Fiske Gregory J.

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Fiske
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Gregory J.
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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Article
    Geochemistry of small Canadian Arctic rivers with diverse geological and hydrological settings
    (American Geophysical Union, 2020-01-03) Brown, Kristina A. ; Williams, William J. ; Carmack, Eddy C. ; Fiske, Gregory J. ; Francois, Roger ; McLennan, Donald ; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernhard
    A survey of 25 coastal‐draining rivers across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) shows that these systems are distinct from the largest Arctic rivers that drain watersheds extending far south of the Arctic circle. Observations collected from 2014 to 2016 illustrate the influences of seasonal hydrology, bedrock geology, and landscape physiography on each river's inorganic geochemical characteristics. Summertime data show the impact of coincident gradients in lake cover and surficial geology on river geochemical signatures. In the north and central CAA, drainage basins are generally smaller, underlain by sedimentary bedrock, and their hydrology is driven by seasonal precipitation pulses that undergo little modification before they enter the coastal ocean. In the southern CAA, a high density of lakes stores water longer within the terrestrial system, permitting more modification of water isotope and geochemical characteristics. Annual time‐series observations from two CAA rivers reveal that their concentration‐discharge relationships differ compared with those of the largest Arctic rivers, suggesting that future projections of dissolved ion fluxes from CAA rivers to the Arctic Ocean may not be reliably made based on compositions of the largest Arctic rivers alone, and that rivers draining the CAA region will likely follow different trajectories of change under a warming climate. Understanding how these small, coastal‐draining river systems will respond to climate change is essential to fully evaluate the impact of changing freshwater inputs to the Arctic marine system.
  • Article
    A land-to-ocean perspective on the magnitude, source and implication of DIC flux from major Arctic rivers to the Arctic Ocean
    (American Geophysical Union, 2012-12-14) Tank, Suzanne E. ; Raymond, Peter A. ; Striegl, Robert G. ; McClelland, James W. ; Holmes, Robert M. ; Fiske, Gregory J. ; Peterson, Bruce J.
    A series of seasonally distributed measurements from the six largest Arctic rivers (the Ob', Yenisey, Lena, Kolyma, Yukon and Mackenzie) was used to examine the magnitude and significance of Arctic riverine DIC flux to larger scale C dynamics within the Arctic system. DIC concentration showed considerable, and synchronous, seasonal variation across these six large Arctic rivers, which have an estimated combined annual DIC flux of 30 Tg C yr−1. By examining the relationship between DIC flux and landscape variables known to regulate riverine DIC, we extrapolate to a DIC flux of 57 ± 9.9 Tg C yr−1for the full pan-arctic basin, and show that DIC export increases with runoff, the extent of carbonate rocks and glacial coverage, but decreases with permafrost extent. This pan-arctic riverine DIC estimate represents 13–15% of the total global DIC flux. The annual flux of selected ions (HCO3−, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Sr2+, and Cl−) from the six largest Arctic rivers confirms that chemical weathering is dominated by inputs from carbonate rocks in the North American watersheds, but points to a more important role for silicate rocks in Siberian watersheds. In the coastal ocean, river water-induced decreases in aragonite saturation (i.e., an ocean acidification effect) appears to be much more pronounced in Siberia than in the North American Arctic, and stronger in the winter and spring than in the late summer. Accounting for seasonal variation in the flux of DIC and other major ions gives a much clearer understanding of the importance of riverine DIC within the broader pan-arctic C cycle.
  • Article
    The biogeochemistry of carbon across a gradient of streams and rivers within the Congo Basin
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2014-04-30) Mann, Paul J. ; Spencer, Robert G. M. ; Dinga, Bienvenu J. ; Poulsen, John R. ; Hernes, P. J. ; Fiske, Gregory J. ; Salter, M. E. ; Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Hoering, Katherine A. ; Six, J. ; Holmes, Robert M.
    Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic carbon (DIC, pCO2), lignin biomarkers, and theoptical properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were measured in a gradient of streams and rivers within the Congo Basin, with the aim of examining how vegetation cover and hydrology influences the composition and concentration of fluvial carbon (C). Three sampling campaigns (February 2010, November 2010, and August 2011) spanning 56 sites are compared by subbasin watershed land cover type (savannah, tropical forest, and swamp) and hydrologic regime (high, intermediate, and low). Land cover properties predominately controlled the amount and quality of DOC, chromophoric DOM (CDOM) and lignin phenol concentrations (∑8) exported in streams and rivers throughout the Congo Basin. Higher DIC concentrations and changing DOM composition (lower molecular weight, less aromatic C) during periods of low hydrologic flow indicated shifting rapid overland supply pathways in wet conditions to deeper groundwater inputs during drier periods. Lower DOC concentrations in forest and swamp subbasins were apparent with increasing catchment area, indicating enhanced DOC loss with extended water residence time. Surface water pCO2 in savannah and tropical forest catchments ranged between 2,600 and 11,922 µatm, with swamp regions exhibiting extremely high pCO2 (10,598–15,802 µatm), highlighting their potential as significant pathways for water-air efflux. Our data suggest that the quantity and quality of DOM exported to streams and rivers are largely driven by terrestrial ecosystem structure and that anthropogenic land use or climate change may impact fluvial C composition and reactivity, with ramifications for regional C budgets and future climate scenarios.
  • Preprint
    Tracing river chemistry in space and time : dissolved inorganic constituents of the Fraser River, Canada
    ( 2013-07-19) Voss, Britta M. ; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernhard ; Eglinton, Timothy I. ; Fiske, Gregory J. ; Wang, Zhaohui Aleck ; Hoering, Katherine A. ; Montlucon, Daniel B. ; LeCroy, Chase ; Pal, Sharmila ; Marsh, Steven ; Gillies, Sharon L. ; Janmaat, Alida ; Bennett, Michelle ; Downey, Bryce ; Fanslau, Jenna ; Fraser, Helena ; Macklam-Harron, Garrett ; Martinec, Michelle ; Wiebe, Brayden
    The Fraser River basin in southwestern Canada bears unique geologic and climatic features which make it an ideal setting for investigating the origins, transformations and delivery to the coast of dissolved riverine loads under relatively pristine conditions. We present results from sampling campaigns over three years which demonstrate the lithologic and hydrologic controls on fluxes and isotope compositions of major dissolved inorganic runoff constituents (dissolved nutrients, major and trace elements, 87Sr/86Sr, δD). A time series record near the Fraser mouth allows us to generate new estimates of discharge-weighted concentrations and fluxes, and an overall chemical weathering rate of 32 t km-2 y-1. The seasonal variations in dissolved inorganic species are driven by changes in hydrology, which vary in timing across the basin. The time series record of dissolved 87Sr/86Sr is of particular interest, as a consistent shift between higher (“more radiogenic”) values during spring and summer and less radiogenic values in fall and winter demonstrates the seasonal variability in source contributions throughout the basin. This seasonal shift is also quite large (0.709 – 0.714), with a discharge-weighted annual average of 0.7120 (2 s.d. = 0.0003). We present a mixing model which predicts the seasonal evolution of dissolved 87Sr/86Sr based on tributary compositions and water discharge. This model highlights the importance of chemical weathering fluxes from the old sedimentary bedrock of headwater drainage regions, despite their relatively small contribution to the total water flux.