River Organic Carbon Fluxes Modulated by Hydrodynamic Sorting of Particulate Organic Matter

Repasch, Marisa; Scheingross, Joel S.; Hovius, Niels; Vieth‐Hillebrand, Andrea; Mueller, Carsten W.; Höschen, Carmen; Szupiany, Ricardo N.; Sachse, Dirk

doi:10.1029/2021gl096343

Title: River Organic Carbon Fluxes Modulated by Hydrodynamic Sorting of Particulate Organic Matter

Journal Article · 25 January 2022 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl096343 · OSTI ID:1866167

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Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam (HZP), (Germany). German Research Centre for GeoSciences; Univ. of Potsdam (Germany); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States)
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam (HZP), (Germany). German Research Centre for GeoSciences; Univ. of Potsdam (Germany)
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam (HZP), (Germany). German Research Centre for GeoSciences
Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark); Technical Univ. of Munich, Freising (Germany)
Technical Univ. of Munich, Freising (Germany)
National University of Litoral, Santa Fe (Argentina); National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Santa Fe (Argentina)

Rivers regulate the global carbon cycle by transferring particulate organic carbon (POC) from terrestrial landscapes to marine sedimentary basins, but the processes controlling the amount and composition of fluvially exported POC are poorly understood. We propose that hydrodynamic sorting processes modify POC fluxes during fluvial transit. We test this hypothesis by studying POC transported along a ~1,200 km reach of the Rio Bermejo, Argentina. Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry revealed that POC was either fine, mineral-associated organic matter, or coarse discrete organic particles. Mineral-associated POC is more resistant to oxidation and has a lower particle settling velocity than discrete POC. Consequently, hydraulic sorting and downstream fining amplify the proportion of fine, mineral-associated POC from ~55% to ~78% over 1,220 km of downstream transit. This suggests that mineral-associated POC has a greater probability of export and preservation in marine basins than plant detritus, which may be oxidized to CO₂ during transit.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: German Research Foundation (DFG); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1866167

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-833838; 1052200

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 49; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Bulk organic carbon and n-alkane composition data for leaf litter, soil, and floodplain sediment from the Rio Bermejo (Argentina) collected in 2015 - 2018 Repasch, Marisa N.; Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea; Sachse, Dirk PANGAEA https://doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.925616	dataset	January 2020
Bulk organic carbon and n-alkane composition data for leaf litter, soil, and floodplain sediment from the Rio Bermejo (Argentina) collected in 2015 - 2018 Repasch, Marisa N.; Vieth-Hillebrand, Andrea; Sachse, Dirk PANGAEA https://doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.925616	dataset	January 2020

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58 GEOSCIENCES
NanoSIMS
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hydrodynamic sorting
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