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Evaluating Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Cycling in a Forested Lake Watershed Using Carbon Isotopes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ramon Aravena ,
S. L. Schiff ,
S. E. Trumbore ,
P. J. Dillon  and
Richard Elgood
Ramon Aravena
Affiliation:
Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada
S. L. Schiff
Affiliation:
Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada
S. E. Trumbore
Affiliation:
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 USA
P. J. Dillon
Affiliation:
Dorset Research Centre, Ministry of the Environment, Dorset, Ontario POA lEO Canada
Richard Elgood
Affiliation:
Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada
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Abstract

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Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is the main acid buffer in forested lake watersheds in Canada. We used carbon isotopes (13C, 14C) to evaluate the production and cycling of DIC in an acid-sensitive lake watershed of the Precambrian Shield. Soil CO2, groundwater and stream DIC were characterized chemically and isotopically. Soil CO2 concentration profiles reflect both changes in production and in losses due to diffusion. δ13C soil CO2 profiles (δ13C values of −23‰ in summer, slightly enriched during the fall and −25%‰ during the winter) are a reflection of the isotopic composition of the sources and changes in isotopic fractionation due to diffusion. Carbon isotopic composition (13C, 14C) of the groundwater and stream DIC clearly indicate that weathering of silicates by soil CO2 is the main source of DIC in these watersheds. 14C data show that, in addition to recent groundwater, an older groundwater component with depleted 14C activity is also present in the bedrock. The carbon isotope pattern in the groundwater also implies that, besides the main springtime recharge events, contributions to the groundwater may also occur during late winter/early spring.

Type
II. Applied Isotope Geochemistry
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 34 , Issue 3: Proceedings of the 14th International Radiocarbon Conference , 1992 , pp. 636 - 645
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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