Carbon cycle
Arctic food-web carbon is going isotopically light
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Across 17 Arctic regions, water-column POC δ13C fell 0.149‰ per year—far faster than DIC/CO2 (0.011‰/yr)—and seal and whale tissues tracked the decline.
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Arctic food-web carbon is going isotopically light
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Authors analysed 17 marine Arctic regions.
We analysed the δ 13 C‐POC water , δ 13 C‐POC ice , δ 13 C‐DIC and δ 13 C‐CO 2 values in 17 marine arctic regions (Figure ; Table ).
Did shelves vs basins differ?
POC water from arctic shelves was significantly enriched in 13 C compared to POC water from arctic basins and POC riv
Key findings
Shelves were 13C-enriched versus basins; ice POC was often heavier than water POC. Combined-region DIC/CO2 declined 0.011‰/yr (1977–2014) while POC water declined 0.149‰/yr (1986–2013). Mammal δ13C also fell (e.g., ringed seals −0.046‰/yr).
Methodology
Authors compiled marine δ13C of POC (water and ice), DIC, dissolved CO2, and mammal teeth/baleen, then fit spatial ANOVAs and decadal linear trends.
Limitations
Compiled opportunistic samples are summer-biased; diet shifts could contribute to mammal trends, so Suess+ice-loss is not the only possible driver.
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