Glaciers and river nutrients
Nature Geoscience
August 25, 2008
The concentration of nutrients entering coastal watersheds in southeast Alaska is in part controlled by the extent of glacial coverage in the river catchment area, according to research published online this week in Nature Geoscience. These rivers supply coastal ecosystems with nutrients and fresh water. Changing levels of glacial coverage in southeast Alaska could therefore potentially affect nutrient concentrations in nearby rivers and alter the nutrient dynamics of coastal ecosystems along the Gulf of Alaska.
Eran Hood and Durelle Scott sampled three adjacent watersheds along the Gulf of Alaska with differing levels of glacial coverage. They found that higher levels of glacial coverage were associated with increased phosphorous input to the rivers, whereas smaller glacial extent led to more organic matter entering the watershed. Areas of recent glacial retreat had temporarily increased levels of nitrogen, owing to the colonization of plants on the newly exposed terrain.
doi: 10.1038/ngeo280
Research highlights
-
Jan 15
Planetary Science: Mercury may have shrunk less than previously thoughtCommunications Earth＆Environment
-
Jan 15
Environment: Seagrass meadows may facilitate marine plastic removal from the seaScientific Reports
-
Jan 13
Environment: Polyester fibres found to be widespread in the ArcticNature Communications
-
Dec 23
Planetary science: Over 100,000 new craters identified on the MoonNature Communications
-
Dec 22
Conservation: Agricultural expansion could cause widespread biodiversity declines by 2050Nature Sustainability
-
Dec 18
Geology: Alpine summits may have been ice-free during life of Tyrolean IcemanScientific Reports
