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Radium Inputs Into the Arctic Ocean From Rivers: A Basin‐Wide Estimate

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JC018964· OSTI ID:1887632
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8]
  1. MIT‐WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science &, Engineering Cambridge and Woods Hole MA USA
  2. Department for Environmental Sciences Rowan University Glassboro NJ USA
  3. Earth, Ocean, and Environment College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia SC USA
  4. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Institute of Ocean Sciences Sidney BC Canada
  5. Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences Northumbria University Newcastle Upon Tyne UK
  6. Faculty of Science, Earth, and Climate Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
  7. North‐East Scientific Station Pacific Institute for Geography, Far‐East Branch Russian Academy of Sciences Cherskiy Russia
  8. Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole MA USA
Abstract

Radium isotopes have been used to trace nutrient, carbon, and trace metal fluxes inputs from ocean margins. However, these approaches require a full accounting of radium sources to the coastal ocean including rivers. Here, we aim to quantify river radium inputs into the Arctic Ocean for the first time for 226 Ra and to refine the estimates for 228 Ra. Using new and existing data, we find that the estimated combined (dissolved plus desorbed) annual 226 Ra and 228 Ra fluxes to the Arctic Ocean are [7.0–9.4] × 10 14 dpm y −1 and [15–18] × 10 14 dpm y −1 , respectively. Of these totals, 44% and 60% of the river 226 Ra and 228 Ra, respectively are from suspended sediment desorption, which were estimated from laboratory incubation experiments. Using Ra isotope data from 20 major rivers around the world, we derived global annual 226 Ra and 228 Ra fluxes of [7.4–17] × 10 15 and [15–27] × 10 15 dpm y −1 , respectively. As climate change spurs rapid Arctic warming, hydrological cycles are intensifying and coastal ice cover and permafrost are diminishing. These river radium inputs to the Arctic Ocean will serve as a valuable baseline as we attempt to understand the changes that warming temperatures are having on fluxes of biogeochemically important elements to the Arctic coastal zone.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1887632
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1888341
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 127; ISSN 2169-9275
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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