Dabrowski
Jessica S.
Dabrowski
Jessica S.
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ArticleObservational and modeling evidence of seasonal trends in sediment-derived material inputs to the Chukchi Sea(American Geophysical Union, 2020-04-27) Kipp, Lauren ; Spall, Michael A. ; Pickart, Robert S. ; Kadko, David C. ; Moore, Willard S. ; Dabrowski, Jessica S. ; Charette, Matthew A.Benthic inputs of nutrients help support primary production in the Chukchi Sea and produce nutrient‐rich water masses that ventilate the halocline of the western Arctic Ocean. However, the complex biological and redox cycling of nutrients and trace metals make it difficult to directly monitor their benthic fluxes. In this study, we use radium‐228, which is a soluble radionuclide produced in sediments, and a numerical model of an inert, generic sediment‐derived tracer to study variability in sediment inputs to the Chukchi Sea. The 228Ra observations and modeling results are in general agreement and provide evidence of strong benthic inputs to the southern Chukchi Sea during the winter, while the northern shelf receives higher concentrations of sediment‐sourced materials in the spring and summer due to continued sediment‐water exchange as the water mass traverses the shelf. The highest tracer concentrations are observed near the shelfbreak and southeast of Hanna Shoal, a region known for high biological productivity and enhanced benthic biomass.
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ThesisRadium isotopes and radon-222 as tracers of sediment-water interaction in Arctic coastal and lacustrine environments(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2020-09) Dabrowski, Jessica S. ; Charette, Matthew A.Arctic marine and lacustrine systems are experiencing rapid warming due to climate change. These changes are especially important at the interface between sediments and surface waters because they are hotspots for biogeochemical transformations such as redox reactions, nutrient consumption and regeneration, organic matter leaching and degradation, and mineral weathering. Radium isotopes (223Ra, 224Ra, 226Ra, 228Ra) and radon-222, naturally occurring radioactive isotopes produced in sediments, are well-suited as tracers of nutrients, trace metals, and organic matter cycling processes at the sediment-water interface. In this thesis, I have applied radon-222 and the quartet of radium isotopes to study fundamental processes in subarctic lakes and on the Arctic continental shelf. First, radon-222 is used to quantify groundwater discharge into a shallow, tundra lake on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska in summer of 2017. Radon-derived groundwater fluxes were then paired with methane (CH4) measurements to determine delivery rates of methane into the lake via groundwater. Groundwater CH4 fluxes significantly exceeded diffusive air-water fluxes from the lake to the atmosphere, suggesting that groundwater is an important source of CH4 to Arctic lakes and may drive observed CH4 emissions. Higher CH4 emissions were observed compared to those reported previously in high latitude lakes, like due to higher CH4 concentrations in groundwater. These findings indicate that deltaic lakes across warmer permafrost regions may act as important hotspots for methane release across Arctic landscapes. Then, the quartet of radium isotopes is used to study the impacts of storms and sea ice formation as drivers of sediment-water interaction on the Alaskan Beaufort shelf. The timeseries presented in this study is among the first to document the combined physical and chemical signals of winter water formation in the Beaufort Sea, made possible by repeat occupations of the central Beaufort shelf. Radium measurements are combined with inorganic nitrogen and hydrographic measurements to elucidate the episodic behavior of winter water formation and its ability to drive exchange with bottom sediments during freeze-up.
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ArticleThe transpolar drift as a source of riverine and shelf-derived trace elements to the central Arctic Ocean(American Geophysical Union, 2020-04-08) Charette, Matthew A. ; Kipp, Lauren ; Jensen, Laramie T. ; Dabrowski, Jessica S. ; Whitmore, Laura M. ; Fitzsimmons, Jessica N. ; Williford, Tatiana ; Ulfsbo, Adam ; Jones, Elizabeth M. ; Bundy, Randelle M. ; Vivancos, Sebastian M. ; Pahnke, Katharina ; John, Seth G. ; Xiang, Yang ; Hatta, Mariko ; Petrova, Mariia V. ; Heimbürger, Lars-Eric ; Bauch, Dorothea ; Newton, Robert ; Pasqualini, Angelica ; Agather, Alison ; Amon, Rainer M. W. ; Anderson, Robert F. ; Andersson, Per S. ; Benner, Ronald ; Bowman, Katlin ; Edwards, R. Lawrence ; Gdaniec, Sandra ; Gerringa, Loes J. A. ; González, Aridane G. ; Granskog, Mats A. ; Haley, Brian ; Hammerschmidt, Chad R. ; Hansell, Dennis A. ; Henderson, Paul B. ; Kadko, David C. ; Kaiser, Karl ; Laan, Patrick ; Lam, Phoebe J. ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; Levier, Martin ; Li, Xianglei ; Margolin, Andrew R. ; Measures, Christopher I. ; Middag, Rob ; Millero, Frank J. ; Moore, Willard S. ; Paffrath, Ronja ; Planquette, Helene ; Rabe, Benjamin ; Reader, Heather ; Rember, Robert ; Rijkenberg, Micha J. A. ; Roy-Barman, Matthieu ; van der Loeff, Michiel Rutgers ; Saito, Mak A. ; Schauer, Ursula ; Schlosser, Peter ; Sherrell, Robert M. ; Shiller, Alan M. ; Slagter, Hans ; Sonke, Jeroen E. ; Stedmon, Colin ; Woosley, Ryan J. ; Valk, Ole ; van Ooijen, Jan ; Zhang, RuifengA major surface circulation feature of the Arctic Ocean is the Transpolar Drift (TPD), a current that transports river‐influenced shelf water from the Laptev and East Siberian Seas toward the center of the basin and Fram Strait. In 2015, the international GEOTRACES program included a high‐resolution pan‐Arctic survey of carbon, nutrients, and a suite of trace elements and isotopes (TEIs). The cruises bisected the TPD at two locations in the central basin, which were defined by maxima in meteoric water and dissolved organic carbon concentrations that spanned 600 km horizontally and ~25–50 m vertically. Dissolved TEIs such as Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Hg, Nd, and Th, which are generally particle‐reactive but can be complexed by organic matter, were observed at concentrations much higher than expected for the open ocean setting. Other trace element concentrations such as Al, V, Ga, and Pb were lower than expected due to scavenging over the productive East Siberian and Laptev shelf seas. Using a combination of radionuclide tracers and ice drift modeling, the transport rate for the core of the TPD was estimated at 0.9 ± 0.4 Sv (106 m3 s−1). This rate was used to derive the mass flux for TEIs that were enriched in the TPD, revealing the importance of lateral transport in supplying materials beneath the ice to the central Arctic Ocean and potentially to the North Atlantic Ocean via Fram Strait. Continued intensification of the Arctic hydrologic cycle and permafrost degradation will likely lead to an increase in the flux of TEIs into the Arctic Ocean.