High-Resolution in situ measurement of nitrate in runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet
High-Resolution in situ measurement of nitrate in runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet
We report the first in situ high-resolution nitrate time series from two proglacial meltwater rivers draining the Greenland Ice Sheet, using a recently developed submersible analyzer based on lab-on-chip (LOC) technology. The low sample volume (320 μL) required by the LOC analyzer meant that low concentration (few micromolar to submicromolar), highly turbid subglacial meltwater could be filtered and colorimetrically analyzed in situ. Nitrate concentrations in rivers draining Leverett Glacier in southwest Greenland and Kiattuut Sermiat in southern Greenland exhibited a clear diurnal signal and a gradual decline at the commencement of the melt season, displaying trends that would not be discernible using traditional daily manual sampling. Nitrate concentrations varied by 4.4 μM (±0.2 μM) over a 10 day period at Kiattuut Sermiat and 3.0 μM (±0.2 μM) over a 14 day period at Leverett Glacier. Marked changes in nitrate concentrations were observed when discharge began to increase. High-resolution in situ measurements such as these have the potential to significantly advance the understanding of nutrient cycling in remote systems, where the dynamics of nutrient release are complex but are important for downstream biogeochemical cycles.
12518-12527
Beaton, Alexander D.
02f38dc0-7db0-488c-af92-465275f9d584
Wadham, Jemma L.
fccc19ee-c691-4f95-bbfd-41f4d4f32c57
Hawkings, Jon
0bdb224b-872a-44d2-9f22-3b09a9e69694
Bagshaw, Elizabeth A.
d34b716f-8162-4788-81a8-03146d5528ed
Lamarche-gagnon, Guillaume
dae8dfa8-f69a-4244-8008-479bdaf4439f
Mowlem, Matthew C.
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Tranter, Martyn
42ff1b9c-b38f-4943-ab73-2c2d71d2c48b
7 November 2017
Beaton, Alexander D.
02f38dc0-7db0-488c-af92-465275f9d584
Wadham, Jemma L.
fccc19ee-c691-4f95-bbfd-41f4d4f32c57
Hawkings, Jon
0bdb224b-872a-44d2-9f22-3b09a9e69694
Bagshaw, Elizabeth A.
d34b716f-8162-4788-81a8-03146d5528ed
Lamarche-gagnon, Guillaume
dae8dfa8-f69a-4244-8008-479bdaf4439f
Mowlem, Matthew C.
6f633ca2-298f-48ee-a025-ce52dd62124f
Tranter, Martyn
42ff1b9c-b38f-4943-ab73-2c2d71d2c48b
Beaton, Alexander D., Wadham, Jemma L., Hawkings, Jon, Bagshaw, Elizabeth A., Lamarche-gagnon, Guillaume, Mowlem, Matthew C. and Tranter, Martyn
(2017)
High-Resolution in situ measurement of nitrate in runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Environmental Science & Technology, 51 (21), .
(doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b03121).
Abstract
We report the first in situ high-resolution nitrate time series from two proglacial meltwater rivers draining the Greenland Ice Sheet, using a recently developed submersible analyzer based on lab-on-chip (LOC) technology. The low sample volume (320 μL) required by the LOC analyzer meant that low concentration (few micromolar to submicromolar), highly turbid subglacial meltwater could be filtered and colorimetrically analyzed in situ. Nitrate concentrations in rivers draining Leverett Glacier in southwest Greenland and Kiattuut Sermiat in southern Greenland exhibited a clear diurnal signal and a gradual decline at the commencement of the melt season, displaying trends that would not be discernible using traditional daily manual sampling. Nitrate concentrations varied by 4.4 μM (±0.2 μM) over a 10 day period at Kiattuut Sermiat and 3.0 μM (±0.2 μM) over a 14 day period at Leverett Glacier. Marked changes in nitrate concentrations were observed when discharge began to increase. High-resolution in situ measurements such as these have the potential to significantly advance the understanding of nutrient cycling in remote systems, where the dynamics of nutrient release are complex but are important for downstream biogeochemical cycles.
Text
BeatonNitrate2017_revisied
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 27 September 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 27 September 2017
Published date: 7 November 2017
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 416009
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/416009
ISSN: 0013-936X
PURE UUID: 4122a7bc-726f-4b45-ae45-857dfb1a50c7
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 30 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 05:59
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Alexander D. Beaton
Author:
Jemma L. Wadham
Author:
Jon Hawkings
Author:
Elizabeth A. Bagshaw
Author:
Guillaume Lamarche-gagnon
Author:
Matthew C. Mowlem
Author:
Martyn Tranter
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics