had negligible effects on organic C and N concentrations in comparison to abiotic factors. We conclude that precipitation volume and soil parent material are important controls over chemical losses of dissolved organic C and N from unpolluted temperate forest watersheds. Our results raise the possibility that biotic imprints on watershed C and N losses may be less pronounced in naturally N-poor forests than in areas impacted by land use change and chronic N deposition. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2007

Carbon export and cycling by the Yukon, Tanana, and Porcupine rivers, Alaska, 2001-2005

Loads and yields of dissolved and particulate organic and inorganic carbon (DOC, POC, DIC, PIC) were measured and modeled at three locations on the Yukon River (YR) and on the Tanana and Porcupine rivers (TR, PR) in Alaska during 2001–2005. Total YR carbon export averaged 7.8 Tg C yr −1 , 30% as OC and 70% as IC. Total C yields (0.39–1.03 mol C m −2 yr −1 ) were proportional to water yields (139–356 mm yr −1 ; r 2 = 0.84) at all locations. Summer DOC had an aged component (fraction modern (FM) = 0.94–0.97), except in the permafrost wetland‐dominated PR, where DOC was modern. POC had FM = 0.63–0.70. DOC had high concentration, high aromaticity, and high hydrophobic content in spring and low concentration, low aromaticity, and high hydrophilic content in winter. About half of annual DOC export occurred during spring. DIC concentration and isotopic composition were strongly affected by dissolution of suspended carbonates in glacial meltwater during summer.

Water Resources Research↗
USGS2008

Research needs for finely resolved fossil carbon emissions

Scientific research on the global carbon cycle has emerged as a high priority in biogeochemistry, climate studies, and global change policy. The emission of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from fossil fuel combustion is a dominant driver of the current net carbon fluxes between the land, the oceans, and the atmosphere, and it is a key contributor to the rise in modern radiative forcing. Contrary to a commonly held perception, our quantitative knowledge about these emissions is insufficient to satisfy current scientific and policy needs. A more highly spatially and temporally resolved quantification of the social and economic drivers of fossil fuel combustion, and the resulting CO 2 emissions, is essential to supporting scientific and policy progress. In this article, a new community of emissions researchers called the CO 2 Fossil Fuel Emission Effort (CO 2 FFEE) outlines a research agenda to meet the need for improved fossil fuel CO 2 emissions information and solicits comment from the scientific community and research agencies.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2008

Diurnal and vertical variability of the sensible heat and carbon dioxide budgets in the atmospheric surface layer

The diurnal and vertical variability of heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmospheric surface layer are studied by analyzing measurements from a 213 in tower in Cabauw (Netherlands). Observations of thermodynamic variables and CO2 mixing ratio as well as vertical profiles of the turbulent fluxes are used to retrieve the contribution of the budget terms in the scalar conservation equation. On the basis of the daytime evolution of turbulent fluxes, we calculate the budget terms by assuming that turbulent fluxes follow a linear profile with height. This assumption is carefully tested and the deviation ftom linearity is quantified. The budget calculation allows us to assess the importance of advection of heat and CO2 during day hours for three selected days. It is found that, under nonadvective conditions, the diurnal variability of temperature and CO2 is well reproduced from the flux divergence measurements. Consequently, the vertical transport due to the turbulent flux plays a major role in the daytime evolution of both scalars and the advection is a relatively small contribution. During the analyzed days with a strong contribution of advection of either heat or carbon dioxide, the flux divergence is still an important contribution to the budget. For heat, the quantification of the advection contribution is in close agreement with results from a numerical model. For carbon dioxide, we qualitatively corroborate the results with a Lagrangian transport model. Our estimation of advection is compared with, traditional estimations based on the Net Ecosystem-atmosphere Exchange (NEE). Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres↗
USGS2008

