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Riverine coupling of biogeochemical cycles between land, oceans, and atmosphere
Author(s) -
Aufdenkampe Anthony K,
Mayorga Emilio,
Raymond Peter A,
Melack John M,
Doney Scott C,
Alin Simone R,
Aalto Rolf E,
Yoo Kyungsoo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1890/100014
Subject(s) - biogeochemical cycle , weathering , biogeochemistry , carbonate , environmental science , estuary , ecosystem , sedimentary rock , carbon cycle , carbon dioxide , atmosphere (unit) , wetland , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , environmental chemistry , earth science , oceanography , geology , geochemistry , ecology , chemistry , climate change , physics , organic chemistry , biology , thermodynamics
Streams, rivers, lakes, and other inland waters are important agents in the coupling of biogeochemical cycles between continents, atmosphere, and oceans. The depiction of these roles in global‐scale assessments of carbon (C) and other bioactive elements remains limited, yet recent findings suggest that C discharged to the oceans is only a fraction of that entering rivers from terrestrial ecosystems via soil respiration, leaching, chemical weathering, and physical erosion. Most of this C influx is returned to the atmosphere from inland waters as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) or buried in sedimentary deposits within impoundments, lakes, floodplains, and other wetlands. Carbon and mineral cycles are coupled by both erosion–deposition processes and chemical weathering, with the latter producing dissolved inorganic C and carbonate buffering capacity that strongly modulate downstream pH, biological production of calcium‐carbonate shells, and CO 2 outgassing in rivers, estuaries, and coastal zones. Human activities substantially affect all of these processes.