Biogeochemistry of a glaciated fjord ecosystem: Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Abstract

The burning of fossil fuels, coupled with land use and deforestation practices, has resulted in CO₂ being emitted into the atmosphere. As much as one third of the anthropogenic, or man-made, CO₂ that ends up in the atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans and has led to increases in marine dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations and a decrease in ocean pH, a process referred to as ocean acidification (OA). Increased concentrations of DIC can reduce saturation states (Ω) with respect to biologically important calcium carbonate minerals, such as aragonite. However, CO₂ may not be the only factor in seasonal changes to calcium carbonate saturation states. With this project I was interested in understanding how glacial runoff impacts the seasonal changes to the marine biogeochemistry in a glaciated fjord. In addition to CO₂, glacial meltwater is low in alkalinity (TA) and may impact the seasonal biogeochemistry of the marine system, as well as how it influences the duration, extent, and severity of OA events in an Alaskan glacial fjord, Glacier Bay National Park (GLBA). Through this study, I found that glacial runoff heavily impacts aragonite saturation states, with the main drivers of Ω (DIC and TA) varying seasonally. In GLBA low Ω values were well correlated with the timing of maximum glacial discharge events and most prominent within the two regions where glacial discharge was highest. The influence of glaciers is not limited to just TA as runoff is also low in macronutrients due to a lack of leaching from the soil and rocky streambeds. This has the potential to greatly impact the efficiency and structure of the marine food web within GLBA, the lowest level of which can be estimated using net community production (NCP). Changes within the lowest level of the food web, as a result of seasonal OA events, may lead to bottom-up effects throughout the food web, though this project focused only on production and respiration signals within the lowest level. We estimated regional NCP values for each sampling season and found the highest NCP rates (~54 to ~81 mmoles C m⁻² d⁻¹) between the summer and fall of 2011, with the most marine influenced lower part of the bay experiencing the greatest production. As the climate continues to warm, further glacial volume loss will likely lead to additional modifications in the carbon biogeochemistry of GLBA. Understanding the dynamics that drive seasonal changes in Ω, NCP, and the associated air-sea CO₂ fluxes within glacially influenced Alaskan fjords can provide insights into how deglaciation may affect carbon budgets and production in similar fjords worldwide.