Boreal soil carbon dynamics under a changing climate: A model inversion approach

Several fundamental but important factors controlling the feedback of boreal organic carbon (OC) to climate change were examined using a mechanistic model of soil OC dynamics, including the combined effects of temperature and moisture on the decomposition of OC and the factors controlling carbon quality and decomposition with depth. To estimate decomposition rates and evaluate their variations with depth, the model was inverted using a global optimization algorithm. Three sites with different drainage conditions that represent a broad diversity of boreal black spruce ecosystems were modeled. The comparison among the models with different depth patterns of decomposition rates (i.e., constant, linear, and exponential decrease) revealed that the model with constant inherent decomposition rates through the soil profile was able to fit the observed data in the most efficient way. There were also lower turnover times in the wettest site compared to the drier site even after accounting for moisture and temperature differences. Taken together, these results indicate that decomposition (especially for the wetter site) was not accurately represented with standard moisture and temperature controls and that other important protection mechanisms (e.g., limitation of O 2 , redox conditions, and permafrost) rather than low inherent decomposition rates are responsible for the recalcitrance of deep OC. The simulation results also showed that most of the soil CO 2 efflux is generated from subsurface layers of OC because of the large OC stocks and optimal moisture conditions, suggesting that these deeper soil OC stocks are likely to be critically important to the future carbon dynamics.

Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences↗
USGS2008

Linking soil organic matter dynamics and erosion-induced terrestrial carbon sequestration at different landform positions

Recently, the potential for terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration by soil erosion and deposition has received increased interest. Erosion and deposition constitute a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide relative to a preerosional state or a noneroding scenario, if the posterosion watershed C balance is increased due to (1) partial replacement of eroded C by new photosynthate in the eroded site; and (2) preservation from decomposition of at least some eroded soil organic carbon (SOC) arriving in depositional settings. Little is known, however, about differences in C dynamics at different erosional and depositional landform positions within the same eroding system. We determined the contribution of different landform positions to erosion-induced terrestrial C sequestration by measuring rates of net primary productivity (NPP), replacement of eroded C, and decomposition of organic matter (OM) at four categorically different landform positions within a naturally eroding toposequence in northern California. We found that eroded C is replaced by NPP 15 times over in the summit of the site studied and 5 times over in the slope. Profile-averaged, long-term rate constant for SOM decomposition was 2 to 14 times slower in the depositional settings compared with that in eroding slopes. As a result, the inventory of C in the depositional settings was 2 to 3 times larger than that of the eroding positions. Owing to both C replacement at eroding sites and reduced rates of OM decomposition in depositional sites, soil erosion constitutes a C sink from the atmosphere at our study site.

California↗
USGS2010

Controls on mangrove forest‐atmosphere carbon dioxide exchanges in western Everglades National Park

We report on net ecosystem production (NEP) and key environmental controls on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) between a mangrove forest and the atmosphere in the coastal Florida Everglades. An eddy covariance system deployed above the canopy was used to determine NEE during January 2004 through August 2005. Maximum daytime NEE ranged from −20 to −25 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 between March and May. Respiration (R d ) was highly variable (2.81 ± 2.41 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 ), reaching peak values during the summer wet season. During the winter dry season, forest CO 2 assimilation increased with the proportion of diffuse solar irradiance in response to greater radiative transfer in the forest canopy. Surface water salinity and tidal activity were also important controls on NEE. Daily light use efficiency was reduced at high (>34 parts per thousand (ppt)) compared to low (<17 ppt) salinity by 46%. Tidal inundation lowered daytime R d by ∼0.9 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 and nighttime R d by ∼0.5 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 . The forest was a sink for atmospheric CO 2 , with an annual NEP of 1170 ± 127 g C m −2 during 2004. This unusually high NEP was attributed to year‐round productivity and low ecosystem respiration which reached a maximum of only 3 g C m −2 d −1 . Tidal export of dissolved inorganic carbon derived from belowground respiration likely lowered the estimates of mangrove forest respiration. These results suggest that carbon balance in mangrove coastal systems will change in response to variable salinity and inundation patterns, possibly resulting from secular sea level rise and climate change.

