Paving the Way for Improved Representation of Coupled Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Arctic River Plumes—A Case Study of the Mackenzie Shelf

ABSTRACT Processes affecting the transformation of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) across the land‐to‐ocean aquatic continuum are still poorly constrained in Arctic models, leading to large uncertainties in simulated air–sea CO 2 fluxes of the coastal periphery. Here we use the ECCO‐Darwin regional configuration of the Southeastern Beaufort Sea to analyze the sensitivity of simulated carbon cycling to (1) the model vertical discretization and (2) different parameterizations of Mackenzie River carbon discharge. We show that riverine DOC lifetime rather than its volume largely modulates Mackenzie River plume air–sea CO 2 fluxes, leading to the Southeastern Beaufort Sea (SBS) being either a source (0.03 Tg C year −1 ) or sink (−0.20 Tg C year −1 ) of atmospheric carbon. We show that estuarine processes, such as flocculation, also play an important role and can dampen CO 2 outgassing by up to 0.07 Tg C year −1 . In terms of model physics, by increasing the vertical grid resolution, we better fit observed plume structure, without altering the simulated concentrations of DOC. However, the decrease in river forcing cell volume increases local p CO 2 and promotes elevated outgassing in the vicinity of the Delta. Our work demonstrates that future Arctic land–ocean models must consider the intricate details of river plume systems to realistically simulate coastal‐ocean physics and biogeochemistry.

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Publication Details

Journal
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
Published
2025-03-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2271
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.60

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article

Paving the Way for Improved Representation of Coupled Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Arctic River Plumes—A Case Study of the Mackenzie Shelf

Melissa Schwab, Manfredi Manizza, Simon Bowring, Stephanie Dutkiewicz et al.
2 citations
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
2.60
article

Paving the Way for Improved Representation of Coupled Physical and Biogeochemical Processes in Arctic River Plumes—A Case Study of the Mackenzie Shelf

Melissa Schwab, Manfredi Manizza, Simon Bowring, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Dustin Carroll, Bertrand Guenet, Atsushi Matsuoka, Dimitris Menemenlis, Raphaël Savelli, Vincent Le Fouest, Clément Bertin, Charles E. Miller, Hong Zhang
article en
2 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Processes affecting the transformation of riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) across the land‐to‐ocean aquatic continuum are still poorly constrained in Arctic models, leading to large uncertainties in simulated air–sea CO 2 fluxes of the coastal periphery. Here we use the ECCO‐Darwin regional configuration of the Southeastern Beaufort Sea to analyze the sensitivity of simulated carbon cycling to (1) the model vertical discretization and (2) different parameterizations of Mackenzie River carbon discharge. We show that riverine DOC lifetime rather than its volume largely modulates Mackenzie River plume air–sea CO 2 fluxes, leading to the Southeastern Beaufort Sea (SBS) being either a source (0.03 Tg C year −1 ) or sink (−0.20 Tg C year −1 ) of atmospheric carbon. We show that estuarine processes, such as flocculation, also play an important role and can dampen CO 2 outgassing by up to 0.07 Tg C year −1 . In terms of model physics, by increasing the vertical grid resolution, we better fit observed plume structure, without altering the simulated concentrations of DOC. However, the decrease in river forcing cell volume increases local p CO 2 and promotes elevated outgassing in the vicinity of the Delta. Our work demonstrates that future Arctic land–ocean models must consider the intricate details of river plume systems to realistically simulate coastal‐ocean physics and biogeochemistry.

Permafrost and Periglacial ProcessesVol. 36(3)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US), University of New Hampshire (US), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), University of California San Diego (US), LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (FR), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR), Laboratoire de Géologie de l’École Normale Supérieure (FR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (US)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics
2.60
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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