Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau

Yongqiang Zhou; Lei Zhou; Xiaoting He; Kyoung Soon Jang; Xiaolong Yao; Yang Hu; Yunlin Zhang; Xiangying Li; Robert G.M. Spencer; Justin Dean Brookes; Erik Jeppesen

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b03348

Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau

Yongqiang Zhou, Lei Zhou, Xiaoting He, Kyoung Soon Jang, Xiaolong Yao, Yang Hu, Yunlin Zhang^*, Xiangying Li, Robert G.M. Spencer, Justin Dean Brookes, Erik Jeppesen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Arctic Research Centre - Arctic Research Center, ECOS Water

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Globally, alpine glaciers hold a large quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and are headwaters of numerous rivers supporting downstream heterotrophic metabolism. However, it remains unclear how glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus affect the fate of DOM. Here, we elucidate DOM variability in glacial-fed streams on the Tibetan Plateau using field sampling and bioincubation experiments and compare our findings with the existing literature. We found that dissolved organic carbon, DOM absorption a(254), DOM aromaticity, and the relative abundance of lignin compounds in glacial-fed streams and rivers all increased with increasing distance from the glacial terminus and with decreasing glacial coverage. We also found that contribution of protein-like components, the relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, and DOM biolability increased with increasing glacial coverage and with decreasing distance from the glacial terminus. The ratio of glacial coverage to the logarithmic transformed distance from the glacial terminus was better than that of actual glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus in tracing the variability of glacial-fed stream DOM. Microbes in surface ice can produce biolabile DOM that is exported downstream with meltwater. This glacial-fed stream and river DOM is an important source of the highly bioavailable material fueling downstream heterotrophic activity.

Original language	English
Journal	Environmental Science & Technology
Volume	53
Issue	21
Pages (from-to)	12207-12217
Number of pages	11
ISSN	0013-936X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03348
Publication status	Published - 5 Nov 2019

Keywords

Biolability
Dissolved organic matter (DOM)
Glacier
Tibetan Plateau
Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS)

Access to Document

10.1021/acs.est.9b03348

Cite this

Zhou, Y., Zhou, L., He, X., Jang, K. S., Yao, X., Hu, Y., Zhang, Y., Li, X., Spencer, R. G. M., Brookes, J. D., & Jeppesen, E. (2019). Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(21), 12207-12217. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03348

@article{3f838e77c5b8459a9d323ed4e8f9f003,

title = "Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau",

abstract = "Globally, alpine glaciers hold a large quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and are headwaters of numerous rivers supporting downstream heterotrophic metabolism. However, it remains unclear how glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus affect the fate of DOM. Here, we elucidate DOM variability in glacial-fed streams on the Tibetan Plateau using field sampling and bioincubation experiments and compare our findings with the existing literature. We found that dissolved organic carbon, DOM absorption a(254), DOM aromaticity, and the relative abundance of lignin compounds in glacial-fed streams and rivers all increased with increasing distance from the glacial terminus and with decreasing glacial coverage. We also found that contribution of protein-like components, the relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, and DOM biolability increased with increasing glacial coverage and with decreasing distance from the glacial terminus. The ratio of glacial coverage to the logarithmic transformed distance from the glacial terminus was better than that of actual glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus in tracing the variability of glacial-fed stream DOM. Microbes in surface ice can produce biolabile DOM that is exported downstream with meltwater. This glacial-fed stream and river DOM is an important source of the highly bioavailable material fueling downstream heterotrophic activity.",

keywords = "Biolability, Dissolved organic matter (DOM), Glacier, Tibetan Plateau, Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS)",

author = "Yongqiang Zhou and Lei Zhou and Xiaoting He and Jang, {Kyoung Soon} and Xiaolong Yao and Yang Hu and Yunlin Zhang and Xiangying Li and Spencer, {Robert G.M.} and Brookes, {Justin Dean} and Erik Jeppesen",

year = "2019",

month = nov,

day = "5",

doi = "10.1021/acs.est.9b03348",

language = "English",

volume = "53",

pages = "12207--12217",

journal = "Environmental Science & Technology",

issn = "0013-936X",

publisher = "American Chemical Society",

number = "21",

}

Zhou, Y, Zhou, L, He, X, Jang, KS, Yao, X, Hu, Y, Zhang, Y, Li, X, Spencer, RGM, Brookes, JD & Jeppesen, E 2019, 'Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 53, no. 21, pp. 12207-12217. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b03348

Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau. / Zhou, Yongqiang; Zhou, Lei; He, Xiaoting et al.
In: Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 53, No. 21, 05.11.2019, p. 12207-12217.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau

AU - Zhou, Yongqiang

AU - Zhou, Lei

AU - He, Xiaoting

AU - Jang, Kyoung Soon

AU - Yao, Xiaolong

AU - Hu, Yang

AU - Zhang, Yunlin

AU - Li, Xiangying

AU - Spencer, Robert G.M.

AU - Brookes, Justin Dean

AU - Jeppesen, Erik

PY - 2019/11/5

Y1 - 2019/11/5

N2 - Globally, alpine glaciers hold a large quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and are headwaters of numerous rivers supporting downstream heterotrophic metabolism. However, it remains unclear how glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus affect the fate of DOM. Here, we elucidate DOM variability in glacial-fed streams on the Tibetan Plateau using field sampling and bioincubation experiments and compare our findings with the existing literature. We found that dissolved organic carbon, DOM absorption a(254), DOM aromaticity, and the relative abundance of lignin compounds in glacial-fed streams and rivers all increased with increasing distance from the glacial terminus and with decreasing glacial coverage. We also found that contribution of protein-like components, the relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, and DOM biolability increased with increasing glacial coverage and with decreasing distance from the glacial terminus. The ratio of glacial coverage to the logarithmic transformed distance from the glacial terminus was better than that of actual glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus in tracing the variability of glacial-fed stream DOM. Microbes in surface ice can produce biolabile DOM that is exported downstream with meltwater. This glacial-fed stream and river DOM is an important source of the highly bioavailable material fueling downstream heterotrophic activity.

AB - Globally, alpine glaciers hold a large quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and are headwaters of numerous rivers supporting downstream heterotrophic metabolism. However, it remains unclear how glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus affect the fate of DOM. Here, we elucidate DOM variability in glacial-fed streams on the Tibetan Plateau using field sampling and bioincubation experiments and compare our findings with the existing literature. We found that dissolved organic carbon, DOM absorption a(254), DOM aromaticity, and the relative abundance of lignin compounds in glacial-fed streams and rivers all increased with increasing distance from the glacial terminus and with decreasing glacial coverage. We also found that contribution of protein-like components, the relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, and DOM biolability increased with increasing glacial coverage and with decreasing distance from the glacial terminus. The ratio of glacial coverage to the logarithmic transformed distance from the glacial terminus was better than that of actual glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus in tracing the variability of glacial-fed stream DOM. Microbes in surface ice can produce biolabile DOM that is exported downstream with meltwater. This glacial-fed stream and river DOM is an important source of the highly bioavailable material fueling downstream heterotrophic activity.

KW - Biolability

KW - Dissolved organic matter (DOM)

KW - Glacier

KW - Tibetan Plateau

KW - Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS)

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072980212&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.9b03348

DO - 10.1021/acs.est.9b03348

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31525918

AN - SCOPUS:85072980212

SN - 0013-936X

VL - 53

SP - 12207

EP - 12217

JO - Environmental Science & Technology

JF - Environmental Science & Technology

IS - 21

ER -

Variability in dissolved organic matter composition and biolability across gradients of glacial coverage and distance from glacial terminus on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this