A Florida State University scientist has helped reveal, in a multi-year study, how changing the chemical composition of water in Arctic rivers could affect the entire planet.

A new study has been published Nature Geology FSU Professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Robert Spencer and a multinational team are investigating how Arctic rivers are responding to the warming climate, how the chemical composition of the region has changed due to climate change and other natural processes, and how these changes are affecting the region. complex web of life, both on land and in the oceans.

“The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, and this is causing a range of changes, from the melting of frozen soils mobilizing long-stored carbon to changing vegetation to the processing of nutrients and carbon in rivers,” said Spencer, who has traveled the world. Research is being conducted to assess the human impact on the Earth’s chemical cycles.

“All of this is reflected in the water samples we take from these major Arctic rivers. Working in many Arctic countries allows us to observe clear patterns across the region at sites of this study in the United States, Canada, and Russia.”

The work, conducted by scientists at the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory over nearly two decades, from 2003 to 2019, is similar to an audit of the ecological state of the region. The study focused on the Ob, Yenisei, Mackenzie, Lena, Kolyma and Yukon rivers, which are the most important connections between the Arctic expanses and the sea.

The chemicals carried by the rivers show what is happening in the river basins, just as a doctor takes a blood test from his patient.

The study examined the chemistry of these rivers by examining a number of diagnostic parameters, including dissolved organic carbon, alkalinity, and nitrates. Researchers have found that some key players in this chemical story have changed:

• Increasing alkalinity can reveal how rocks are weathered and broken down, affecting the acidity of water. This means that more segregation occurs in the basins.
• The reduction of nitrates, a nutrient for plants and animals, could affect the balance of life in the oceans associated with these rivers.
• Dissolved organic carbon, a complex tea-like mixture produced mostly from soil carried by rivers, did not undergo any significant changes.

Spencer said changes in the chemistry of rivers have implications for the entire planet. Changes in the chemical composition of these rivers can affect the entire ocean system. Changes in rivers can affect how much carbon dioxide enters the air and how plants and animals grow in the ocean.

In response, scientists came together to examine the dynamics of this river more closely. By deciphering the chemical messages of Arctic rivers, they hope to further improve their understanding of the region’s rapidly changing ecosystem.

“Long-term international projects like this are what we need to understand not only how the Arctic is changing, but also the rate of change,” Spencer said. “Almost two decades of observations have given this multinational group an unprecedented perspective on these changes and future trajectories.

“It’s a real honor to be part of a project like this, to work with great colleagues from around the world,” he said. “When science works across borders, it benefits us all by improving our understanding of the world around us.” Source