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Mingyue L, Xuejun S, Shengnan L, Jie W, Zijian L, Qianggong Z. Hydrochemistry dynamics in a glacierized headwater catchment of Lhasa River, Tibetan Plateau. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 919:170810. [PMID: 38336076 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Mountain glaciers are essential for supplying water resources that sustain downstream communities and livelihoods, yet the hydrogeochemical dynamics at glacier terminals and the impact of glacier retreat on downstream water chemistry are not fully understood. This study addresses this by conducting comprehensive observations and analysis of water chemistry at refined spatial and temporal resolutions in the Lhasa River Valley Glacier No. 1 (LRVG-1) catchment, a vital source of drinking and irrigation water for the local population on the Tibetan Plateau. Our findings reveal a weakly alkaline water environment within this glacierized basin, with HCO3- and Ca2+ as the dominant anions and cations, respectively, resulting in a hydrochemical pattern classified as HCO3--Ca2+ type. Solute concentrations increase along the glacier meltwater pathway, influenced by water-rock interaction, dilution, and diverse sources. The cations are predominantly from carbonate weathering, constituting 72.86 % of the total cations, followed by sulfide oxidation (11.08 %), glacier meltwater inputs (8.13 %), and silicate weathering (7.93 %). The contribution of cations from glacier meltwater diminishes as they travel along the glacier meltwater flow pathway. Our study indicates the localized yet significant impact of glacier meltwater on hydrochemistry, particularly in the vicinity of the glacier terminus. We recommend considering glacial meltwater and the entire glacier watershed as a continuum, essential for understanding the cumulative effects of glacier melt and human activities on water quality. This perspective is crucial for predicting future river chemistry trajectories in high-mountain basins and informing policy-making for water quality conservation across the Tibetan Plateau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Mingyue
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Sun Xuejun
- School of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Li Shengnan
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wang Jie
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lu Zijian
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhang Qianggong
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Lhasa Earth System Multi-Dimension Observatory Network (LEMON), Lhasa 850000, China.
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Ehnvall B, Ågren AM, Nilsson MB, Ratcliffe JL, Noumonvi KD, Peichl M, Lidberg W, Giesler R, Mörth CM, Öquist MG. Catchment characteristics control boreal mire nutrient regime and vegetation patterns over ~5000 years of landscape development. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 895:165132. [PMID: 37379918 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Vegetation holds the key to many properties that make natural mires unique, such as surface microtopography, high biodiversity values, effective carbon sequestration and regulation of water and nutrient fluxes across the landscape. Despite this, landscape controls behind mire vegetation patterns have previously been poorly described at large spatial scales, which limits the understanding of basic drivers underpinning mire ecosystem services. We studied catchment controls on mire nutrient regimes and vegetation patterns using a geographically constrained natural mire chronosequence along the isostatically rising coastline in Northern Sweden. By comparing mires of different ages, we can partition vegetation patterns caused by long-term mire succession (<5000 years) and present-day vegetation responses to catchment eco-hydrological settings. We used the remote sensing based normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to describe mire vegetation and combined peat physicochemical measures with catchment properties to identify the most important factors that determine mire NDVI. We found strong evidence that mire NDVI depends on nutrient inputs from the catchment area or underlying mineral soil, especially concerning phosphorus and potassium concentrations. Steep mire and catchment slopes, dry conditions and large catchment areas relative to mire areas were associated with higher NDVI. We also found long-term successional patterns, with lower NDVI in older mires. Importantly, the NDVI should be used to describe mire vegetation patterns in open mires if the focus is on surface vegetation, since the canopy cover in tree-covered mires completely dominated the NDVI signal. With our study approach, we can quantitatively describe the connection between landscape properties and mire nutrient regime. Our results confirm that mire vegetation responds to the upslope catchment area, but importantly, also suggest that mire and catchment aging can override the role of catchment influence. This effect was clear across mires of all ages, but was strongest in younger mires.
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Affiliation(s)
- Betty Ehnvall
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden.
