Walker
Brett D.
Walker
Brett D.
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ArticleMarine organic carbon and radiocarbon – present and future challenges(Cambridge University Press, 2022-01-25) Druffel, Ellen R. M. ; Beaupre, Steven R. ; Grotheer, Hendrik ; Lewis, Christian B. ; McNichol, Ann P. ; Mollenhauer, Gesine ; Walker, Brett D.We discuss present and developing techniques for studying radiocarbon in marine organic carbon (C). Bulk DOC (dissolved organic C) Δ14C measurements reveal information about the cycling time and sources of DOC in the ocean, yet they are time consuming and need to be streamlined. To further elucidate the cycling of DOC, various fractions have been separated from bulk DOC, through solid phase extraction of DOC, and ultrafiltration of high and low molecular weight DOC. Research using 14C of DOC and particulate organic C separated into organic fractions revealed that the acid insoluble fraction is similar in 14C signature to that of the lipid fraction. Plans for utilizing this methodology are described. Studies using compound specific radiocarbon analyses to study the origin of biomarkers in the marine environment are reviewed and plans for the future are outlined. Development of ramped pyrolysis oxidation methods are discussed and scientific questions addressed. A modified elemental analysis (EA) combustion reactor is described that allows high particulate organic C sample throughput by direct coupling with the MIniCArbonDAtingSystem.
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ArticleDissolved organic radiocarbon in the central Pacific Ocean(American Geophysical Union, 2019-05-02) Druffel, Ellen R. M. ; Griffin, Sheila ; Wang, Ning ; Garcia, Noreen G. ; McNichol, Ann P. ; Key, Robert M. ; Walker, Brett D.We report marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and DOC ∆14C and δ13C values in seawater collected from the central Pacific. Surface ∆14C values are low in equatorial and polar regions where upwelling occurs and high in subtropical regions dominated by downwelling. A core feature of these data is that 14C aging of DOC (682 ± 86 14C years) and dissolved inorganic carbon (643 ± 40 14C years) in Antarctic Bottom Water between 54.0°S and 53.5°N are similar. These estimates of aging are minimum values due to mixing with deep waters. We also observe minimum ∆14C values (−550‰ to −570‰) between the depths of 2,000 and 3,500 m in the North Pacific, though the source of the low values cannot be determined at this time.
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ArticleDissolved organic radiocarbon in the eastern Pacific and Southern Oceans(American Geophysical Union, 2021-05-24) Druffel, Ellen R. M. ; Griffin, Sheila ; Lewis, Christian B. ; Rudresh, Megha ; Garcia, Noreen G. ; Key, Robert M. ; McNichol, Ann P. ; Hauksson, Niels E. ; Walker, Brett D.We report marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and DOC Δ14C and δ13C values in seawater collected from the Southern Ocean and eastern Pacific GOSHIP cruise P18 in 2016/2017. The aging of 14C in DOC in circumpolar deep water northward from 69°S to 20°N was similar to that measured in dissolved inorganic carbon in the same samples, indicating that the transport of deep waters northward is the primary control of 14C in DIC and DOC. Low DOC ∆14C and δ13C measurements between 1,200 and 3,400 m depth may be evidence of a source of DOC produced in nearby hydrothermal ridge systems (East Pacific Rise).
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ArticleDissolved Organic Radiocarbon in the West Indian Ocean(American Geophysical Union, 2023-10-02) Druffel, Ellen R. M. ; Lewis, Christian B. ; Griffin, Sheila ; Flaherty, Alessandra ; Rudresh, Megha ; Hauksson, Niels E. ; Key, Robert M. ; McNichol, Ann P. ; Hwang, Jeomshik ; Walker, Brett D.We report marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations, and DOC Δ14C and δ13C in seawater collected from the West Indian Ocean during the GO-SHIP I07N cruise in 2018. We find bomb 14C in DOC from the upper 1,000 m of the water column. There is no significant change in ∆14C of DOC in deep water northward, unlike that of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), suggesting that transport of deep water northward is not controlling the 14C age of DOC. Variability of DOC ∆14C, including high values in the deep waters, is more pronounced than in other oceans, suggesting that dissolution of surface derived particulate organic carbon is a source of modern carbon to deep DOC in the West Indian Ocean. Low δ13C are present at two of the five stations studied, suggesting a source of low δ13C DOC, or additional microbial utilization of deep DOC.
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ArticleVariable aging and storage of dissolved black carbon in the ocean(National Academy of Sciences, 2024-03-22) Coppola, Alysha I. ; Druffel, Ellen R. M. ; Broek, Taylor A. ; Haghipour, Negar ; Eglinton, Timothy I. ; McCarthy, Matthew D. ; Walker, Brett D.During wildfires and fossil fuel combustion, biomass is converted to black carbon (BC) via incomplete combustion. BC enters the ocean by rivers and atmospheric deposition contributing to the marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool. The fate of BC is considered to reside in the marine DOC pool, where the oldest BC 14C ages have been measured (>20,000 14C y), implying long-term storage. DOC is the largest exchangeable pool of organic carbon in the oceans, yet most DOC (>80%) remains molecularly uncharacterized. Here, we report 14C measurements on size-fractionated dissolved BC (DBC) obtained using benzene polycarboxylic acids as molecular tracers to constrain the sources and cycling of DBC and its contributions to refractory DOC (RDOC) in a site in the North Pacific Ocean. Our results reveal that the cycling of DBC is more dynamic and heterogeneous than previously believed though it does not comprise a single, uniformly “old” 14C age. Instead, both semilabile and refractory DBC components are distributed among size fractions of DOC. We report that DBC cycles within DOC as a component of RDOC, exhibiting turnover in the ocean on millennia timescales. DBC within the low-molecular-weight DOC pool is large, environmentally persistent and constitutes the size fraction that is responsible for long-term DBC storage. We speculate that sea surface processes, including bacterial remineralization (via the coupling of photooxidation of surface DBC and bacterial co-metabolism), sorption onto sinking particles and surface photochemical oxidation, modify DBC composition and turnover, ultimately controlling the fate of DBC and RDOC in the ocean.