Poster Details
COMPARISONS OF THE VARIABILITY OF DIURNAL CO2 FLUX IN DIFFERENT AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS IN BARROW, ALASKA
Heat concentration at the Earth’s poles, coupled with carbon rich permafrost in the Arctic, leaves the possibility of release of CO2 or CH4 due to increased photorespiration. The aim of this study was to examine the variations in diurnal carbon dioxide (CO2) flux of three tundra water bodies: a pond, river and a lake. Located in Barrow, Alaska, sites were monitored continuously using Campbell loggers and Vaisala CO2 sensors for an eight to twelve-day period during peak growing season. The pond, river, and lake had average CO2 concentrations of 1333, 1358, and 512 µatm, respectively; all sites were sources of CO2, with concentrations greater than atmospheric CO2 (388 µatm). The largest CO2 release was from the pond (4190 µatm), corresponding to relatively high downward total solar irradiance values of 617 W/m2. Solar radiation, paired with temperature, explained much of the variability in CO2 within all three water bodies. Accurately recording PAR and temperature at multiple sites with CO2 flux monitoring at each site could give better insight as to the exact effects of solar irradiance on CO2 release in the Arctic.
Fabian Uribarri (Primary Presenter/Author), University of Texas at El Paso, fauribarri@miners.utep.edu;