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Origin-specific molecular signatures of dissolved organic matter in the Lena Delta

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Abstract

Large Arctic rivers discharge significant amounts of dissolved organic matter (DOM) into the Arctic Ocean. We sampled natural waters of the Lena River, the Buor-Khaya Bay (Laptev Sea), permafrost melt water creeks, ice complex melt water creeks and a lake. The goal of this study was to characterize the molecular DOM composition with respect to different water bodies within the Lena Delta. We aimed at an identification of source-specific DOM molecular markers and their relative contribution to DOM of different origin. The molecular characterization was performed for solid-phase extracted DOM by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Average dissolved organic carbon concentrations in the original samples were 490 ± 75 µmol C L−1 for riverine and bay samples and 399 ± 115 µmol C L−1 for permafrost melt water creeks. Average TDN concentrations were elevated in the permafrost melt waters (19.7 ± 7.1 µmol N L−1) in comparison to the river and the bay (both 13.2 ± 2.6 µmol N L−1). FT-ICR MS and statistical tools demonstrated that the origin of DOM in the Lena Delta was systematically reflected in its molecular composition. Magnitude weighted parameters calculated from MS data (O/Cwa, H/Cwa, C/Nwa) highlighted preliminary sample discrimination. The highest H/Cwa of 1.315 was found for DOM in melt water creeks in comparison to 1.281 for river and 1.230 for the bay samples. In the bay samples we observed a higher fraction of oxygen-rich components which was reflected in an O/Cwa ratio of 0.445 in comparison to 0.425 and 0.427 in the river and creeks, respectively. From the southernmost location to the bay a relative depletion of nitrogenous molecular markers and an enrichment of oxidized DOM components occurred. The highest contribution of nitrogenous components was indicative for creeks reflected in a C/Nwa of 104 in comparison to 143 and 176 in the river and bay, respectively. These observations were studied on a molecular formula level using principal component and indicator value analyses. The results showed systematic differences with respect to water origin and constitute an important basis for a better mechanistic understanding of DOM transformations in the changing Arctic rivers.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of logistics department of the Alfred Wegener Institute in face of Waldemar Schneider. We thank Michail Grigoriev for his involvement and help in organizational processes during the Lena Delta 2009 expedition. We are grateful to the group of Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin for access to FT-ICR MS facilities, their support in the sample analyses and data interpretation.

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Author notes

  1. R. Flerus

    Present address: Biological Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105, Kiel, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecological Chemistry, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    I. Dubinenkov, R. Flerus, G. Kattner & B. P. Koch

  2. Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstraße 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany

    P. Schmitt-Kopplin

  3. Technische Universität München, Alte Akademie 10, 85354, Freising, Germany

    P. Schmitt-Kopplin

  4. University of Applied Sciences, An der Karlstadt 8, 27568, Bremerhaven, Germany

    B. P. Koch

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  1. I. Dubinenkov
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Dubinenkov, I., Flerus, R., Schmitt-Kopplin, P. et al. Origin-specific molecular signatures of dissolved organic matter in the Lena Delta. Biogeochemistry 123, 1–14 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-014-0049-0

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