| | - Anneli M Ågren
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Mats B Nilsson
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Joshua L Ratcliffe
- Unit for Field-Based Forest Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 922 91 Vindeln, Sweden
| | - Koffi Dodji Noumonvi
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Matthias Peichl
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
| | - William Lidberg
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Reiner Giesler
- Climate Impacts Research Centre Umeå, Sweden, Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, 90736 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Carl-Magnus Mörth
- Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 8, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mats G Öquist
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skogsmarksgränd 17, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
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Landscape, Soil, Lithology, Climate and Permafrost Control on Dissolved Carbon, Major and Trace Elements in the Ob River, Western Siberia. WATER 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/w13223189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In order to foresee possible changes in the elementary composition of Arctic river waters, complex studies with extensive spatial coverage, including gradients in climate and landscape parameters, are needed. Here, we used the unique position of the Ob River, draining through the vast partially frozen peatlands of the western Siberia Lowland and encompassing a sizable gradient of climate, permafrost, vegetation, soils and Quaternary deposits, to assess a snap-shot (8–23 July 2016) concentration of all major and trace elements in the main stem (~3000 km transect from the Tom River confluence in the south to Salekhard in the north) and its 11 tributaries. During the studied period, corresponding to the end of the spring flood-summer baseflow, there was a systematic decrease, from the south to the north, of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC), Specific Conductivity, Ca and some labile trace elements (Mo, W and U). In contrast, Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), Fe, P, divalent metals (Mn, Ni, Cu, Co and Pb) and low mobile trace elements (Y, Nb, REEs, Ti, Zr, Hf and Th) sizably increased their concentration northward. The observed latitudinal pattern in element concentrations can be explained by progressive disconnection of groundwaters from the main river and its tributaries due to a northward increase in the permafrost coverage. A northward increase in bog versus forest coverage and an increase in DOC and Fe export enhanced the mobilization of insoluble, low mobile elements which were present in organo-ferric colloids (1 kDa—0.45 µm), as confirmed by an in-situ dialysis size fractionation procedure. The chemical composition of the sampled mainstream and tributaries demonstrated significant (p < 0.01) control of latitude of the sampling point; permafrost coverage; proportion of bogs, lakes and floodplain coverage and lacustrine and fluvio-glacial Quaternary deposits of the watershed. This impact was mostly pronounced on DOC, Fe, P, divalent metals (Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Pb), Rb and low mobile lithogenic trace elements (Al, Ti, Cr, Y, Zr, Nb, REEs, Hf and Th). The pH and concentrations of soluble, highly mobile elements (DIC, SO4, Ca, Sr, Ba, Mo, Sb, W and U) positively correlated with the proportion of forest, loesses, eluvial, eolian, and fluvial Quaternary deposits on the watershed. Consistent with these correlations, a Principal Component Analysis demonstrated two main factors explaining the variability of major and trace element concentration in the Ob River main stem and tributaries. The DOC, Fe, divalent metals and trivalent and tetravalent trace elements were presumably controlled by a northward increase in permafrost, floodplain, bogs, lakes and lacustrine deposits on the watersheds. The DIC and labile alkaline-earth metals, oxyanions (Mo, Sb and W) and U were impacted by southward-dominating forest coverage, loesses and eluvial and fertile soils. Assuming that climate warming in the WSL will lead to a northward shift of the forest and permafrost boundaries, a “substituting space for time” approach predicts a future increase in the concentration of DIC and labile major and trace elements and a decrease of the transport of DOC and low soluble trace metals in the form of colloids in the main stem of the Ob River. Overall, seasonally-resolved transect studies of large riverine systems of western Siberia are needed to assess the hydrochemical response of this environmentally-important territory to on-going climate change.
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Kirpotin SN, Antoshkina OA, Berezin AE, Elshehawi S, Feurdean A, Lapshina ED, Pokrovsky OS, Peregon AM, Semenova NM, Tanneberger F, Volkov IV, Volkova II, Joosten H. Great Vasyugan Mire: How the world's largest peatland helps addressing the world's largest problems. AMBIO 2021; 50:2038-2049. [PMID: 33677811 PMCID: PMC8497674 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01520-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 12/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Peatlands cover 3% of the land, occur in 169 countries, and have-by sequestering 600 Gt of carbon-cooled the global climate by 0.6 °C. After a general review about peatlands worldwide, this paper describes the importance of the Great Vasyugan Mire and presents suggestions about its protection and future research. The World's largest peatland, the Great Vasyugan Mire in West-Siberia, forms the border between the Taiga and the Forest-Steppe biomes and harbours rare species and mire types and globally unique self-organizing patterns. Current oil and gas exploitation may arguably be largely phased out by 2050, which will pave the way for a stronger focus on the mire's role in buffering climate change, maintaining ecosystem diversity, and providing other ecosystem services. Relevant new research lines will benefit from the extensive data sets that earlier studies have gathered for other purposes. Its globally unique character as the 'largest life form on land' qualifies the Great Vasyugan Mire in its entirety to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergey N. Kirpotin
- Tuvan State University, 36 Lenina St, Kyzyl, Republic of Tuva 667000 Russian Federation
- Tomsk State University, 36/13 Lenina Pr, Tomsk, 634050 Russian Federation
| | | | | | - Samer Elshehawi
- DUENE e.V, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, C/O Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Angelica Feurdean
- Department of Physical Geography, Goethe University, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Elena D. Lapshina
- Yugra State University, 16 Chekhov St., Khanty-Mansiysk, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Aria-Yugra 628012 Russian Federation
| | | | - Anna M. Peregon
- Tuvan State University, 36 Lenina St, Kyzyl, Republic of Tuva 667000 Russian Federation
- Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of
Sciences (ISSA SB RAS), 8/2 Prospect Akademika Lavrentyeva, Novosibirsk, 630090 Russian Federation
| | | | - Franziska Tanneberger
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, Soldmannstrasse 15, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Igor V. Volkov
- Tomsk State Pedagogical University, 60 Kievskaya St., Tomsk, 634061 Russian Federation
| | - Irina I. Volkova
- Tomsk State University, 36/13 Lenina Pr, Tomsk, 634050 Russian Federation
| | - Hans Joosten
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, Soldmannstrasse 15, 17487 Greifswald, Germany
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