Florida↗
USGS2010

A model‐data intercomparison of CO2 exchange across North America: Results from the North American Carbon Program site synthesis

Our current understanding of terrestrial carbon processes is represented in various models used to integrate and scale measurements of CO 2 exchange from remote sensing and other spatiotemporal data. Yet assessments are rarely conducted to determine how well models simulate carbon processes across vegetation types and environmental conditions. Using standardized data from the North American Carbon Program we compare observed and simulated monthly CO 2 exchange from 44 eddy covariance flux towers in North America and 22 terrestrial biosphere models. The analysis period spans ∼220 site‐years, 10 biomes, and includes two large‐scale drought events, providing a natural experiment to evaluate model skill as a function of drought and seasonality. We evaluate models' ability to simulate the seasonal cycle of CO 2 exchange using multiple model skill metrics and analyze links between model characteristics, site history, and model skill. Overall model performance was poor; the difference between observations and simulations was ∼10 times observational uncertainty, with forested ecosystems better predicted than nonforested. Model‐data agreement was highest in summer and in temperate evergreen forests. In contrast, model performance declined in spring and fall, especially in ecosystems with large deciduous components, and in dry periods during the growing season. Models used across multiple biomes and sites, the mean model ensemble, and a model using assimilated parameter values showed high consistency with observations. Models with the highest skill across all biomes all used prescribed canopy phenology, calculated NEE as the difference between GPP and ecosystem respiration, and did not use a daily time step.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2011

Characterizing the performance of ecosystem models across time scales: A spectral analysis of the North American Carbon Program site‐level synthesis

[1] Ecosystem models are important tools for diagnosing the carbon cycle and projecting its behavior across space and time. Despite the fact that ecosystems respond to drivers at multiple time scales, most assessments of model performance do not discriminate different time scales. Spectral methods, such as wavelet analyses, present an alternative approach that enables the identification of the dominant time scales contributing to model performance in the frequency domain. In this study we used wavelet analyses to synthesize the performance of 21 ecosystem models at 9 eddy covariance towers as part of the North American Carbon Program's site‐level intercomparison. This study expands upon previous single‐site and single‐model analyses to determine what patterns of model error are consistent across a diverse range of models and sites. To assess the significance of model error at different time scales, a novel Monte Carlo approach was developed to incorporate flux observation error. Failing to account for observation error leads to a misidentification of the time scales that dominate model error. These analyses show that model error (1) is largest at the annual and 20–120 day scales, (2) has a clear peak at the diurnal scale, and (3) shows large variability among models in the 2–20 day scales. Errors at the annual scale were consistent across time, diurnal errors were predominantly during the growing season, and intermediate‐scale errors were largely event driven. Breaking spectra into discrete temporal bands revealed a significant model‐by‐band effect but also a nonsignificant model‐by‐site effect, which together suggest that individual models show consistency in their error patterns. Differences among models were related to model time step, soil hydrology, and the representation of photosynthesis and phenology but not the soil carbon or nitrogen cycles. These factors had the greatest impact on diurnal errors, were less important at annual scales, and had the least impact at intermediate time scales.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2012

Carbon dioxide and methane emissions from the Yukon River system

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) emissions are important, but poorly quantified, components of riverine carbon (C) budgets. This is largely because the data needed for gas flux calculations are sparse and are spatially and temporally variable. Additionally, the importance of C gas emissions relative to lateral C exports is not well known because gaseous and aqueous fluxes are not commonly measured on the same rivers. We couple measurements of aqueous CO 2 and CH 4 partial pressures ( p CO 2 , p CH 4 ) and flux across the water-air interface with gas transfer models to calculate subbasin distributions of gas flux density. We then combine those flux densities with remote and direct observations of stream and river water surface area and ice duration, to calculate C gas emissions from flowing waters throughout the Yukon River basin. CO 2 emissions were 7.68 Tg C yr −1 (95% CI: 5.84 −10.46), averaging 750 g C m −2 yr −1 normalized to water surface area, and 9.0 g C m −2 yr −1 normalized to river basin area. River CH 4 emissions totaled 55 Gg C yr −1 or 0.7% of the total mass of C emitted as CO 2 plus CH 4 and ∼6.4% of their combined radiative forcing. When combined with lateral inorganic plus organic C exports to below head of tide, C gas emissions comprised 50% of total C exported by the Yukon River and its tributaries. River CO 2 and CH 4 derive from multiple sources, including groundwater, surface water runoff, carbonate equilibrium reactions, and benthic and water column microbial processing of organic C. The exact role of each of these processes is not yet quantified in the overall river C budget.

Yukon River Basin↗
USGS2013

Enhanced transfer of terrestrially derived carbon to the atmosphere in a flooding event

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.

Geophysical Research Letters↗