Hannah E. Chmiel

Carbon dioxide evasion from headwater systems strongly contributes to the total export of carbon from a small boreal lake catchment

Inland waters are hotspots for carbon (C) cycling and therefore important for landscape C budgets. Small streams and lakes are particularly important; however, quantifying C fluxes is difficult and has rarely been done for the entire aquatic continuum, composed of connected streams and lakes within the same catchment. We investigated carbon dioxide (CO2) evasion and fluvial fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon and dissolved organic carbon (DIC and DOC) in stream and lake systems within the 2.3 km2 catchment of a small boreal lake. Our results show pronounced spatial and temporal variability in C fluxes even at a small spatial scale. C loss from the catchment through CO2 evasion from headwaters for the total open water-sampling period was 9.7 g C m−2 catchment, dominating the total catchment C loss (including CO2 evasion, DIC, and DOC export from the lake, which were 2.7, 0.2, and 5.2 g C m−2 catchment, respectively). Aquatic CO2 evasion was dominated by headwater streams that occupy ~0.1% of the catchment but contributed 65% to the total aquatic CO2 evasion from the catchment. The importance of streams was mainly an effect of the higher gas transfer velocities than compared to lakes (median, 67 and 2.2 cm h−1, respectively). Accurately estimating the contribution of C fluxes from headwater streams, particularly the temporal and spatial dynamics in their gas transfer velocity, is key to landscape-scale C budgets. This study demonstrates that CO2 evasion from headwaters can be the major pathway of C loss from boreal catchments, even at a small spatial scale.

Temporal control on concentration, character, and export of dissolved organic carbon in two hemiboreal headwater streams draining contrasting catchments

Although lateral carbon (C) export from terrestrial to aquatic systems is known to be an important component in landscape C balances, most existing global studies are lacking empirical data on the soil C export. In this study, the concentration, character, and export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were studied during 2 years in two hemiboreal headwater streams draining catchments with different soil characteristics (mineral versus peat soils). The streams exposed surprisingly similar strong air temperature controls on the temporal variability in DOC concentration in spite of draining such different catchments. The temporal variability in DOC character (determined by absorbance metrics, specific ultraviolet absorbance 254 (SUVA254) as a proxy for aromaticity and a254/a365 ratio as a proxy for mean molecular weight) was more complex but related to stream discharge. While the two streams showed similar ranges and patterns in SUVA254, we found a significant difference in median a254/a354, suggesting differences in the DOC character. Both streams responded similarly to hydrological changes with higher a254/a365 at higher discharge, although with rather small differences in a254/a365 between base flow and high flow (<0.3). The DOC exports (9.6–25.2 g C m−2 yr−1) were among the highest reported so far for Scandinavia and displayed large interannual and intraannual variability mainly driven by irregular precipitation/discharge patterns. Our results show that air temperature and discharge affect the temporal variability in DOC quantity and character in different ways. This will have implications for the design of representative sampling programs, which in turn will affect the reliability of future estimates of landscape C budgets.

Multiple sulphur and oxygen isotopes reveal microbial sulphur cycling in spring waters in the Lower Engadin, Switzerland

Highly mineralized springs in the Scuol-Tarasp area of the Lower Engadin and in the Albula Valley near Alvaneu, Switzerland, display distinct differences with respect to the source and fate of their dissolved sulphur species. High sulphate concentrations and positive sulphur (δ34S) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic compositions argue for the subsurface dissolution of Mesozoic evaporitic sulphate. In contrast, low sulphate concentrations and less positive or even negative δ34S and δ18O values indicate a substantial contribution of sulphate sulphur from the oxidation of sulphides in the crystalline basement rocks or the Jurassic sedimentary cover rocks. Furthermore, multiple sulphur (δ34S, Δ33S) isotopes support the identification of microbial sulphate reduction and sulphide oxidation in the subsurface, the latter is also evident through the presence of thick aggregates of sulphide-oxidizing Thiothrix bacteria.