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The age of river‐transported carbon: A global perspective
Author(s) -
Marwick Trent R.,
Tamooh Fredrick,
Teodoru Cristian R.,
Borges Alberto V.,
Darchambeau François,
Bouillon Steven
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1002/2014gb004911
Subject(s) - total organic carbon , subtropics , dissolved organic carbon , particulate organic carbon , sediment , radiocarbon dating , weathering , carbon cycle , environmental science , cycling , carbon fibers , oceanography , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , environmental chemistry , physical geography , geography , ecology , geochemistry , nutrient , chemistry , ecosystem , cartography , paleontology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , phytoplankton , archaeology , composite number , composite material , biology
The role played by river networks in regional and global carbon (C) budgets is receiving increasing attention. Despite the potential of radiocarbon measurements (Δ 14 C) to elucidate sources and cycling of different riverine C pools, there remain large regions for which no data are available and no comprehensive attempts to synthesize the available information and examine global patterns in the 14 C content of different riverine C pools. Here we present new 14 C data on particulate and dissolved organic C (POC and DOC) from six river basins in tropical and subtropical Africa and compiled >1400 literature Δ 14 C data and ancillary parameters from rivers globally. Our analysis reveals a consistent pattern whereby POC is progressively older in systems carrying higher sediment loads, coinciding with a lower organic carbon content. At the global scale, this pattern leads to a proposed global median Δ 14 C signature of −203‰, corresponding to an age of ~1800 years B.P. For DOC exported to the coastal zone, we predict a modern (decadal) age (Δ 14 C = +22 to +46‰), and paired data sets confirm that riverine DOC is generally more recent in origin than POC—in contrast to the situation in ocean environments. Weathering regimes complicate the interpretation of 14 C ages of dissolved inorganic carbon, but the available data favor the hypothesis that in most cases, more recent organic C is preferentially mineralized.