Using fluorescent dissolved organic matter to trace and distinguish the origin of Arctic surface waters

Climate change affects the Arctic with regards to permafrost thaw, sea-ice melt, alterations to the freshwater budget and increased export of terrestrial material to the Arctic Ocean. The Fram and Davis Straits represent the major gateways connecting the Arctic and Atlantic. Oceanographic surveys we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2016-09, Vol.6 (1), p.33978-33978, Article 33978
Main Authors: Gonçalves-Araujo, Rafael, Granskog, Mats A., Bracher, Astrid, Azetsu-Scott, Kumiko, Dodd, Paul A., Stedmon, Colin A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/47
704/829/2737
Climate change
Deep water
Dissolved organic matter
Fluorescence
Humanities and Social Sciences
Ice
multidisciplinary
Oceanography
Permafrost
Polar waters
Rivers
Salinity
Science
Sea ice
Straits
Surface water
Wavelength
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Summary:Climate change affects the Arctic with regards to permafrost thaw, sea-ice melt, alterations to the freshwater budget and increased export of terrestrial material to the Arctic Ocean. The Fram and Davis Straits represent the major gateways connecting the Arctic and Atlantic. Oceanographic surveys were performed in the Fram and Davis Straits and on the east Greenland Shelf (EGS), in late summer 2012/2013. Meteoric ( f mw ), sea-ice melt, Atlantic and Pacific water fractions were determined and the fluorescence properties of dissolved organic matter (FDOM) were characterized. In Fram Strait and EGS, a robust correlation between visible wavelength fluorescence and f mw was apparent, suggesting it as a reliable tracer of polar waters. However, a pattern was observed which linked the organic matter characteristics to the origin of polar waters. At depth in Davis Strait, visible wavelength FDOM was correlated to apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and traced deep-water DOM turnover. In surface waters FDOM characteristics could distinguish between surface waters from eastern (Atlantic + modified polar waters) and western (Canada-basin polar waters) Arctic sectors. The findings highlight the potential of designing in situ multi-channel DOM fluorometers to trace the freshwater origins and decipher water mass mixing dynamics in the region without laborious samples analyses.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep33978